Bakhtiari costume

The Bakhtiari (also spelled Bakhtiyari; Persian: بختیاری) are a Lur tribe[3] from Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language.[4][5]

Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and eastern Khuzestan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Isfahan provinces. Bakhtiari tribes have an especially large population concentration in the cities of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh, Shahr-e Kord, and Andika, and the surrounding villages.[6]

A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (sardsīr or yaylāq) and winter quarters (garmsīr or qishlāq).[7]

Origins

Although there have been several suggested theories for the origin of the Bakhtiyaris, historians and researchers generally agree that they are Lurs. Unlike other Lurs, Bakhtiaris primarily identify as Bakhtiari.[8] According to folklore, the Lurs are descended from a group of youngsters who survived and fled from the demon Zahhak, a demonic figure who is mentioned in Zoroastrian mythology, as well as the Shahnameh. They took shelter in Zardkuh and Kuhrang, where they named themselves Lur ("nomadic"). Due to their luck of escaping danger throughout their history, they called themselves bakhtiyar ("fortunate"). In scholarship, it has been suggested Bakhtiyaris are descended from the Uxian tribe, who clashed with the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC) in Khuzestan 330 BC.[9]

A second theory suggests that the Bakhtiyaris were originally from Fars, but were settled to the north of Isfahan and Khuzestan after the legendary king Kay Khosrow conquered Media. A third theory suggests that the Bakhtiyaris were descended from the Mardi, a nomadic warrior tribe that lived around the Caspian coast of northern Iran. Due to the close resemblance to the names Bakhtiyari and Bakhtari (Bactrian), some historians have suggested that the Bakhtiyaris are descended from the Greeks who ruled over Bactria. The resemblance between Bakhtiyari and Greek dance has been used as further proof. Other historians consider the Bakhtiyaris to have resided in their area for a long time, and that they named themselves after the ancient Persian word Bakhtar ("the West") due to their geographical position.[9]

Another theory supported by some historians is that the Bakhtiyaris are descended from Izz al-Dawla Bakhtiyar (r. 967–978), the Buyid ruler of Iraq. The name of the latter is first attestation of the word Bakhtiyar. The Bakhtiyaris themselves consider their name to be derived from the word Bakhtiyarwand, the name of the offspring of Bakhtiyar, a distinguished figure of Lur-i Buzurg (Greater Lur).[9]

Etymology

The term bakhtiari can be best translated as "companion of fortune" or "bearer of good luck"[10] The term has deep Persian roots, and is the result of two smaller words bakht and yar complied together. Bakht is the Persian word for "fortune" and yar, iar, iari literally means "companion".[10]

The latter designation largely relates to the nature of the tribe's annual "migration". This has to do with the harsh nature of Bakhtiari life, and overcoming of countless difficulties that Bakhtiaris have faced in the Zagros ranges. In this sense, Bakhtiaris view themselves as a hardworking tribe, facing numerous obstacles every day, and yet fortunate enough to overcome each of these challenges as a solid unit.[10]

Nevertheless, the origins of Bakhtiaris are ancient, and it may have very well been the case that the tribe underwent a series of name changes throughout its history. However it is mostly claimed that the designation "Bakhtiari" came largely into use some time in antiquity.[11]

In The Ascent of Man, Jacob Bronowski states that "The Bakhtiari take their name from a legendary herdsman of Mongol times, Bakhtyar," who according to a Bakhtiari origin myth is "the father of [their] people".[12] Bronowski points out similarities between Bakhtyar and the Israelite Jacob, who was also the ancestral patriarch of his nomadic people and a herdsman who had two wives.[12]

History

In c. 913, Lorestan split into two realms: Lur-i Buzurg (Greater Lur); Lur-i Kuchak (Lesser Lur). The Bakhtiyaris are first attested in history in the early 15th-century. In 1413, the arrival of several Bakhtiyari clans such as the Astarki, Kutwand, Raki, Janaki and Zallaki are mentioned by the Timurid-era historian Mu'in al-Din Natanzi. Under the Safavids, Lur-i Kuchak became known as Luristan-i Fili, while Lur-i Buzurg (extending from Isfahan to Kohgiluyeh and from Shushtar to Behbahan) became Bakhtiyari land. In 1566, Shah Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) selected the Astarki chieftain Tajmir as ilkhan of the Bakhtiyari. He was, however, later killed and succeeded by Jahangir Khan Bakhtiyari, who is responsible for splitting the Bakhtiyaris into two groups, the Haft Lang and Chahar Lang. By the time of the reign of Shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629), the northern part of Lur-i Buzurg became known as Bakhtiyari.[9]

