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Arianiti family
The Arianiti were a noble Albanian family that ruled large parts of Albania and neighboring territories from the 11th to the 16th century. Their domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old Via Egnatia road and reached east to today's Bitola.
The first attested surname of the family in various forms is Ar(i)aniti, which was also used as a personal name. In documents contemporary to its members Araniti is the most prevalent form, from which almost all placenames of the areas of their domains that were named after them derive. Arianiti, a rare form from the first definite documentations of the family in the late 13th and early 14th century to the extinction of its male line in the mid-16th century, became prominent in early modern era works and eventually reached a common surname status in historical discourse. The etymology of the surname is unclear; it may ultimately derive from the Indo-European word arya (noble), derivations of which can be found as placenames, demonyms or ethnonyms in many areas ranging from western Europe to Iran and northern India (cf. Areiane, the Greek name for eastern Iran) or the Albanian word arë (field).
If the placenames in Albania that are akin to arya are related to the Arianiti family and don't derive from the rule of the family over those areas, their presence as a clan could be traced back to the late 9th century in the theme of Dyrrhachium, however, its members until the late 13th century are disputed as the surname appears to have been adopted by unrelated to each other low-born individuals after they came to positions of power. One theory links the surname with the Illyrian tribe of the Arinistae/Armistae that lived around Dyrrhachium in the Hellenistic and Roman era.
A secondary surname used by the Arianiti family since the 14th century was Komneni surname, which derives from the Byzantine imperial house of Komnenos. The first of the family to bear was possibly married to a female descendant of Golem of Kruja and could be related to a Comneni Budaresci princeps, who lived around 1300 in central Albania, although any connection to any member can't be verified as all Arianitis used Komneni as a second surname by the mid to late 14th century as a means to strengthen their noble status and territorial claims.
The surname Shpata appears in Latin sources of the late 14th and early 15th century in reference to a Comin Spata, who could possibly be Komnen Arianiti, father of Gjergj Arianiti, who was also mentioned in contemporary documents as Aranit Spata. It is unclear whether the Arianitis adopted it through intermarriage with the Shpata family of central Albania or as a toponymic that derives from the region of Shpat, which they held in the Middle Ages. The intermarriage theory is more likely and the adoption of the surname must have happened in the 14th century.
Golemi was used as a byname by some members of the Arianiti family. It first appears in a 1452 document of the chancellery of Alfonso V of Aragon, where Gjergj Arianiti is mentioned as Aranit Colem de Albania, while Marin Barleti mentions him as Arianites Thopia Golemus. The word itself may come from the Slavic golem (grand) or as a distortion of the name Gulielm (the Albanian version of William). Attempts to relate it to Golem of Kruja or personalities named Gulielm Arianiti are resultless as no archival evidence exists.
David Arianites is generally considered to be the first member of the Arianiti clan that is attested in historical documents, although the connection to the late 13th century Arianiti family can't be verified due to lack of sources. As attested in the works of George Kedrenos, in the 1001–1018 period he served the Byzantine Emperor Basil II as strategos of Thessalonica, and later strategos of Skopje. David Arianites fought against the Bulgarians in Strumica, Skopje and the area of Skrapar. Constantine Arianites, a son or close relative, is also mentioned in the years 1049–1050 as being in the military service of the Byzantine Empire against the Pechenegs. Other members of the 11th and 12th centuries may include a Johannes Carianica mentioned by William of Tyre.
The first undisputed member of the family as sebastos is Alexius Arianiti mentioned in 1274 in an agreement between Charles I of Naples and some Albanian noblemen, who swore allegiance to the Kingdom of Albania. The Arianiti last name has also been mentioned in other 14th century documents: In 1304 two documents, one from Philip I, Prince of Taranto, and the other from Charles II of Naples between several names of Albanian noble families, to whom are recognized prior held privileges, include the name of the Arianiti family. In a 1319 letter, Pope John XXII sent to some Albanian nobles, the name of protolegator Gulielm Arianiti (Guillermo Aranite protholegaturo) is included. In the Epitaph of Gllavenica, embroidered in 1373, the name of George Arianiti, the embroiderer is documented.
