provveditore at Scutari's Rozafa Castle, to attempt to persuade the Ottomans to invade Albania. After, Venice also sent Venier to meet with Skanderbeg in order to convince him to break off hostilities, and also attempted to push the Dukagjini clan away from their alliance with Skanderbeg. Despite measures taken by the Venetians, Skanderbeg marched towards Scutari unabated. He also dared the Venetians to send out a force to defeat him. The siege of Dagnum continued, however, with a force of 4,000 that Skanderbeg had left behind. Battle of the River Drin On 23 July 1448 Skanderbeg crossed the Drin River with 10,000 men, meeting a Venetian force of 15,000 men under the command of Daniele Iurichi, governor of Scutari. Venetian forces were composed largely of local mercenaries, forming the center of Iurichi's line. They included forces under Koja and Andreas Humoj, Simeon Vulkata, Vasilije Ugrin, Zapa family (Jovan and his brother), Pedantari family (seven Pedantari brothers and many other), Moneta family (three sons of Rajko Moneta), Malonši family (Petar with his two sons), and Buša Sornja who were pronoiars. Iurichi positioned himself on the left wing with his Dalmatian forces, while the right was composed of Italian natives. Skanderbeg positioned himself and his personal bodyguard on the right wing, opposite Iurichi. The center of Skanderbeg's army was commanded by Tanush Thopia, and the right by Moses of Dibra. Skanderbeg instructed his troops on what to expect and opened battle by ordering a force of archers to open fire on the Venetian line. Soon, the Albanian right wing advanced to engage first and managed to push the Venetian left wing back, while the center and the right engaged the Venetian center and left. The breakthrough was soon accomplished by attacking the gaps in the Venetian lines, causing disorder among their ranks. The battle continued for hours until large groups of Venetian troops began to flee. Skanderbeg, seeing his fleeing adversaries, ordered a full-scale offensive, routing the entire Venetian army. The Republic's soldiers were chased right to the gates of Scutari, and Venetian prisoners were thereafter paraded outside the fortress. The Albanians managed to inflict 2,500 casualties on the Venetian force, capturing 1,000. Skanderbeg's army suffered 400 casualties, most on the right wing. The Venetian presence in Albania was weakened and the garrisons in the cities were stretched thin. Skanderbeg retreated from the area to fight off an Ottoman invasion. Before leaving,