Lesh, League of

a military-political association of Albanian princes established in 1444 at a congress in the city of Lesh (on the initiative of Skanderbeg) to fight the Turkish conquerors. It had its own funds and army (formed from feudal detachments), of which Skanderbeg was elected commander in chief. In 1451 the league effectively disintegrated, largely because of the princes’ discontent with Skanderbeg’s centralizing policy.