Sapieha (Belarusian: Сапега; Lithuanian Sapiega) is a Polish princely (magnate) family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin, descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk. The family acquired great influence and wealth in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 16th century.
Regarding the ancestry of the Sapieha family, the first confirmed records 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. Semen had two sons, Bohdan and Iwan.
The creator of the fortune and power of the Sapieha family was the Court and Great Chancellor and Great Hetman of Lithuania, Lew Sapieha.
On 14 September 1700, Michał Franciszek Sapieha obtained the title of Prince from Emperor Leopold I. The title became extinct upon his death on 19 November 1700. That year, the family lost its dominant position in the Grand Duchy as a result of its defeat in the Lithuanian Civil War. In 1768, members of the Sapieha family obtained recognition of the princely title from the Polish Sejm. After the partitions of Poland, the family appeared in the list of persons authorised to bear the title of Prince of the Kingdom of Poland in 1824. The title was recognised in Austria in 1836 and 1840, and in Russia in 1874 and 1901. In 1905, the family obtained the qualification of Serene Highness in Austria.
The maternal grandmother of Queen Mathilde of Belgium was a member of the house of Sapieha.
The Sapieha family used the Polish coat of arms named "Lis".
Andrzej Sapieha (1539–1621), Great Royal Deputy Cup-bearer of Lithuania, castellan of Minsk, and Voivode of Polotsk and Smolensk
Lew Sapieha (1557–1633), Court Chancellor and Great Hetman of Lithuania
Paweł Stefan Sapieha (1565–1635), Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania
Jan Piotr Sapieha (1569–1611), Polish royal officer
Mikołaj Sapieha (1581–1644), voivode of Minsk and of Brześć Litewski, castellan of Vilnius
Mikołaj Sapieha (1588–1638), voivode of Minsk and of Nowogródek
Jan Stanisław Sapieha (1589–1635), Court Marshal of Lithuania, Great Lithuanian Marshal
Tomasz Sapieha (1598–1646), voivode of Wenden and of Nowogródek
Fryderyk Sapieha (1599–1650), voivode of Mścisław, podkomorzy of Vitebsk
Kazimierz Lew Sapieha (1607–1656), Marshal of the Crown, son of Lew Sapieha
Paweł Jan Sapieha (1609–1665), voivode of the Witebsk and Vilnius, Great Hetman of Lithuania
Mikołaj Krzysztof Sapieha (1613–1639), voivode of Minsk
Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger, (ca. 1642–1720), Field Hetman
Michał Franciszek Sapieha (1670–1700), General, Koniuszy
Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Elder (?–1730), Grand Hetman of Lithuania
Jan Fryderyk Sapieha (1680–1751), Grand Recorder of Lithuania
Teresa Sapieha (died c.1784), wife of Hieronim Florian Radziwiłł and Joachim Karol Potocki
Aleksander Michał Sapieha (1730–1793), voivode of Płock, Field Lithuanian Hetman, Grand Lithuanian Chancellor, marshal of the Lithuanian Tribunal
Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha (1757–1798), political activist, general
Franciszek Sapieha (1772–1829), general, he participated in the Kosciuszko uprising
Eustachy Kajetan Sapieha (1797–1860), he participated in the November uprising, politically tied with the "Hôtel Lambert"
Anna Zofia Sapieha (1799–1864), wife of Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Leon Sapieha (1803–1878), political and economic activist
Władysław Leon Sapieha (1853–1920), landowner, social activist
Paweł Sapieha (1860–1934), traveler, first chairman of the Polish Red Cross
Adam Stefan Sapieha (1867–1951), cardinal, archbishop of Kraków
Eustachy Sapieha (1881–1963), politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
Leon Aleksander Sapieha (1883–1944), landlord, member of the Sejm, member of Związek Walki Zbrojnej and the Armia Krajowa
Józef Sapieha, he participated in the Polish–Soviet War
Aleksander Sapieha (1888–1976), aviator
Adam Zygmunt Sapieha (1892–1970), cavalryman, aviator
Andrzej Józef Sapieha (1894–1945), he participated in the Polish–Soviet War, member of the Armia Krajowa
Stanisław Sapieha (1896–1919), defender of Lwów
Paweł Maria Sapieha (1900–1987), he participated in the Polish–Soviet War
Jan Andrzej Sapieha (1910–1989), he participated in the Defence War of 1939
Maria Sapieha (1910–2009), social activist
Lew Jerzy Sapieha (1913–1990), poet, writer
Leon Roman Sapieha (1915–1940), pilot of the Polish Air Forces in Great Britain in World War II
Eustachy Seweryn Sapieha (1916–2004), hunter, historian of the Sapieha family
Zofia Maria Sapieha (1919–1997), grandmother of HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Karol Władysław Sapieha (1920–1941), pilot of the Polish Air Forces in Great Britain in World War II
Róża Maria Sapieha (1921–1944), member of the Armia Krajowa, she participated in the Warsaw uprising of 1944
Paola Maria de Bourbon-Orléans Braganza and Sapieha (1983), Princess Sapieha-Rozanski and Princess Swiatopolk-Czetwertynski
Jan Pavel Sapieha-Rozanski (1935) Prince Sapieha-Rozanski
