The Battle of Ohrid took place on 14 or 15 September 1464 between Albanian ruler Skanderbeg's forces and Ottoman forces. A crusade against Sultan Mehmed II had been planned by Pope Pius II with Skanderbeg as one of its main leaders. The battle near Ohrid occurred as a result of an Albanian incursion into Ottoman territory. The Ottomans stationed in the area were assaulted by Skanderbeg's men and 1,000 Venetian soldiers under Cimarosto. The Ottomans were lured out of their protections in Ohrid and ambushed by the Albanian cavalry. Skanderbeg won the resulting battle and his men earned 40,000 ducats after captured Ottoman officers were ransomed. Pius II died before the planned crusade began, however, forcing Skanderbeg to fight his battles virtually alone. Background Pope Pius II's crusade against the Ottoman Empire was declared in November 1463. Skanderbeg, the leader of the Albanians, was a vital ally to this effort and would have become one of its main leaders. The Venetians, who had also joined the crusade, could not persuade Lekë Dukagjini, Skanderbeg's lukewarm ally in northern Albania, to join until the pope intervened. Furthermore, the major European powers were reluctant to join the pope's crusade. Among those inquired were the city of Florence, Francisco Sforza of Milan, Louis XI of France, and Ferdinand I of Naples, all of whom declined for their own reasons. The Republic of Venice, however, decided to aid Skanderbeg by sending 500 cavalry and 500 infantry under the condottiero Antonio da Cosenza, also known as Cimarosto. Once the campaign season began, Mathias Corvinus of Hungary recaptured many of the Bosnian strongpoints, including Jajce, which had been taken from the Kingdom of Bosnia by the Ottomans. Mehmed II marched into Bosnia, pillaging the countryside, hoping that his enemies would surrender. The Hungarian resistance, however, was stiff. The Ottomans still managed to make headway against the Hungarians who had been trying to lift Ottoman the siege on Jajce with a ruse. The Sultan continued his siege while Mathias escaped from the fortress with a force of men, but the retreating army was harried, with 200 soldiers being captured and sent to Constantinople for execution. Despite the setback, Jajce held out and Mehmed retreated from Bosnia. Campaign After Skanderbeg's raid into Macedonia the year before, the Sultan decided to strengthen his fortresses in the area. He then sent Şeremet bey to Ohrid, a city close to Skanderbeg's domains,