Lorestan Land of the Lors

Land of the Lors

Located in western Iran amidst the Zagros mountain-ranges, Lorestan province’s capital city is Khorramabad. It covers an area of 28,392 square kilometer and has nine counties, namely Aligoudarz, Azna, Boroujerd, Delfan, Doroud, Khorramabad, Kouhdasht, Selseleh and Poldokhtar.
Location and Weather
Lorestan, which means “Land of the Lors“, is bounded by Ilam to its West and extends for about 400 miles on a northwest to southeast axis from Kermanshah to Fars, Iranvisitor said.
The terrain consists chiefly of mountains, with numerous ranges, part of the Zagros chain, running northwest to southeast. The central range has many summits that are perpetually covered with snow, rising to 13,000 feet and feeding Iran ’s most important rivers such as Zayandeh Roud, Jarahi, Karoun, Dix, Abi and Karkheh . Between the higher ranges lie fertile plains and low hilly, well-watered districts.
The highest point of the province is Oshtoran Kouh peak at 4,050 m. The low-lying areas in the southernmost sector of the province are approximately 500 meters above sea-level.
The climate is generally sub-humid continental with winter precipitation, a lot of which falls as snow. Because it lies on the westernmost slopes of the Zagros range, annual precipitation in Lorestan is among the highest anywhere in Iran south of the Alborz Mountains .
At Khorramabad, the average annual precipitation totals 530 millimeters (21 inches) of rainfall while up to 1,270 millimeters (50 inches) may fall on the highest mountains. June to September are usually dry, but Khorramabad can expect 4 inches of rainfall 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 maximum of 32¡C (90¡F). In winter, they range from a minimum of -2¡C (28¡F) to a maximum of 8¡C (46¡F).

History
Lorestan is one of the oldest regions of Iran . In the third and fourth millennium BC, migrant tribes settled down in the mountainous area of the Zagros range. The Kassites, an ancient people who spoke neither an Indo-European nor a Semitic language, originated in Lorestan.
The region was invaded and settled by the Iranian Medes in the second millennium BC. The Medes absorbed the indigenous inhabitants of the region, primarily the Elamites and Kassites.
Lorestan was successfully integrated into the Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanian empires. Parts of Lorestan managed to stay independent during the Arab and Mongol invasions.
According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Lors, previously open adherents of the Ahl-e-Haq faith, revere bread and fire like the Zoroastrians. It says: “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.“
Lors were amongst the original Qazalbash that aided in the founding and administration of the Safavid dynasty.

People and Culture
Lors, like most Iranians, are a mixture of indigenous inhabitants of the Zagros- and Iranian-speaking tribes migrating from Central Asia . As stated above, their language (called Lori) is closely related to Persian, and there are two distinct dialects of this language. “Lor-e-Bozourg“ (Greater Lor) is spoken by the Bakhtiaris while “Lor-e-Kuchik“ (Lesser Lor) is spoken by the Lors themselves. People in Boroujerd speak in Boroujerdi dialect, a local Persian dialect with a big influence from Lori. Northwest of Lorestan province is dominated by Laki speakers.
The overwhelming majority of Lors are Shiite Muslims. In Khuzestan, Lor 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, a majority of Lors 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 Lor 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 Lors had been settled in towns and villages throughout the province, or had migrated to the major urban centers.
A number of nomadic Lor tribes continue to exist in the province. The authority of tribal elders still remains a strong influence among the nomads. As in Bakhtiari and Kurdish societies, Lor women have had much greater freedoms than women in other Iranian groups.
Northern Region
In the northern part of Lorestan, formerly known as Lesser Lorestan (“Lor-e-Kuchik“), live the Feili Lors, divided into the Pishkuh Lors in the east and Poshtkuh Lors in the adjoining Iraqi territory in the west.
Lesser Lorestan maintained its independence under a succession of princes of the Khorshidi dynasty, known as Atabegs, from 55 AD 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 Shamlou, with the title of Vali in exchange for that of Atabeg. The descendants of Hossein Khan retained the title as governors of the Poshtkuh Lors, to whom only the denomination of Feili now applies.

Southern Region
The southern part of the province, formerly known as Greater Lorestan (“Lor-e-Bozourg“), comprises the Bakhtiari region of the province of Khuzestan and the districts of the Mamasani and Kuhgilu Lors in Fars province.
At one time, Greater Lorestan formed an independent state under the Fazlevieh Atabegs from 1160 until 1424 AD. Its capital, Idaj, survives, with mounds and ruins at Malamir, 60 miles southeast of the city of Shoushtar in Khuzestan, stand as reminders of the Atabeg rule.