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The Mataranga family (also known as Matranga, Matrënga, Matarango, was an Albanian noble family during 13th and 14th centuries. Members of this family include local rulers, Byzantine officials and writers. After the occupation of Albania by the Ottoman Empire, part of the family emigrated to Italy and settled in the Arbëresh villages of Southern Italy, where they have continued to preserve the Albanian language.

Origin

Before 1284, the Mataranga family was either a vassal of Charles of Anjou, in the period when he created Kingdom of Albania, or his nephew Philip of Taranto. They are first documented in 1297 in a Ragusian document. Members of the Mataranga family were attacking Ragusian merchants in the region of Karavasta Lagoon. Rulers of the territory between the cities of Durrës and Vlorë, they are described as subjects to the Byzantine Emperor at the time. The Mataranga family might have become vassal of the Byzantine Emperor in the period between 1284 and 1288, when the region, which was part of the Kingdom of Albania, was captured by the Byzantine Empire. However they eventually threw off their allegiance with Byzantines and eagerly accepted the Angevin overlordship again in 1304, when Philip of Taranto recaptured Durrës with the help of local Albanian noblemen.

During this period members of the family were also active in Byzantine administration. A person named Mataringides, which had a part in a plot against Andronikos II Palaiologos, is mentioned as a student of Manuel Moschopoulos and led to his imprisonment for Manuel has taken a pledge for his student. Another member of the family, Nicholas Matarangos, became one of the four general judges, member of the highest imperial court and had a prominent role in the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347.

Independent lordship

After the oath of allegiance to Philip of Taranto, the Matarangas continued to maintain close ties with the Angevin family. The advancing Kingdom of Serbia was a source of continuous preoccupation. A certain Paul Mataranga is mentioned in 1319, together with other Albanian lords, in a coalition with Philip of Taranto against Stephen Milutin. However their territories were eventually included in the Serbian Empire within 1346. After the death of Stefan Dušan, a member of the family, Vlash Mataranga, became an independent ruler in the territory between Shkumbin and Seman.

References

1. Studime gjuhësore: Gjon Buzuku dhe gjuha e tij Biblioteka Linguistikë Volume 6 of Studime gjuhësore, Eqrem Çabej Author Eqrem Çabej Publisher Rilindja, 1977 p. 109
2. The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Tsar Stephen Dušan (1331-1355) and his successors Author George Christos Soulis Edition illustrated Publisher Dumbarton Oaks Library and Collection, 1984 ISBN 0-88402-137-8, ISBN 978-0-88402-137-7 p. 143
3. Imperial ideology and political thought in Byzantium (1204-1330) Author Dimiter Angelov Edition illustrated Publisher Cambridge University Press, 2007 ISBN 0-521-85703-1, ISBN 978-0-521-85703-1 p. 319
4. La façade maritime de l'Albanie au Moyen âge Author Alain Ducellier Publisher Ed. de l&Ècole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 1981 p.347
5. Imperial ideology and political thought in Byzantium (1204-1330) Author Dimiter Angelov Edition illustrated Publisher Cambridge University Press, 2007 ISBN 0-521-85703-1, ISBN 978-0-521-85703-1 p. 319
6. Imperial ideology and political thought in Byzantium (1204-1330) Author Dimiter Angelov Edition illustrated Publisher Cambridge University Press, 2007 ISBN 0-521-85703-1, ISBN 978-0-521-85703-1 p. 314-316
7. Society and intellectual life in late Byzantium Author Ihor Ševčenko Edition illustrated Publisher Variorum Reprints, 1981 ISBN 0-86078-083-X, 9780860780830 p. 275-276
8. Imperial ideology and political thought in Byzantium (1204-1330) Author Dimiter Angelov Edition illustrated Publisher Cambridge University Press, 2007 ISBN 0-521-85703-1, ISBN 978-0-521-85703-1 p. 319
9. La façade maritime de l'Albanie au Moyen âge Author Alain Ducellier Publisher Ed. de l&Ècole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 1981 p.347

• Albanian noble families
• Medieval Albania
• 13th-century Albanian people
• 14th-century Albanian people
• 13th century in Albania
• 14th century in Albania