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Lurs

Dasmâl-bâzi dance, Mamasani, Iran
Total population
5,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Iran	4–5 million Approximately 6% of Iran's population
Languages
Luri and Persian
Religion
Mainly Shia Islam; minority Sunni Islam and Yarsanism
Related ethnic groups
Other Iranian peoples

The Lurs, Lors or Luris (Persian: لر) are an Iranian people living in western and southern Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language.

Lorestan province is named after the Lurs, but some Lurs live in other provinces including Fars, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Khuzestan, Hamadan, Isfahan, Tehran southern Ilam province, and Genaveh county in Bushehr province.

Origin

There are several disputes over the origin of the Lurs and they are believed to be from the Elamite and Kassite origin or a Median or Persian tribe of Aryan origin.

Name

The first sighting of the word Lur is in the writings of some historians and geographers of the 10th century and later in the form of اللور, اللر and لور (Lur). Hamdallah Mustawfi in Tarikh-e gozida (1330 AD) referred to the settlement of Luri tribes in Levant and then their mass migration towards the current Luri-inhabited areas. There are several hypotheses that discuss the origin of the name Lur or Lor, prominent amongst them is its attribution to a person called Lur or Lohraseb and some believe that the name refers to the area of first settlement of this ethnic group. The word Ler or Lir (literally forest or forest mountain) is a probable source for this word.

History

Lurs are a mixture of aboriginal Iranian tribes, originating from Central Asia and the pre-Iranic tribes of western Iran, such as the Kassites (whose homeland appears to have been in what is now Lorestan) and Gutians. In accordance with geographical and archaeological matching, some historians argue that the Elamites were the Proto-Lurs, whose language became Iranian only in the Middle Ages. The distinctive characteristics of the Lur dialects imply that they were Iranized by Persis rather than Media.

The history of the Lurs is closely linked with the dynasties that ruled in Khuzestan, Shiraz, Isfahan, Hamadan and in the Zagros Mountains. The Buyid dynasty is known to have produced coins at Izeh. In 935, they marched their forces through Lorestan. The Karkheh River was later controlled by the Hasanwayhid dynasty, who used Sarmadj as their capital. In c. 1009, they conquered Shapur-Khwast (Khorramabad). In 1042, the Seljuk Empire besieged Shapur-Khwast, then ruled by the Kakuyid dynasty. Between 1152 and 1174/75, Lorestan and some of Khuzestan was controlled by a Turkic lord named Husam al-Din Shuhla. The tribal structure of the Lurs, whose development culminated with the arrival of the Atabegs, was unaffected by any outside attempts to conquer Lorestan or seize portions of its land.

The new Iranian monarch Reza Shah (r. 1925–1941) brought the Bakhtiari lands into the normal system of Iranian government, which included forcibly making semi-nomadic tribesmen settle. The semi-nomadic way of life that many Bakhtiaris and Lurs were familiar with, however, returned as a result of Reza Shah's toppling in 1941 and the period of less effective rule during the early years of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign. In 1986, at the time of the publication of Vladimir Minorsky's entry on the Lurs in the 2nd edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, a sizeable portion of the Lurs and Bakhtiaris were still living that way of life.

Elam

The first people who ruled areas of Luristan were Elamites. The extent of the influence of the Elamites has been to the present Mamassani area. They were indigenous peoples of Iran, but there is no proper knowledge of how communities are formed and the beginning of their history. They were able to establish a state before the arrival of Aryan ethnic groups in parts of western Iran. The Elam government included Khuzestan, modern Luristan, Poshtkuh (Ilam province and some western Iraqi areas), Bakhtiari mountains and Southern Luri settlement. Babylonians called the land of Elamites Elam or Elamto, meaning "the mountain" and perhaps "the land of sunrise". Elamite is generally accepted to be a language isolate and thus unrelated to the much later-arriving Persian and Iranic languages. In relation to geographical and archaeological matching, historians argue that the Elamites to be the Proto-Lurs, whose language became Iranian only in the Middle Ages.

Achaemenids to Sassanids

During the rule of Achaemenid, Luristan was part of the rule of the Kassites and when the Achaemenids moved from Babylon to Hamadan, they had to cross the Luristan area and pay ransom to the Kassites. Pahle was the name of a vast land in west of Iran which was included many cities and areas in the current Zagros. The province of Pahla was named after the Sasanian times and the word Pahlavi refers to the people, the language, and the alphabet related to this region. At the time of the Achaemenids, the current Luristan, along with Ilam and Khuzestan, were the third state of this great empire. During the Parthian period, this land was one of the Satraps (states) of this dynasty and finally, during the Sassanid period, the area was named "Pahla".