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Arianiti family
The Arianiti were a noble Albanian family that ruled large parts of Albania and neighboring territories from the 11th to the 16th century. Their domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old Via Egnatia road and reached east to today's Bitola.
The first attested surname of the family in various forms is Ar(i)aniti, which was also used as a personal name. In documents contemporary to its members Araniti is the most prevalent form, from which almost all placenames of the areas of their domains that were named after them derive. Arianiti, a rare form from the first definite documentations of the family in the late 13th and early 14th century to the extinction of its male line in the mid-16th century, became prominent in early modern era works and eventually reached a common surname status in historical discourse. The etymology of the surname is unclear; it may ultimately derive from the Indo-European word arya (noble), derivations of which can be found as placenames, demonyms or ethnonyms in many areas ranging from western Europe to Iran and northern India (cf. Areiane, the Greek name for eastern Iran) or the Albanian word arë (field).
If the placenames in Albania that are akin to arya are related to the Arianiti family and don't derive from the rule of the family over those areas, their presence as a clan could be traced back to the late 9th century in the theme of Dyrrhachium, however, its members until the late 13th century are disputed as the surname appears to have been adopted by unrelated to each other low-born individuals after they came to positions of power. One theory links the surname with the Illyrian tribe of the Arinistae/Armistae that lived around Dyrrhachium in the Hellenistic and Roman era.
A secondary surname used by the Arianiti family since the 14th century was Komneni surname, which derives from the Byzantine imperial house of Komnenos. The first of the family to bear was possibly married to a female descendant of Golem of Kruja and could be related to a Comneni Budaresci princeps, who lived around 1300 in central Albania, although any connection to any member can't be verified as all Arianitis used Komneni as a second surname by the mid to late 14th century as a means to strengthen their noble status and territorial claims.
The surname Shpata appears in Latin sources of the late 14th and early 15th century in reference to a Comin Spata, who could possibly be Komnen Arianiti, father of Gjergj Arianiti, who was also mentioned in contemporary documents as Aranit Spata. It is unclear whether the Arianitis adopted it through intermarriage with the Shpata family of central Albania or as a toponymic that derives from the region of Shpat, which they held in the Middle Ages. The intermarriage theory is more likely and the adoption of the surname must have happened in the 14th century.
Golemi was used as a byname by some members of the Arianiti family. It first appears in a 1452 document of the chancellery of Alfonso V of Aragon, where Gjergj Arianiti is mentioned as Aranit Colem de Albania, while Marin Barleti mentions him as Arianites Thopia Golemus. The word itself may come from the Slavic golem (grand) or as a distortion of the name Gulielm (the Albanian version of William). Attempts to relate it to Golem of Kruja or personalities named Gulielm Arianiti are resultless as no archival evidence exists.
David Arianites is generally considered to be the first member of the Arianiti clan that is attested in historical documents, although the connection to the late 13th century Arianiti family can't be verified due to lack of sources. As attested in the works of George Kedrenos, in the 1001–1018 period he served the Byzantine Emperor Basil II as strategos of Thessalonica, and later strategos of Skopje. David Arianites fought against the Bulgarians in Strumica, Skopje and the area of Skrapar. Constantine Arianites, a son or close relative, is also mentioned in the years 1049–1050 as being in the military service of the Byzantine Empire against the Pechenegs. Other members of the 11th and 12th centuries may include a Johannes Carianica mentioned by William of Tyre.
The first undisputed member of the family as sebastos is Alexius Arianiti mentioned in 1274 in an agreement between Charles I of Naples and some Albanian noblemen, who swore allegiance to the Kingdom of Albania. The Arianiti last name has also been mentioned in other 14th century documents: In 1304 two documents, one from Philip I, Prince of Taranto, and the other from Charles II of Naples between several names of Albanian noble families, to whom are recognized prior held privileges, include the name of the Arianiti family. In a 1319 letter, Pope John XXII sent to some Albanian nobles, the name of protolegator Gulielm Arianiti (Guillermo Aranite protholegaturo) is included. In the Epitaph of Gllavenica, embroidered in 1373, the name of George Arianiti, the embroiderer is documented.