After the Safavids, the Bakhtiari tribes under Qasim Khan and Safi Khan resisted both the Afghan invasion and the Ottoman invasion, but generally did not agree well with Ali Mardan Khan Feyli, the Vali of Luristan. The Afghans did not penetrate Bakhtiari territory, and their attempted invasion of Kuhgilu resulted in a humiliating failure. When Nader Shah came to power, he appointed Ali Mardan Khan to diplomatic positions in Istanbul and replaced him with Baba Khan Chavushlu as governor of Luristan. Nader Shah sent several expeditions against a new Bakhtiari leader Ali Murad Mamivand Chahar-Lang, eventually executing him and deporting Bakhtiaris to Khorasan. In Khorasan, they distinguished themselves in the assault on Kandahar and returned to their lands after the death of Nader Shah.[13]

After the death of Nader Shah, Ali Mardan Khan, a Bakhtiari leader not to be confused with the Vali of Luristan, attempted to take advantage of the power vacuum. In 1750, Ali Mardan Khan and Karim Khan Zand both set up Ismail III at Isfahan, although in 1752, Ali Mardan Khan was defeated and fled to Baghdad where he was assassinated. In 1785, when Jafar Khan Zand had to fall back on Shiraz, groups of Lurs and Turks assembled at Isfahan under former partisans of Ali Murad Khan, although the town was soon occupied by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar who attacked the Bakhtiaris.[13]

Bakhtiari tribal and political structure was considered independent from that of the other Lurs since at least the 1800s.[14] The Bakhtiaris were never fully brought under control during the reign of the Qajar dynasty. Initially, the Kunurzi family, descended from a brother of Ali Mardan Khan was leading the Bakhtiaris, although the expedition of Manuchehr Khan Gorji of Isfahan in 1841 had ended the career of the Ilkhani Mohammadtaqi Khan Chahar-Lang, and his family did not recover. In 1846, the Bakhtiarvand or Baydarvand family rose to prominence among the Haft-Lang. At the time, there was a conflict among the Bakhtiari for leadership, with the Ilkhani and Hajji Ilkhani on one side, and the Ilbegi on the other. They eventually established a principle of power-sharing which lasted until 1936 when Reza Shah placed the Bakhtiari territory under direct administration.[13]

Before 1936, the Bakhtiari tribes were virtually autonomous, and were ruled by the Ilbegi and Ilkhani. The Ilkhani and Hajji Ilkhani group were significantly rich, partially because of investments after 1899 from "Messrs. Lynch Bros" after the Bakhtiari road was opened, connecting Ahvaz, Shushtar, and Isfahan, as well as oil concessions after 1905 while the Ilbegi and Ilkhani both received British subsidies in World War I in exchange for Bakhtiari support. The Bakhtiari played a considerable role in the Persian Constitutional Revolution, in alliance with Shia scholars and urban constitutionalist reformers, and achieved local and national prominence. By 1912, seven cities, including Kerman, Isfahan, and Kashan, were governed by Bakhtiari leaders, while Sardar Assad was Minister of War and Samsam al-Dawla was Prime Minister.[13][15]

Reza Shah viewed the organization, power, and way of life of the Bakhtiari as incompatible with national modernization on Western lines, and in 1936 he pursued a threefold policy of forcible sedentarization by posting troops to prevent access to migration routes, detribalization by deposing tribe leaders and replacing them with army officers to handle tribal affairs and territorial administration, and deculturation by various means such as the prohibition of beards and obligation to wear Western-style suits and the Pahlavi hat instead of the traditional Bakhtiari costume to which they were deeply attached. Reza Shah had largely been unsuccessful as World War II disrupted the Iranian state apparatus. During those ten years, Bakhtiari losses of livestock were estimated at 60 percent, and the few foreign travelers who visited the Bakhtiaris at that time only spoke of their distress and impoverishment.[15]

