There are many heroes in the history of the Albanian people and nation. To attempt to list all of them is futile, for it is impossible. There are, however, some that stand out as the most significant heroes in Albanian history.
This man was the author of Albanian national thought, which all began when he defied the Turkish Sultan in 1443. He then managed to unite all Albanian princes, land barons and tribal cheiftains, at the principality of Lezhė on March 2, 1444 to rise up against the Ottoman Empire. Gjergj Kastrioti and his force of Albanians, rarely exceeding 20,000 units, defeated the most powerful army of the world for 25 years, and kept them from setting their foot inside Catholic Western Europe. After his death from natural causes in 1468, his people continued their resistance, but could not prevail against Mehmet the Conqueror (the man that captured the seemingly impregnable fortress of Constantinople in 1453), and by 1480 Albania had fallen to the Ottoman Turks.
Mic Sokoli (born in 1839 in Kosova) was a remarkable fighter from the League of Prizren, which gathered to defend Albanians' rights to exist in a land that was their own. He participated in the battles of Gjakova against the Turkish Mehmet Ali Pasha, and he distinguished himself from other warriors in the battle of Nokshiq against the Montenegrin aggressors. His battles in Plavė and Guci, Hoti, Gruda, Tuzi, Prizren, Gjakovė, Ferizaj, Gjilan, and Shkup were all fought against Slavic aggression.
In 1909 when Malėsia, the mountainous region of Northern Albania, rose up against the Ottoman Empire for their independence, Dedė Gjo' Luli Dedvukaj led the rebellion. He gathered the Malsors (Northern Highlanders) to take their arms and use them to rise up. After successful battles in which the Malsors captured Turkish military outposts, Dedė Gjo' Luli raised the Albanian flag on the legendary Mount Bratilė on April 6, 1911, and proclaimed to the enemy Turks, and to the whole world, that Malėsia demanded its liberty and independence.
The author of the national epic of the Albanian people, Lahuta e Malcis, The Highland Lute, tells of the brave struggles of the Northern Albanians with their Montenegrin and Turkish enemies. He was one to lead the intelligentsia in the fight against communism.
Prek Cali was a brave man born in Kėlmendi, Malėsia. He was an ardent patriot that fought for his land and his country. Aside from fighting Slavic aggression in his early years (and keeping a significant portion of Northern Albania from being annexed to Serbia and Montenegro), he is also known for his struggle against the Communist forces under Enver Hoxha. The Malsor forces under Prek Cali were initially successful in keeping the Communists from taking control of Northern Albania, but Enver Hoxha used a priest to lure him into a trap on Palm Sunday, and had him killed.
Born in Kosova, this brave man stood against the Serbian paramility in an attempt to halt their advances. When the Serbian genocide of ethnic Albanians began, and the Serbs approached Adem Jashari's house, he gave his family the opportunity to escape. They refused, including the children, which stated they would rather stay and fight for the land of their ancestors; they would not leave it alive. And fight they did. Adem Jashari with his brother Hamėz, and their families, held off the Serbian paramilitary for 3 days. Unfortunately, after the 3rd wave on the 3rd day, they were overcome, and massacred. Only 1 survived, 16 year old Shqipe, which escaped to tell the story of her family's brave stand against their butchers.