Gjon II Kastrioti was born in 1456 in Petralba castle (modern
Gur i Bardhë) and according to
Marin Barleti,
Skanderbeg before
battle of Albulena took his wife and son to
Krujë. With the death of his father, Skanderbeg, in 1468, he migrated with his mother, and for a short period of time lived in the
Kingdom of Naples, in the properties he had inherited from his father,
Skanderbeg. He was fighting against the Ottomans in Otranto, when representatives of the Albanian insurgents asked Gjon II Kastrioti to return to
Albania and he accepted their request, starting the Albanian Rebellion of 1481–1488 Taking advantage of the interest of the Neapolitan court at this time in expanding the front of the war against the
Ottoman invaders, Gjon II Kastrioti managed to obtain from King Ferdinand the necessary means of navigation to come to Albania together with a number of warriors. In four Neapolitan ships (galera) he loaded his forces and set sail for the homeland with his cousin, Kostandin Muzaka. After Gjon II Kastrioti landed south of
Durrës in 1481, Neapolitan ships headed for southern Albania and landed Kostandin Muzaka in the
Himara area, where another hotbed of anti-Ottoman uprisings had been created. Meanwhile, in
northern Albania, in the mountainous regions of
Lezha and
Shkodra, the forces of
Nikollë and
Lekë Dukagjini operated. They also attacked the city of Shkodra, which forced Sulejman Pasha to send military reinforcements to this area as well. Gjon II Kastrioti was welcomed by the inhabitants of central Albania as the legal heir of the country. With his arrival the insurgents of these regions intensified the struggle for the expulsion of the Ottoman invaders. In these conditions, Sulejman saw Eunuku launched against them a part of the Ottoman army, which was preparing in the vicinity of
Vlora to go to
Italy. To withstand the attack of the
Ottoman army, Gjon II Kastrioti sent a part of his fighters to defend a path from which the enemy troops would pass. But the
Albanian fighters could not withstand the attack of the Ottoman forces and almost all of the Albanian soldiers were taken prisoner. This loss shook Gjon II Kastrioti's confidence in the success of the uprising, so he thought of leaving
Albania and returning to
Italy. But the inhabitants of the
Kastriot possessions expressed a massive readiness to continue the fight against the Ottoman invaders. About 7,000 Albanian infantry gathered around Gjon II Kastriot and in the first half of August 1481 attacked and defeated an Ottoman army of 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers. In addition to this victory, the Albanians who had been captured by the Ottomans in the previous battle were also released. Also during August 1481, in the western parts of
southern Albania, especially in the region of Himara, fierce fighting took place between
Albanians and Ottoman troops. Under the leadership of Kostandin Muzaka, Albanian fighters surrounded and attacked the castles of
Himara and
Sopot (Borsh), capturing both of them. The very difficult situation that was created for the Ottoman forces, operating in these areas, forced Sulejman Pasha to leave on his own at the head of 3,000 soldiers in the direction of Himara. But on the way they were defeated in battle by the
Albanians and left over 1,000 Ottomans killed and prisoners. Among the captives was the beylerbey of Rumelia, Sulejman Pasha, whom the Albanians gave as a war trophy to Gjon II Kastrioti. After the victory of the Albanians over the troops of Sinan Pasha, in the coastal areas of
southern Albania, the castle of Himara was liberated on August 31, 1481 and then the castle of Sopot. The defeat of Sulejman Pasha's army in
Albania greatly facilitated the anti-Ottoman military actions that took place in the
Kingdom of Naples. On September 10, 1481, the army of Naples liberated the castle of Otranto and thus
expelled the Ottomans from Italy. After the victories of the Albanians during the month of August 1481 against the army of Sulejman Pasha, their military actions for the liberation of the cities and castles in Albania were expanded. Gjon II Kastriot's fighters turned to
Kruja and launched attacks to liberate it. Although the Albanian army failed to take Kruja, because the
castle of Kruja was very fortified and impregnable by force of arms, by the end of 1481 the Albanians liberated a considerable part of the
Kastrioti possessions including
Kruja, by 1483. Gjon II Kastrioti became known as the Prince of the liberated Albanian lands. After the peace agreement of 1483 between the
Ottoman Empire and the
Kingdom of Naples, the Ottoman armies strengthened their activity for the reconquest of the
Kastrioti possessions and other free Albanian territories. Although in January 1484, Gjon II Kastriot's fighters defeated an
Ottoman army near the Erzen River, but the resistance and organized struggle of the
Albanians temporarily began to weaken due to the great and unceasing pressure of the invading Ottoman forces. In the summer of 1484 the Ottomans reconquered the castle of Himara. The fall of the anti-Ottoman resistance forced Gjon II Kastrioti to leave
Albania and settle again in the properties that the
Kastriots had in
Italy. The same thing was done by other Albanian rulers, who had emigrated and came to Albania in the early 1480s to lead the anti-Ottoman uprisings. Shortly after, the Himarotes liberated and held resistance against the
Ottoman Empire, which lasted until 1488. ==Family==