In the narrow sense of the term Tsanareti (reduced later simply to
Khevi) was applied by the medieval Georgian annals to the area around the
Darial Pass, inhabited by the
Tsanars. This warlike tribe was already known as the Sanars to
Ptolemy. According to the 8th century
Arab historian
Masudi, the Tsanars, though
Christians, "claim to be descended from the Arabs, namely from Nizār b. Maʿadd b. Muḍar, and a branch (
fakhdh) of ʿUqayl, settled there since olden times". Although this claim is completely rejected by modern scholars, the origins of the Tsanars are still uncertain today. The tribe is sometimes claimed to be an offshoot of
Sarmatians.
Vladimir Minorsky believes, however, that they were
Nakh-speakers. Georgian historians
Sargis Kakabadze,
Mariam Lortkipanidze and others connect them with the
Svans or with Georgians in general. Whatever their origin, the Tsanars seem to have adopted, over the centuries, many features of Georgian culture, including language and
religion, being subsequently completely commingled with the
Georgian people to form one of its ethnographic groups
Mokheves. In struggle against the
Arab occupation Tsanars staged a powerful uprising in the 770s and, according to
Ya'qubi, requested help from the
Byzantines,
Khazars and the
as-Saqāliba. The rebellious tribe soon became a dominant force in the historical
Kakheti region and played a crucial role, circa 787, in the formation of the principality of
Kakheti ruled by a prince with the title of
Chorepiscopus. For all practical purposes, the contemporary Arab sources used the word Sanãryia to designate the principality in general. However, the Tsanars seem to have been significantly weakened by the early 9th century, enabling their rival clan of the
Gardabanians to install their chief
Vache as a Chorepiscopus of Kakheti in the 830s. By the end of the 10th century, Tsanareti fell under the kingdom of
Hereti, whose king
John Senekerim adopted the title of "
King of the Tsanars". ==See also==