Like the Bakhtiari, the Luri are Shia Muslims traditionally known as nomadic pastoralists with strong historic ties to agricultural life in western Iran.  The Luri can be found in Lorestan Province, a region considered to be among the most ancient in Iran, with a rich history dating back to the Kassites of the 3rd and 4th millennium B.C.E.  When the Kassites arrived, along with the Elamites, and mixed with the indigenous populations of Iran, it is said that the Luri were born.  According to archeologists, Lorestan is home to some of the first traces of agriculture, village living and cattle herding.[1]  Today, most Luri have settled down in towns and villages throughout Lorestan.[2] 

The Luri people speak Luri, a version of which is spoken by the Bakhtiari people.  The language is of Indo-European stock and, like Farsi, derived from the 8th century Parthian language.  There are two primary dialects of Luri, (although Bakhtiari and Laki could also be considered Luri dialects):  Greater Luri (southern), spoken in modern-day eastern Khuzestan, and Lesser Luri (northern), spoken by the Luri in Lorestan, Llam, and eastern Iraq.[3]  There are four main Luri groups:  the Bala Garideh, Delfan, Selseleh and Tarhan.  The so-called ‘genuine’ Lur, the Bala Garideh, can be divided into various tribes such as Dirakvand, Janaki, Amaleh and Sagvand.[4]  

Demography

According to the CIA World Factbook, 2 percent of the Iranian population is Luri (1.3 million).[5]  However, the Ethnologue Language Encyclopedia puts the number of northern Luri at 1.7 million and southern Luri at 900,000, which would bring the total number of Luri speakers to 2.6 million.[6]

Geographic Distribution

The Luri are concentrated around the Zagros Mountains of western Iran in Lorestan (Land of the Luri).  Luri can also be found in the provinces of Llam, Khuzestan, and, in lesser numbers in eastern Iraq. 

Historic Hardship

During the reign of Reza Shah, the last ruling monarch of Iran, the Luri tribes were forcibly disarmed and resettled in permanent communities until the fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty in 1941.  Reza Shah was known for utilizing repressive methods of governance as a means of ensuring stability, a trait that cost him his standing with Allied forces during World War II.[7] 

Ongoing Hardship

As with the Bakhtiari, there is little evidence of discrimination based on ethnic Luri identity.  Being Shia and residing mostly outside of the Iranian political realm allow the Luri to live peacefully in western Iran.  The history of the Luri indicates a closeness with Iran, as they were settled in the region before it was formally a sovereign state.  As a general observation, some have suggested that Luri women appear to be subject to less discrimination than other women within mainstream Iranian society.[8]

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