Komnen Arianiti ( 1392–1407) was an Albanian nobleman of the

Arianiti family The Arianiti were a noble Albanian nobility, 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 reach ...

, who held an area in central Albania around

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

. His son Gjergj became a prominent leader of the Albanian-Ottoman wars.

Life

The Albanian Academy treats him as the same person as Comin Spata (), who was mentioned between 1392 and 1407. That name appears in the Venetian archives. Gjergj Arianiti was also mentioned in contemporary documents as Aranit Spata. It is unclear whether the Arianiti adopted the name through intermarriage with the

Spata family Spata () is a town east of downtown Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Spata-Artemida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit (officially named Spata-Loutsa) has an ar ...

of central Albania or as a toponymic derived 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. Unclear is also his relation to the

Komnenos The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. ...

dynasty; he may have descended from a paternal female ancestor who belonged to that imperial family and lived in the early-to-mid 13th century, or adopted the name as other Arianiti kinsmen had in order to strengthen his claims. His domains are mentioned in contemporary Venetian sources as areas located in the vicinity of Durazzo (Durrës) (''in partibus Durrachii'').

Family

According to

Franz Babinger Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – Durrës, 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published ...

and Lindsay L. Brook, Arianiti was certainly married to a daughter of Nicolò Sevati; while according to Dhimitër Shuteriqi, a daughter of Nikollë Zaharia. He had three sons who were named Gjergj, Muzakë (father of Moisi Golemi) and Vladan; and a daughter who was married to

Niketa Thopia Niketa Thopia (, ; 1388 – d. 1415), also known as Nikola was the Lord of Krujë between 1392—1394 and 1403–1415. He was a member of the Albanians, Albanian Thopia family and an illegitimate son of Karl Thopia, the Prince of Albania (r. 1368� ...

(according to Dhimitër Shuteriqi) or Pal Dukagjini (according to Skënder Anamali). *

Gjergj Arianiti Gjergj Arianiti (13??–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the uncle of Moisi Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ...

, Albanian lord *Muzakë Arianiti, father of Moisi Golemi. *Vladan Araniti (or Vladin Arianites), married Angelina Kastrioti. *Daughter, married

or Pal Dukagjini

References

;Notes ;Sources * 15th-century Albanian people Komnen 15th-century Venetian people Year of birth unknown 1407 deaths Albanian monarchs {{Albania-noble-stub