In 1452, the newly acceded Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II ordered his first campaign against Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë. Shortly after the First Siege of Krujë, Murad II died in Edirne, only to be succeeded by his son Mehmed II. Mehmed always supported more aggressive strategies of conquest which his father had continually rejected. Once in power, Mehmed ordered nearly annual invasions of Albania which often resulted in multiple battles in one year. The first of these expeditions was sent in 1452 under the dual-command of Hamza Pasha and Tahip Pasha, with an army of approximately 25,000 men. This campaign was the first major test for the new Sultan against western Europe and a high point of a diplomatic struggle between the major Mediterranean powers. Albania at the time was suffering a crisis of power as Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë, became a vassal of Alfonso the Magnanimous, the king of Aragon. Worried about another growing adversary in the Venetian Gulf, the Republic of Venice tried to turn Skanderbeg's allies against him in order to weaken Alfonso's influence. Realizing his opportunity, Mehmed ordered an invasion of Albania. Skanderbeg, knowing the impetuous nature of the new Sultan and the effect it would have if his army were not immediately defeated, acted quickly. As soon as the Ottoman army was split into two separate forces, Skanderbeg attacked and defeated both Hamza and Tahip. Tahip was killed in battle whereas Hamza was captured and ransomed for 13,000 ducats along with his staff. Soon thereafter, Skanderbeg cajoled his former Venetian adversaries into easing Albanian-Venetic relations. Albanian relations with the West The siege of Krujë in 1450 resulted in heavy loss for both Murad II and the League of Lezhë. A large portion of the Albanian land was wasted from the long campaign where the Turkish forces had been stationed for more than half a year. The country was left with few resources to produce crops and a large famine was the result. In 1451, the year after Murad's forces had devastated the country, Mehmed II gained control of the Ottoman Empire after his father's death. Mehmed's great energy was already apparent during the previous years when he had accompanied his father to Albania. Skanderbeg realized that if Mehmed struck now, he would be in great difficulty since he lacked the resources and the support to successfully hold off