Luristan

The word Luristan or Lorestan, is attributed to the areas inhabited by the Lurs. The boundaries of Luristan stretch from the eastern Iraqi plains to the west and southwest of Iran. Today, Lorestan is the name of one of the western provinces of Iran.

Branches

There are several established branches of the Luri language.

• Bakhtiari
• Southern Lori
  • Boyerahmadi (Yasuji)
  • Kohgiluyei
  • Mamasani
• Luristani (Northern Lori)
  • Khorramabadi
  • Borujerdi
  • Bala Gariva Lori
  • Hinimini
  • Shuhani
• Feyli Lurs
• Hadavand
• Mamasani
• Hayat-Dawudi

Culture

The authority of tribal elders remains a strong influence among the nomadic population. It is not as dominant among the settled urban population. As among Kurds, Lur women have much greater freedom than women in other groups within the region. The women have more freedom to participate in different social activities, to wear diverse types of female clothing and to sing and dance in different ceremonies. Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari is a notable Luri woman. Luri music, Luri clothing and Luri folk dances are some of the most distinctive ethno-cultural characteristics of this ethnic group.

Many Lurs are small-scale agriculturists and shepherds. A few Lurs are also traveling musicians. Luri textiles and weaving skills are highly esteemed for their workmanship and beauty.

Religion and language

Religion

Most Lurs are Shia Muslim. Historically, many Lurs adhered to Yarsanism but almost the whole Yarsani Luri population has converted to Shia Islam. A small Sunni Muslim community of Lurs also exists. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Lurs revere bread and fire like the Zoroastrians. Recent reports also indicate a growing Zoroastrian religious movement, particularly among Bakhtiari Lurs.

Language

Luri is a Western Iranian language continuum spoken by about four million people. The continuum constitutes the three dialects of Bakhtiari, Luristani and Southern Luri which linguist Anonby situates between Kurdish and Persian.

Genetics

Considering their NRY variation, the Lurs are distinguished from other Iranian groups by their relatively elevated frequency of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b (specifically, of subclade R1b1a2a-L23). Together with its other clades, the R1 group comprises the single most common haplogroup among the Lurs. Haplogroup J2a (subclades J2a3a-M47, J2a3b-M67, J2a3h-M530, more specifically) is the second most commonly occurring patrilineage in the Lurs and is associated with the diffusion of agriculturalists from the Neolithic Near East c. 8000-4000 BCE. Another haplogroup reaching a frequency above 10% is that of G2a, with subclade G2a3b accounting for most of this. Also significant is haplogroup E1b1b1a1b, for which the Lurs display the highest frequency in Iran. Lineages Q1b1 and Q1a3 present at 6%, and T at 4%.

Diaspora

Lurs's diaspora is widespread from western Iran and Iraq to Kuwait and Bahrain. A significant population of the Lurs is found in eastern and central parts of Iraq. They also have a notable Lur population in Bahrain, and Kuwait, carrying the "Bushehri" surname, among others, such as the "Safar" family, who are claimed to be Bakhtiari Lurs.

Notable Lurs

• Qasem Soleimani, was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
• Ahmed Lur, He was one of the disciples of Fazlallah Na'imi, the founder of the Hurufism sect.
• Qadam Kheyr, was a notable Luri woman of the late Qajar period.
• Shahmirza Moradi, was an Iranian Lur especially versed in playing sorna.
• Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari, was a revolutionary and activist of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.

See also

• Southern Lurs
• Luri clothing
• Luri dances
• Luri music
• Layli (Luri doll)

Further reading

• Field, Henry (1938). Contribution to the Anthropology of Iran (PDF).

References

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External links

• Amanolahi, Sekandar (2002). "Reza Shah and the Lurs: the Impact of the Modern State on Luristan". Iran and the Caucasus. 6 (1): 193–218. doi:10.1163/157338402X00124.
• Minorsky, V. (1986). "Lur". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
• ""Luri" Carpet weaving style incorporating design themes of ancient Persia". JOZAN. Retrieved 2015-09-21.

• Ethnic groups in Iran
• Indigenous peoples of West Asia
• Iranian ethnic groups
• Lorestan province
• Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province
• Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province
• Lur people
• Khuzestan province
• Ilam province
• Fars province
• Hamadan province
• Tehran province
• Isfahan province
• Ethnic groups in the Middle East