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TheSanni (Georgian:სანები) are mentioned byStrabo (1st century BC/1st century AD),Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) andArrian (2nd century AD) as a people settling nearTrebizond (in today'sTurkishBlack Sea Region).[1] In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, their territory extended to the north-east until the riverOphis, and covered both the littoral and the mountainous hinterland. Pliny grouped together the Sanni who lived in the region of Trebizond and theHeniochi as one single nation. He also mentions other Sanni, living further on theColchis littoral, past the mouth of theRioni.
According toTheodoret of Cyrrus (5th century AD), the Sanni andLazi were two different tribes. In the first centuries AD, Sanni people living in the region of Trebizond were paying tribute to theRoman 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, orÇoruh River).
There have been various interpretations of the ethnonym in Georgian literature; some scholars, such asSimon Kaukhchishvili, suggest that it is related to the name "chan" or its variants, long present in Greek mythological narratives about Colchis; others, among themArnold Chikobava, see it as derived from the name still given toMingrelian people in theSvan languageZan (see alsoZan language). In the opinion of S. Dzhanashia,San was indeed an endonym of ancientColchians, which later evolved into the formsZan in the north of Colchis (Mingrelia) andChan in the southern part (which would becomeLazistan). The formΤζάνοι (Chani) can be found in Byzantine authors such asProcopius, butSanni can be found as recently as the 12th century. Today,Chani is still used as an ethnonym for theLaz people.