After securing Naples, Skanderbeg returned home after being informed of Ottoman movements.
There were three Ottoman armies approaching Albania.
The first, under the command of Sinan Pasha, was defeated at Mokra (in Makedonski Brod).
Upon hearing of the defeat, Mehmed II dispatched a second army under Hasan Bey.
Skanderbeg and Hasan confronted each other in Mokra where the latter was defeated and lost the majority of his forces as well as being wounded himself, he surrendered to Skanderbeg and was imprisoned.
The second army, under the command of Hasan bey, was defeated in Ohrid, where the Ottoman commander was captured.
The third Ottoman army, a force of 30,000 under Karaza bey was defeated in the region of Skopje.
This forced Sultan Mehmed II to agree to a 10-year armistice which was signed in April 1463 in Skopje.
Skanderbeg did not want peace, but Tanush Thopia's willingness for peace prevailed.
Tanush himself went to Tivoli to explain to the Pope why Skanderbeg had opted for peace with Mehmed II.
He pointed out that Skanderbeg would be ready to go back to war should the Pope ask for it.

Meanwhile, the position of Venice towards Skanderbeg had changed perceptibly because it entered a war with the Ottomans (1463–79).
During this period Venice saw Skanderbeg as an invaluable ally, and on 20 August 1463, the 1448 peace treaty was renewed with other conditions added: the right of asylum in Venice, an article stipulating that any Venetian–Ottoman treaty would include a guarantee of Albanian independence, and allowing the presence of several Venetian ships in the Adriatic around Lezhë.
In November 1463, Pope Pius II tried to organize a new crusade against the Ottomans, similar to what Pope Nicholas V and Pope Calixtus III tried before.
Pius II invited all Christian nobility to join, and the Venetians immediately answered the appeal.
So did Skanderbeg, who on 27 November 1463 declared war on the Ottomans when a force of 14,000 was sent under the command of Şeremet bey to reinforce fortresses in the area of Ohrid.
Due to the upcoming crusade the Republic of Venice decided to aid Skanderbeg by sending 500 cavalry and 500 infantry under the condottiero Antonio da Cosenza, also known as Cimarosto.
On 14 or 15 September after luring the Ottomans out of the gates of Ohrid and feigning a retreat, Skanderbeg's forces assaulted and defeated the Ottoman garrison.
Şeremet lost 10,000 men and his son was captured.
The remainder of the Ottoman forces were pursued by the Albanian-Venetian ones.
Pius II's planned crusade envisioned assembling 20,000 soldiers in Taranto, while another 20,000 would be gathered by Skanderbeg.
They would have been marshalled in Durazzo under Skanderbeg's leadership and would have formed the central front against the Ottomans.
However, Pius II died in August 1464, at the crucial moment when the crusading armies were gathering and preparing to march in Ancona, and Skanderbeg was again left alone facing the Ottomans.

In April 1465, at the Battle of Vaikal, Skanderbeg fought and defeated Ballaban Badera, an Ottoman Albanian sanjakbey of Ohrid.
However, during an ambush in the same battle, Ballaban managed to capture some important Albanian noblemen, including cavalry commander Moisi Golemi, chief army quartermaster Vladan Gjurica, Skanderbeg's nephew Muzaka, and 18 other officers.
These were immediately sent to Constantinople where they were skinned alive for fifteen days and later cut to pieces and thrown to the dogs.
Skanderbeg's pleas to have them back, by either ransom or prisoner exchange, failed.
Later that same year, two other Ottoman armies appeared on the borders.
The commander of one of the Ottoman armies was Ballaban Pasha, who, together with Jakup Bey, the commander of the second army, planned a double-flank envelopment.
Skanderbeg, however, attacked Ballaban's forces at the Second Battle of Vajkal, where the Ottomans were defeated.
This time, all Ottoman prisoners were slain in an act of revenge for the previous execution of Albanian captains.
The other Ottoman army, under the command of Jakup Bey, wa
After securing Naples, Skanderbeg returned home after being informed of Ottoman movements. There were three Ottoman armies approaching Albania. The first, under the command of Sinan Pasha, was defeated at Mokra (in Makedonski Brod). Upon hearing of the defeat, Mehmed II dispatched a second army under Hasan Bey. Skanderbeg and Hasan confronted each other in Mokra where the latter was defeated and lost the majority of his forces as well as being wounded himself, he surrendered to Skanderbeg and was imprisoned. The second army, under the command of Hasan bey, was defeated in Ohrid, where the Ottoman commander was captured. The third Ottoman army, a force of 30,000 under Karaza bey was defeated in the region of Skopje. This forced Sultan Mehmed II to agree to a 10-year armistice which was signed in April 1463 in Skopje. Skanderbeg did not want peace, but Tanush Thopia's willingness for peace prevailed. Tanush himself went to Tivoli to explain to the Pope why Skanderbeg had opted for peace with Mehmed II. He pointed out that Skanderbeg would be ready to go back to war should the Pope ask for it.
Meanwhile, the position of Venice towards Skanderbeg had changed perceptibly because it entered a war with the Ottomans (1463–79). During this period Venice saw Skanderbeg as an invaluable ally, and on 20 August 1463, the 1448 peace treaty was renewed with other conditions added: the right of asylum in Venice, an article stipulating that any Venetian–Ottoman treaty would include a guarantee of Albanian independence, and allowing the presence of several Venetian ships in the Adriatic around Lezhë. In November 1463, Pope Pius II tried to organize a new crusade against the Ottomans, similar to what Pope Nicholas V and Pope Calixtus III tried before. Pius II invited all Christian nobility to join, and the Venetians immediately answered the appeal. So did Skanderbeg, who on 27 November 1463 declared war on the Ottomans when a force of 14,000 was sent under the command of Şeremet bey to reinforce fortresses in the area of Ohrid. Due to the upcoming crusade the Republic of Venice decided to aid Skanderbeg by sending 500 cavalry and 500 infantry under the condottiero Antonio da Cosenza, also known as Cimarosto. On 14 or 15 September after luring the Ottomans out of the gates of Ohrid and feigning a retreat, Skanderbeg's forces assaulted and defeated the Ottoman garrison. Şeremet lost 10,000 men and his son was captured. The remainder of the Ottoman forces were pursued by the Albanian-Venetian ones. Pius II's planned crusade envisioned assembling 20,000 soldiers in Taranto, while another 20,000 would be gathered by Skanderbeg. They would have been marshalled in Durazzo under Skanderbeg's leadership and would have formed the central front against the Ottomans. However, Pius II died in August 1464, at the crucial moment when the crusading armies were gathering and preparing to march in Ancona, and Skanderbeg was again left alone facing the Ottomans.
In April 1465, at the Battle of Vaikal, Skanderbeg fought and defeated Ballaban Badera, an Ottoman Albanian sanjakbey of Ohrid. However, during an ambush in the same battle, Ballaban managed to capture some important Albanian noblemen, including cavalry commander Moisi Golemi, chief army quartermaster Vladan Gjurica, Skanderbeg's nephew Muzaka, and 18 other officers. These were immediately sent to Constantinople where they were skinned alive for fifteen days and later cut to pieces and thrown to the dogs. Skanderbeg's pleas to have them back, by either ransom or prisoner exchange, failed. Later that same year, two other Ottoman armies appeared on the borders. The commander of one of the Ottoman armies was Ballaban Pasha, who, together with Jakup Bey, the commander of the second army, planned a double-flank envelopment. Skanderbeg, however, attacked Ballaban's forces at the Second Battle of Vajkal, where the Ottomans were defeated. This time, all Ottoman prisoners were slain in an act of revenge for the previous execution of Albanian captains. The other Ottoman army, under the command of Jakup Bey, wa
Skanderbeg