Lorestan province

Lorestân, Lurestaan or Luristan, (Persian Lorestān; Lori Luressu) comprises a province and a historic territory of western Iran amidst the Zagros Mountains. The population of Lorestān was estimated at 1,716,527 people in 2006 .

Lorestân covers an area of 28,392 km². The major cities in this province are: Borujerd, Khorramabad, Aligoodarz, Dorood, Koohdasht, Azna, Alashtar, Noor Abad, and Pol-e-Dokhtar.

Geography and climate

A road in Lorestān, winter 2006.

The name Lorestān means "land of the Lurs", and in the wider sense consists of that part of western Iran coinciding with the province of Ilam and extending for about 400 miles on a northwest to southeast axis from Kermanshah to Fars, with a breadth of 100 to 140 miles. The terrain consists chiefly of mountains, with numerous ranges, part of the Zagros chain, running northwest to southeast. The central range has many summits which almost reach the line of perpetual snow, rising to 13,000 feet and more, and it feeds the headwaters of Iran's most important rivers, such as the Zayandeh rud, Jarahi, Karun, Dix, Abi, Karkheh. Between the higher ranges lie many fertile plains and low hilly, well-watered districts.

The highest point of the province is Oshtoran Kooh peak at 4,050 m. The low-lying areas being in the southern most sector of the province, are approximately 500 m above sea level.

The climate is generally sub-humid continental with winter precipitation, a lot of which falls as snow (Köppen Csa). Because it lies on the westernmost slopes of the Zagros Mountains, annual precipitation in Lorestān is among the highest anywhere in Iran south of the Alborz Mountains. At Khorramabad, the average annual precipitation totals 530 millimetres (21 inches) of rainfall equivalent, whilst up to 1270 millimetres (50 inches) may fall on the highest mountains. The months June to September are usually absolutely dry, but Khorramabad can expect 4 inches of rainfall equivalent in December and January.

Temperatures vary widely with the seasons and between day and night. At Khorramabad, summer temperatures typically range from a minimum of 12°C (54°F) to a hot maximum of 32°C (90°F). In winter, they range from a minimum of -2°C (28°F) to a chilly maximum of 8°C (46°F).

Administrative divisions

Lorestān has 10 counties (Shahrestans): Aligudarz County, Azna County, Borujerd County, Delfan County, Dorud County, Doureh County, Khorramabad County, Kuhdasht County, Selseleh County, and Poldokhtar County.

History

Imamzadeh Ja'far, built during the Ilkhanid period, in Borujerd. Has a peculiar style of architecture rarely seen in other provinces in Iran.

Lorestān is one of the oldest regions of Iran. In the third and fourth millennium B.C., migrant tribes settled down in the mountainous area of the Zagros Mountains. The Kassites, an ancient people who spoke neither an Indo-European nor a Semitic language, originated in Lorestān.

Lorestān was invaded and settled by the Iranian Medes in the second millennium B.C. The Medes absorbed the indigenous inhabitants of the region, primarily the Elamites and Kassites, by the time the area was conquered by the Persians in the first millennium B.C.

Lorestān was successfully integrated into the Achamenid, Parthian and Sassanian empires. Parts of Lorestān managed to stay independent during the Arab, Seljuk and Mongol invasions.

According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Lurs, previously open adherents of the Ahl-e-Haqq faith, revere bread and fire like the Zoroastrians. "Being split up into numerous tribes and sections, they migrate to their summer pastures as separate bands without overall command. In 1936, Reza Shah's army conquered them, with much bloodshed and starvation, forcing many of the survivors to settle in villages under landlords." [1].

People and culture

Main article: Lurs

Relief resembles a fish tailed woman holding snakes, (Elamite era)

Lurs, like most Iranians, are a mixture of indigenous inhabitants of the Zagros mountains-(Sumerians, Mesopotamians and Elamites) and Iranian-speaking peoples. Together with Afghans, they make up the eastern branch of the Iranian peoples and part of an Indo-Iranian linguistic group, spread across the Iranian plateau, stretching from the Hindu Kush to central Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf - a region that is sometimes termed Greater Iran. Their language (called Luri or Lurish language ) is closely related to Persian, and there are two distinct dialects of this language. "Lur-e-Bozourg" (Greater Lur), which is spoken by the Bakhtiaris, and "Lur-e-Kuchik" (Lesser Lur), spoken by the Lurs themselves. People in Borujerd speak in Borujerdi Dialect, a local Lori Persian dialect which is extracted from Luri. Northwest of Lorestan Province is dominated by Laki speakers. The overwhelming majority of Lurs are Shia Muslims. In Khuzestan, Lur tribes are primarily concentrated in the northern part of the province, while in Ilam they are mainly in the southern region.

Prior to the 20th century the majority of Lurs were nomadic herders, with an urban minority residing in the city of Khorramabad. There were several attempts by the Pahlavi governments to forcibly settle the nomadic segment of the Lur population. Under Reza Shah, these campaigns tended to be unsuccessful. The last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, used less forceful methods along with economic incentives, which met with greater, though not complete, success. By the mid-1980s the vast majority of Lurs had been settled in towns and villages throughout the province, or had migrated to the major urban centres.

