Lazistan

Lazistan (Laz: ლაზონა, romanized: Lazona; Georgian: ლაზეთი, or ჭანეთი Ç'aneti; Ottoman Turkish: لازستان, romanized: Lazistān) is a historical and cultural region of the Caucasus and Anatolia, the term was primarily used during Ottoman rule in the region. Traditionally inhabited by the Laz people and located mostly in Turkey, with small parts in Georgia, its area is about 7,000 km² (2,703 sq mi) with a modern-day population of around 500,000 (including groups outside of the Laz peoples).

Lazistan Lazona
Historical region
Historical Lazistan
Coordinates: 40°55′54″N 40°50′52″E
Country	Georgia  Turkey
Largest city	Rize
Lazistan is not an official subdivision of either Georgia or Turkey; it constitutes a historical region only.

Laz people
Place of distribution Lazistan Georgia Turkey Germany
Religion Sunni Islam Christianity Eparchy of Batumi and Lazeti The Seven Brothers of Lazia Laz Martyrs Churches: Jibistasi, Noghedi, Pironity
Culture Laz language Laz grammar Barchkhali Dance Cuisine Agani Murutsxi (Newspaper)
History Colchian culture ancient Colchian tribes Colchis Satrapy of Persia Greek colonisation Pontus Roman rule Kingdom of Lazica Christianization Byzantine rule Trebizond Empire Kingdom of Imereti Ottoman rule Hellenization Laz rebellion (1832–1834)
Related peoples Mingrelians Svans other groups of Georgians

Geographically, Lazistan consists of a series of narrow, rugged valleys extending northward from the crest of the Pontic Alps (Turkish: Kuzey Anadolu Dağları, Pontik Alpleri), which separate it from the Çoruh Valley, and stretches east–west along the southern shore of the Black Sea. The term “Lazistan” has no longer been in use in Turkey or Georgia since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.[1]