The Arianiti were a noble Albanian family that ruled large parts of Albania and neighboring territories from the 11th to the 16th century.

[4][5][6] 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.

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.

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.

Attempts to relate it to Golem of Kruja or personalities named Gulielm Arianiti are resultless as no archival evidence exists.

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.

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.

In a 1319 letter, Pope John XXII sent to some Albanian nobles, the name of protolegator Gulielm Arianiti (Guillermo Aranite protholegaturo) is included.

The Arianiti family must have had the collaboration of the Pavle Kurtik, whose domain were in the provinces middle course of Shkumbin, and with župan Andrea Gropa, ruler of the city of Ochrid.

[3] The younger brother of Gjergj Arianiti, Vladan, married the daughter of Gjon Kastrioti, Angjelina, long before that Skanderbeg appeared on the top of the Albanian war against the Ottoman Empire.

Her death caused him to marry the Italian noblewoman Despina (or Petrina) Francone, daughter of the governor of Lecce in the Kingdom of Sicily.