Arbanon

Arbanon, also known in Latin and Byzantine sources as Arbanon or Arbëria, was a medieval political entity in the central part of present-day Albania that existed from the late 12th or early 13th century into the 14th century. It formed around the fortress of Krujë and the surrounding highland districts, emerging as one of the earliest organized Albanian feudal lordships within or on the margins of the Byzantine regional sphere.

The polity is linked to the Progon dynasty, a local noble family whose rulers held the leadership of Arbanon and maintained a degree of autonomous governance while navigating relations with larger powers of the region. The capital was Krujë, which later gained greater prominence in Albanian history. Arbanon operated within a complex patchwork of Balkan polities, including Byzantine authorities and neighboring states such as Epirus and, later, influences linked to the Angevins’ Kingdom of Albania. The exact boundaries, internal structure, and chronology are the subject of scholarly debate due to limited contemporary sources.

Scholars often emphasize Arbanon as one of the first recognizable Albanian political formations and as a source for the ethnonym Arbër/Arbëria, which underpins later Albanian identity. By the mid-14th century, the political authority of Arbanon had waned, with its territory absorbed into larger neighboring polities and the region gradually coalescing into the medieval Albanian principalities that followed. The period remains important for understanding the origins of Albanian governance and regional identity.