Under Mohammad Reza Shah, there were no major decisions on nomadism until about 1960. After World War II and in the 1950s, the tribes of Iran, including the Bakhtiaris, were still relatively powerful and active in politics, as they showed during the premiership of Mohammad Mosaddegh. Unable to ignore them, the successive cabinets shifted between cooperation and repression. Among the cooperative measures were the restitution of properties to tribe leaders in 1945, the Koenig mission in 1947-48, the tribal conference of September 1948, and the establishment of a civilian High Council of the Tribes in 1953. For the Bakhtiari, the Shah marrying Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary in February, 1951, was a sign of favor. In 1957, the Bakhtiari tribe leaders were compensated for their losses due to oil nationalization. Among the repressive measures were the exiling of the family of the Qashqai leaders in 1954, the establishment of a branch of the General Staff and an officer corps trained to handle tribal affairs in 1956, the abolition of the title khan in the same year, and the decision to disarm all tribes in 1957, that all the tribes should be disarmed. Ultimately, the repressive attitude prevailed, with the Iranian government adopting a policy of officially ignoring the existence of tribes in the 1960s and confiscating their lands. They also passed laws severely restricting the freedom of tribes to function. By the mid-1970s, these measures caused many Bakhtiaris to lose motivation, and had also caused the Bakhtiari to lose a considerable amount of tribe members.[15]

The Iranian revolution in 1979 did not kindle any real revolutionary fervor among the Bakhtiari, although the increased freedom prevailing in the following months, together with a strong demand for meat in local markets, prompted a resurgence of nomadic pastoralism, although it did not last long. The IRGC established tribal councils in every tribe, giving the tribesmen more control whereas the tribal superiors previously had more control. The tribal superiors were not removed, but were bo longer heeded. Soon, the Jihad of Construction arrived in all parts of the Bakhtiari territory, building roads, bridges, silos, schools, and houses, also bringing electricity and telephone lines to villages, and setting up networks of producer and consumer cooperatives. Bakhtiaris were also given incentives to settle.[15]

A Bakhtiari nomad family

Territory

The traditional territory of the Bakhtiari was historically called the "Bakhtiari country" (khak-e il-e bakhtiari), and was an area of roughly 75,000 km2 stretching from the Dez river, Shushtar, and Ramhormoz on the west to Daran and the outskirts of Shahr-e Kord on the east.[15][16] The region was also known as the Bakhtiari mountains or Bakhtiari-Zagros. It was surrounded by natural borders, which were the Sezar river (the northwestern tributary to the Dez river) forming the boundary against Luristan, as well as the Karun Vanak, Khersan, and Marun delineating the boundary between the Bakhtiari mountains and the Kuhgilu mountains. The watershed between the endorheic basins of central Iran, and the tributaries of the Persian Gulf, were considered as possibly the eastern margin, while the mountain front of the Zagros between the Dez and Marun rivers formed a natural boundary to the west. Within these natural boundaries, the Bakhtiari mountains were the central and highest part of the entire Zagros system.[17] The Bakhtiari tribes were historically present further to the north of the natural border with Luristan around Fereydan and Borujerd.[18]

Tribes

The Bakhtiari were traditionally divided into the Haft-Lang and Chahar-Lang. The Haft-Lang consisted of the Duraki, Babadi, Bakhtiarvand (or Behdarvand), Dinarani, and Janaki (Javanaki). The Chahar-Lang consisted of the Mamivand, Mohammad-Saleh (or Mam-Saleh), Muguyi, Kayanarsi, and Zalaqi.[19][20]

Culture

Music

The Bakhtiari are noted in Iran for their music which inspired Russian composer Alexander Borodin.[21]