A number of nomadic Lur tribes continue to exist in the province. Amongst the settled urban populace the authority of tribal elders still remains a strong influence, though not as dominant as it is amongst the nomads. As in Bakhtiari Lurs and Kurdish societies, Northern Lur women have had much greater freedoms than women in other Iranian groups.

Northern region

Golden masks. Excavated in Kalmakareh, Lorestān. First half of first millennium B.C. National Museum of Iran.

In the northern part of Lorestān, formerly known as Lesser Lorestān ("Lur-e-Kuchik"), live the Faylis, divided into the Pishkuh Lurs in the east and Pushtkuh Lurs in the adjoining Iraqi territory in the west.

Lesser Lorestān maintained its independence under a succession of princes of the Khorshidi dynasty, known as Atabegs, from A.D. 1155 to the beginning of the 17th century. Shah Abbas I then removed the last Atabeg, Shah Verdi Khan, and entrusted the government of the province to Hossein Khan Shamlu, the chief of the rival tribe of Shamlu , with the title of Vali in exchange for that of Atabeg. The descendants of Hossein Khan retained the title as governors of the Pushtkuh Lurs, to whom only the denomination of Feili now applies.

Southern region

The southern part of the province, formerly known as Greater Lorestān ("Lur-e-Bozourg"), comprises the Bakhtiari region of the province of Khuzestan and the districts of the Mamasenni and Kuhgilu Lurs which are located in Fars province. At one time, Greater Lorestān formed an independent state under the Fazlevieh Atabegs from A.D. 1160 until 1424. Its capital, Idaj, survives as mounds and ruins at Malamir, sixty miles southeast of the city of Shushtar in Khuzestan.

Famous people of Lorestān

The Khoram Abad people were the oldest people in the Luristan region.

Lur man in traditional clothing, 1921

• Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi: religious grand cleric.
• Prof. Shahin Shojai, Economist[2]
• Ayatollah Rouhollah Kamalvand: senior religious cleric.
• Colonel Hassan Reza Kalantari,(Bahrami chegini) one of the bravest army officer
• Abbas Hatami: Regional Leader
• Ali Akbar Shekarchi: kamancheh player.
• Shahmirza Moradi: Sorna player.
• Ali Reza Shojapour: Poet
• Nasrollah Kasraian: photographer.
• Ali Reza Hosseinkhani:Kamancheh player.
• Reza Saghaee: singer.
• Nasser Gholamrezai: filmmaker.
• Dr. Sekandar Amanollahi Baharvand: sociocultural author.
• Ali Mohammad Saki: sociocultural author.
• Esfandiar Ghazanfari Amraee: poet.
• Hamid Izadpanah: poet.
• Dr Abdolhosein Zarrinkoub: writer, historian, and critic
• Dr Sayyed Jafar Shahidi: writer, historian, and critic.
• Abdol Mohammad Ayati: poet.
• Mehrdad Avesta: poet.
• Mir Nowrooz Mirderikvand: poet (12th century).
• Ali Mirderikvand: author of No Haven For Gon Gadeen.
• Parviz Shahbazi: writer, filmmaker, director of Deep Breath (2003).
• Loris Tjeknavorian: Armenian-Iranian composer and conductor.
• Alireza Karami: poet
• Nosratollah Masoudi:poet,writer
• Mehdi Karroubi politician.
• General Saram Kogany from Leshgar 84 peyadeh Lorestan and Vereran of IRAN-IRAQ war

Famous Lak people of Lorestān

• Mola Hagh-Ali Siah Poosh: poet (1323 A.H.).
• Mola Parishan: poet (7th century A.H.).
• Khaan Almaas: poet (19th century).

Lorestān has 263 sites of historical and cultural significance according to Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.

Colleges and universities

1. Lorestān University of Medical Sciences
2. University of Lorestān
3. Islamic Azad University of Khorram Abad
4. Islamic Azad University of Aligudarz
5. Islamic Azad University of Borujerd
6. Islamic Azad University of Dorood
7. Payam Nour University of Poldokhtar
8. Payam Nour University of Alashtar
9. Payam Nour University of Borujerd
10. Al-ghadir Applicational Scientific Comprehensive University
11. Shahid Madani school of Khoramabad
12. Ma’soumeh School of Khoramabad
13. Gahar Lake Place of Dorood

See also

• Lorestān bronze
• Demographics of Iran
• Ethnic minorities in Iran
• Falak-ol-Aflak Castle
• Borujerd and Dorud Earthquake, March 31 2003
• Chehel Minbari

External links

Government

• Lorestān Province Cultural Heritage Organization
• Lorestān Governor's Office
• Agricultural Jihad Organization of Lorestān Province
• Lorestān Department of Education
• Lorestān Urban Utilities Company
• Lorestān Rural Utilities Company

Peoples and culture

• Lorestān.Org Information portal
• History of the Lur people
• Article about Lurs from the Encyclopedia of Islam
• Bakhtiari Tribe website
• Lorestān Music
• Zagros Online, a website from Borujerd

Current events

• News report concerning recent deadly earthquakes in Lorestān from Wikinews.

Arts and Culture

• A Lori folk-song sung by Shusha Guppy in 1970s: I Have Come to Ravish My Heart.

Other websites

• Lorestan Attractions

References

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)