The Orsini were a Roman noble family who had their roots in 11th century Rome. Little is known of them before 1110 AD, but what is certain is that by the 13th and 14th centuries they were a key political player in the cutthroat world of communal and ecclesiastical politics in Rome, and several members of the Orsini family even became pontiffs, holding sway over the souls of almost all Christendom during their tenure. Not all Orsini, however, were men of the cloth - some, such as Matteo Rosso the Great or Niccolò di Pitigliano distinguished themselves as proficient military men. Other members of House Orsini were also dispersed throughout Southern Italy and even exerted influence in the Iberian-dominated Kingdom of Naples.