The Sanni ( ka, სანები) are mentioned by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
(1st century BC/1st century AD),
Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) and
Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period.
''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
(2nd century AD) as a people settling near
Trebizond (in today's
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region ( tr, Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Samsun. Other big cities are Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Giresun, Rize, Amasya and Sinop.
It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the ...
).
In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, their territory extended to the north-east until the river
Ophis, and covered both the littoral and the mountainous hinterland. Pliny grouped together the Sanni who lived in the region of Trebizond and the
Heniochi
The Heniochi ( ka, ჰენიოხები, gr, Ἡνίοχοι, ''Heníochoi'' "charioteers") were an ancient tribe inhabiting northwest shores of Colchis (present-day Abkhazia, northwestern Georgia) and some say Phasis area. Their country ...
as one single nation.
He also mentions other Sanni, living further on the
Colchis littoral, past the mouth of the
Rioni.
According to
Theodoret of Cyrrus (5th century AD), the Sanni and
Lazi were two different tribes. In the first centuries AD, Sanni people living in the region of Trebizond were paying tribute to the
Roman Empire. However, they tried to avoid heavy direct taxation and later left the coastal areas for the mountains. In the 6th century, Procopius still mentions them as living near the source of the Boasi (today the Chorokhi, or
Çoruh River).
There have been various interpretations of the ethnonym in Georgian literature;
some scholars, such as
Simon Kaukhchishvili, suggest that it is related to the name "chan" or its variants, long present in Greek mythological narratives about Colchis; others, among them
Arnold Chikobava, see it as derived from the name still given to
Mingrelian people in the
Svan language ''Zan'' (see also
Zan language).
In the opinion of S. Dzhanashia, ''San'' was indeed an endonym of ancient
Colchians
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...
, which later evolved into the forms ''Zan'' in the north of Colchis (
Mingrelia
Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelian ...
) and ''Chan'' in the southern part (which would become
Lazistan).
The form ''Τζάνοι'' (''Chani'') can be found in Byzantine authors such as
Procopius, but ''Sanni'' can be found as recently as the 12th century.
Today, ''Chani'' is still used as an ethnonym for the
Laz people.
References
*გეორგიკა. ბიზანტიელი მწერლების ცნობები საქართველოს შესახებ, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 3, თბ., 1965
*''მიქელაძე თ.,'' ძიებანი კოლხეთისა და სამხრეთ-აღმოსავლეთი შავიზღვისპირეთის უძველესი მოსახლეობის ისტორიიდან (ძვ. წ. II-I ატასწლეულები), თბ., 1974;
*''ჯანაშია ს.,'' თუბალ-თაბალი, ტიბარენი, იბერი, შრომები, ტ. 3, თბ., 1959.
{{Ancient Georgians
Ethnic groups in Georgia (country)
Ancient peoples of Georgia (country)
Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography