Lazia (theme)
| Theme of Greater Lazia θέμα Μεγάλης Λαζίας |
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| Theme of the Empire of Trebizond | |||||
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| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||
| • | Established | Enter start date | |||
| • | Disestablished | ca. 1297 | |||
| Today part of |
 Turkey
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The Theme of Lazia or Greater Lazia (Greek: θέμα Μεγάλης Λαζίας; Laz: ლაზონა lazona) was the easternmost subdivision of the medieval Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461) located in mountainous interior of the eastern Black Sea, northeast Anatolia (modern Turkey). Its name was derived from native Lazs, who were natives of this area.
The Laz are ethnically a branch of the Georgian people. The ancestors of the Laz (including the Chaldaeans, the Tzans, and many others) are cited by many classical authors from Scylax (sixth century BC) to Procopius and Agathias (both sixth century AD), but the Laz themselves are cited by Pliny as early as the first century AD. It seems that the Colchians of Pontus, or the Chani (by the Greek transcription "Tzanoi") were called the "Lazi" at the time when the great Caucasian state of Lazians existed on the traditional territory of Colchis, in the Rioni (or Phasis) valley basin. The Pontic Lazi (Chani/Tzanoi), which later were incorporated within the Byzantine Empire, and differed from the Colchian Lazi, have retained the old name "Lazi" till today.
What is now Lazistan was, at least nominally, included in the Roman province of Polemonian Pontus. By the early fifth century AD, as the Roman hold on the eastern Black Sea coast weakened, the coastal tribes seem to have been united by the Laz, who seized control of Colchis. The former Kingdom of Colchis was reorganized by the Romans into the Province of Lazicum ruled by Roman legati. In the early 3rd century, newly established Roman Lazicum was given a certain degree of autonomy. which by the end of the century developed into full independent Kingdom of Lazica on the basis of smaller principalities of Suans, Apsilae and Sanigs. Lazica survived more than 250 years until in 562 AD it was formed as client state by the Byzantine Empire (378-457), later of the Persian Empire (457-522). During Byzantine times, the word Colchi gave way to the term Lazica.
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