Livelihood and dwellings

Bakhtiari nomads migrate twice a year with their herds for pasture: in spring to the mountains in their summer quarters (sardsīr or yaylāq), and in autumn to valleys and the plains in their winter quarters (garmsīr or qishlāq). The livestock the Bakhtiari mainly raise are goats, sheep, horses, and cattle. However, some Bakhtiari also engage in agricultural occupations, and mostly cultivate wheat and other cereal grains. Nomadic Baktiari rely on trading and bartering with nearby villages and populations to obtain products they don't have or are unable to create themselves (like agricultural goods). Temporary dwellings for the Bakhtiari include rectangular tents or brush or wood shelters. These types of dwellings are used when moving their herds around. Recently, some Bakhtiari have urbanized and began to settle in large villages and even in cities.[22]

Language, gender, and religion

A Bakhtiâri dialect speaker

Most Bakhtiaris are Twelver Shia Muslim.[15] During the time of Constantine the Great, there was a story about Bakhtiaris converting to Christianity.[13] In 2023, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad-Javad Alavi-Boroujerdi, while complaining about the decline of Islam among Iranians in general, claimed that the Bakhtiaris specifically had a strange tendency to convert to Zoroastrianism.[23]

Despite the patriarchal nature of Bakhtiari society, women enjoy a rather high degree of freedom. This was because of their importance in the Bakhtiari economy as weavers, in which colorful and stylish designs on carpets made them very popular among buyers. However, after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Bakhtiari (along with Iranian society in general) underwent rapid changes so presently, Bakhtiari women do not have the same kind of privileges they had before the revolution.[22]

Population

Some sources estimate the population of Bakhtiari lors in the whole country to be around 3 to 6 million people.[2] Some other sources have estimated the population of Il Bakhtiari at 4 million people.[24][25][26] In the Bakhtiarika book, the population of monolingual Bakhtiari is estimated at 2 million, and the population of bilingual Bakhtiari plus those who have forgotten their mother tongue is estimated at nearly 2 million (total of 4 million people).[27]

Genetics

According to research into NRY markers, the Bakhtiari, as with many other groups in Iran, show very elevated frequencies for Y-DNA haplogroup J2— a trait common for Eurasian populations, likely originating in Anatolia and the Caucasus[28] The Southwest Eurasian haplogroups F, G, and T1a also reach substantial frequency among Bakhtiaris.[29]

Notable Bakhtiari people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bakhtyari (people)". ethnologue. 19 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 "سرزمین ما – محدوده جغرافیایی و جمعیت بختیاری" (in Persian). Retrieved 2024-03-27.
  3. ↑ Gibb, H.A.R., ed. (1954). "LUR". The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill Archive. p. 821. ISBN 978-9004060562. Lur -- an Iranian people living in the mountains in southwestern Persia. As in the case of the Kurds, the principal link among the four branches of the Lurs (Mamasani, Kuhghilu'i, Bakthiari, and Lur proper) is that of language. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  4. ↑ "Bakhtiâri". Ethnologue. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "LORI DIALECTS". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Persian Bakhtiari Rugs". Jewel Rugs. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  7. ↑ "BAḴTĪĀRĪ TRIBE". Iranica Online. 1988. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29.
  8. ↑ Anonby, Erik (January 1, 2000). "LORI LANGUAGE ii. Sociolinguistic Status of Lori".
  9. 1 2 3 4 Karimi & Maghsoodi 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Archived January 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Garthwaite., Gene R. Khans and Shahs : a Documentary Analysis of the Bakhtiyari in Iran. New York: Cambridge UP, 1933. Print.
  12. 1 2 Bronowski, Jacob (1990) [1973]. The Ascent of Man. London: BBC Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-563-20900-3.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  14. ↑ Iranian People: Iranian Ethnic Groups, Vahid Rashidvash, pp. 221, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 3, no. 15, August 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "BAḴTĪĀRĪ TRIBE i. Ethnography". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  16. ↑ Mehrdad (2022-09-03). "A Guide to Bakhtiari Nomadic Tribes". ADVENTURE IRAN Official Website - Iranian Tour Operator and Travel Agency. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  17. ↑ "BAḴTĪĀRĪ MOUNTAINS". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  18. ↑ Minorsky, V. (1986). "Luristān". 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. pp. 829–832. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
  19. ↑ "ʿAŠĀYER". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  20. ↑ Tribe and State in Iran and Afghanistan (RLE Iran D), Richard Tapper, 2012, pp. 317, ISBN 9781136833847.
  21. ↑ Ullens de Schooten, Marie-Tèrése. (1956). Lords of the Mountains: Southern Persia & the Kashkai Tribe, pp. 113-114. Chatto and Windus Ltd. Reprint: The Travel Book Club. London.
  22. 1 2 Skutsch, Carl, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. New York: Routledge. pp. 176, 177. ISBN 1-57958-468-3.
  23. ↑ "Cleric Says Some Iranian Muslims Converting To Other Religions". www.iranintl.com. 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  24. ↑ "بختیاری رسم نماز نداره؟ / داستان‌های مستر جیکاک و ارادت بختیاری‌ها به دیانت". ایمنا (in Persian). 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
  25. ↑ خراسانی, شمشاد امیری (2014-02-15). "ایل بختیاری (ایل آریایی اصیل) • پارسیان دژ". پارسیان دژ (in Persian). Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  26. ↑ "تاریخچه ایل بختیاری". ایل بختیاری موسسه مردم شناسی طبیعت.
  27. ↑ The book of Bakhtiarika, Amir Rostami Babadi. pp. 55–60.
  28. ↑ R. Spencer Wells et al., "The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (August 28, 2001)
  29. ↑ Nasidze, I., Quinque, D., Rahmani, M., Alemohamad, S. A. and Stoneking, M. (2008), Close Genetic Relationship Between Semitic-speaking and Indo-European-speaking Groups in Iran. Annals of Human Genetics, 72: 241–252.
  30. ↑ Perry, John R. (2011). "Karim Khan Zand". KARIM KHAN ZAND – Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XV, Fasc. 6. pp. 561–564.
  31. ↑ "The Bakhtiari People". Translations Certified. 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2026.

