The House of Sapieha ([saˈpʲjɛxa]; Belarusian: Сапега, romanized: Sapieha; Russian: Сапега, romanized: Sapega; Lithuanian: Sapiega) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,[1][2][3] descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk.
The first confirmed records of the Sapieha family date back to the 15th century, when Semen Sopiha (Belarusian: Сямён Сапега) was mentioned as a writer (scribe) of the then King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Casimir IV Jagiellon (Polish: Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk) for the period of 1441–49.
Possibly, the family of Semen Sopiha owned the village of Sopieszyno near Gdansk, which they left because of the Teutonic invasion.
The princely title of the Sapieha-Kodenski branch was recognized in Poland in 1572 and in Austria-Hungary in 1845, while that of the Sapieha-Rozanski line was officially acknowledged in Russia in 1880.
That year, the family lost its dominant position in the Grand Duchy as a result of its defeat in the Lithuanian Civil War.