The Laz (Lazi (ლაზი) or Lazepe (ლაზეფე) in Laz; Lazi (ლაზი) or Č'ani (ჭანი) in Georgian or Lazlar in Turkish) are an ethnic group native to the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia, being a people of South Caucasian stock (Iberian, "Georgian").It is fascinating to think that Medea from the tale of Jason and the Argonauts was in reality a Laz princess and that her language is still spoken in the land of her birth. The laz language is the only pre-Hellenic tongue of Asia Minor surviving today.One of the chief tribes of ancient kingdom of Colchis, the Laz were initially early adopters of Christianity, and most of them subsequently converted to Sunni Islam during Ottoman rule of Caucasus in the 16th century.
The Laz of Turkey form two principal groups. One of these is indigenous to the eastern Black Sea province formerly known as Lazistan (modern Rize and Artvin provinces). The other group fled the Russian expansion later in the 19th century and settled in Adapazarı, Sapanca, Yalova and Bursa, in western and eastern parts of the Black Sea and Marmara regions, respectively. The Laz speak the Laz language, related to Georgian, Svan and Mingrelian (Kartvelian languages). Laz identity in Georgia has largely merged with a Georgian identity and the meaning of "Laz" is seen as merely a regional category, and are mainly concentrated in Ajaria.
According to Pontic Greek scholar Dimosthenes Oikonomides, the Laz people are related to and originate from the region of the Caucasus. This is evident by their general appearance but also to their language (Lazuri), which is related to the language of Georgia. Both the Laz, and for that matter the Georgian languages, are related to the Iberian family of languages.
Laz were converted to Christianity while living under the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Georgia. During the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the vast majority of Laz became Sunni Muslims, and were ruled as part of the Lazistan sanjak. There is also a very small number of Christian Laz in Georgia who were converted to Christianity from Islam.