Further reading

  • Cronin, Stephanie (2000). "Riza Shah and the disintegration of Bakhtiyari power in Iran, 1921–1934". Iranian Studies. 33 (3–4): 349–376. doi:10.1080/00210860008701986.
  • Karimi, Asghar; Maghsoodi, Hamid Reza (2013). "Bakhtiyārī". In Madelung, Wilferd; Daftary, Farhad (eds.). Encyclopaedia Islamica Online. Brill Online. ISSN 1875-9831.
  • Fariba Amini. "The first moderate: Shapour Bakhtiar".
  • Ali Quli Khan Sardar Assad and A. Sepehr. Tarikhe Bakhtiari: Khulasat al-asar fi tarikh al-Bakhtiyar (Intisharat-i Asatir) (The History of Bakhtiari). 766 pages. ISBN 964-5960-29-0. Asatir, Iran, 1997. In Persian.
  • Bakhtiari language summary[1]
  • Shapour Bakhtiar. Memoirs of Shapour Bakhtiar. Habib Ladjevardi, ed. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996. 140 Pages. In Persian. ISBN 978-0-932885-14-2.
  • Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary. Le Palais des Solitudes. France Loisirs, Paris, 1991. ISBN 2-7242-6593-9.
  • Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari. The Last of the Khans: The life of Morteza Quli Khan Samsam Bakhtiari. iUniverse, New York, 2006. 215 pages. ISBN 978-0-595-38248-4.
  • Gasiorowski, Mark. Just like that: How the Mossadegh Government was overthrown. in particular bullet point 2 on the role of Soraya Bakhtiari; compare with her account in Le Palais des Solitudes cited above.
  • Arash Khazeni, The Bakhtiyari Tribes in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 25, 2, Duke University Press, 2005.
  • Pierre Loti. Vers Ispahan. Edition Calmann-Levy, Paris, 1925. 330 pages. Travelogue with Bakhtiari contact. See also Ross and Sackville-West from same period.
  • Elizabeth N. Macbean Ross (1921). A lady doctor in Bakhtiari Land. London: Leonard Parsons. Out of copyright and available at dli.ernet.in Archived 2019-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, Travelogue, see also Loti and Sackville-West from same period.
  • Vita Sackville-West. Twelve Days: An account of a journey across the Bakhtiari Mountains in South-western Persia. Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York, 1928. 143 pages. Travelogue, see also Loti and Ross from same period.
  • F. