User:Antidiskriminator/Drafts of articles/Matja (region)

The Lordship of Mati (or Matja or Mat) was hereditary and tribal principality at the territory of north-central Albania. It is named after the Mat River.

In his study about ethnogenesis of the Albanians, Georg Stadtmüller, German historian and Albanologist traced the origin of Albanians back to the region of Matja. He emphasized that Matja region is, besided high mountains in northern Albania, is the only region where Latin language place names do not exist.

Lords
At the beginning of the 15th century the Lord of Matja was Gjon Kastrioti, a father of Skanderbeg. When Skanderbeg began his rebellion against the Ottomans he also captured Mat which, together with some other territories like Kruja, Dibra, etc.., belonged to Skanderbeg's realm. A synod of Catholic archdiocese was held in Matja in 1462 by Pal Egnelli known for his baptismal formula.