Rozafa Castle

Rozafa Castle (Kalaja e Rozafës), also known as the Shkodër Castle (Kalaja e Shkodrës) is a castle near the city of Shkodër, in northwestern Albania. It rises imposingly on a rocky hill, above sea level, surrounded by the Buna and Drin rivers. Shkodër is the seat of Shkodër County, and is one of Albania's oldest and most historic towns, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Originally an Illyrian fortification, its remains are mostly of Venetian construction. Although there have been several legends about the etymology of the name Rozafa, scholars have linked it with Resafa, the place where Saint Sergius died. Shkodra and the surrounding area have a long and well-documented tradition of venerating Sergius (). Due to its strategic location, the hill has been settled since antiquity. There was an Illyrian stronghold during the rule of the Labeates and Ardiaei, whose capital was Scodra. During the Third Illyrian War the Illyrian king Gentius concentrated his forces in Scodra. When he was attacked by the Roman army led by L. Anicius Gallus, Gentius fled into the city and was trapped there hoping that his brother Caravantius would come at any moment with a large relieving army, but that did not happen. After his defeat, Gentius sent two prominent tribal leaders, Teuticus and Bellus, as envoys to negotiate with the Roman commander. On the third day of the truce, Gentius surrendered to the Romans, was placed in custody and sent to Rome. The Roman army marched north of Scutari Lake where, at Meteon, they captured Gentius' wife queen Etuta, his brother Caravantius, his sons Scerdilaidas and Pleuratus along with leading Illyrians. The fall of the Ardiaean Kingdom in 168 BC is transmitted by Livy in a ceremonial manner of the triumph of Anicius in Rome: In a few days, both on land and sea did he defeat the brave Illyrian tribe, who had relied on their knowledge of their own territory and fortifications. Within the castle there are the ruins of a 13th-century Venetian Catholic church, considered by scholars as the St.