him, but Zaharia, who was drunk, saw this, and assaulted Dukagjini. Some princes attempted to stop the fight, but only more people became involved. Several people died or got injured before peace was established. Neither of the two antagonists had suffered any physical damage, but after the event Dukagjini was morally humiliated. The death of Zaharia left his princedom with no successor. As a result, his mother handed the fortress over to Venetian Albania, a stretch of possessions of the Republic of Venice. Skanderbeg urged the Venetian legates that Dagnum (along with Sati, Gladri and Dushmani which had been taken by Venice) should be restored to the League since it guarded an important trade route, but Venice refused and, consequently, Skanderbeg prepared for war against the Republic itself. The League soon sent envoys to its neighbors, Stefan I Crnojević and Đurađ Branković. Branković, a lord of Serbian Despotate, who was also in dispute with Venice over the Principality of Zeta, expressed his willingness to help Skanderbeg against the Republic but not against the Ottoman Empire. The Venetians sent an ambassador to Skanderbeg offering him 1,000 ducats to lay aside all claims to Dagnum in return that the Albanians would protect the country and keep the roads free from violence. Skanderbeg, however, refused to accept the offer and hostilities continued. Alongside the Spani family, the Dushmani family was against the war with Venice and did not participate in it. Initial campaigns In December 1447, after leaving a protective force of three to four thousand men under Vrana Konti to guard the frontier in the event of an Ottoman incursion, Skanderbeg turned towards Dagnum with a force of 14,000 men. Initially offering the garrison at Dagnum the opportunity to surrender, he promptly besieged the fortress upon rejection. In order to pressure the Venetians, Skanderbeg also turned towards Durazzo, then another possession of Venetian Albania, and cut the city off from their local resources and trade. This move forced Venice to redirect to Durazzo two galleys, which initially were bound for Crete, in order to watch over the events there. By then Venice treated Skanderbeg as a rebellious Ottoman vassal, so on 4 March 1448 a life pension of 100 gold ducats per month was offered to anyone who would assassinate Skanderbeg. In May, Ottoman forces besieged Svetigrad, putting great strain on Skanderbeg's campaigns. On 27 June 1448 Venice sent Andrea Venier, then