The Svans are usually identified with the "Soanes" mentioned by Greek geographer Strabo, who placed them more or less in the area still occupied by the modern-day Svans. The province had been a dependency of Colchis, and of its successor kingdom of Lazica (Egrisi) until AD 552, when the Svans took advantage of the Lazic War, repudiated this connection and went over to the Persians. "The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity" notes that "this seems to have reflected a general Suanian preference for alliance to Persia, set against a Lazican preference for Roman alliance, which was to remain a point of tension until the Arab conquests". The Byzantines wanted the region, for if they secured its passes, they could prevent Persian raids on the border areas of Lazica. With the end of the war (562), Svanetia again became part of Lazica. Then, the province joined the Kingdom of Abkhazia (John and Adarnase of the Shavliani dynasty, 871–893) to form a unified monarchy which was incorporated into the Kingdom of Georgia in the early 11th century. Svanetia became a duchy ("saeristavo") within it, governed by a duke ("eristavi"). The province’s Orthodox culture flourished particularly during the Georgian “golden age” under Queen Tamar (r. 1184-1213), who was respected almost as goddess by the Svanetians. The legend has it that the duchy was annually visited by Tamar. The Svans had been known as fierce warriors for centuries. Their inflatable war banner was named "Lemi" (Lion) because of its shape.