 "castra", "military camp" or "fortress").The Kastrioti, unlike the Thopia and the Arianiti, did not have a long history as nobility.The first nobleman mentioned in historical sources was either Pal Kastrioti (1394), the lord of Sinë and Lower Gardi ("Gardhi i Poshtëm"), or a kephale Kastrioti, who was the "kephale" of Kanina found in 1368 sources.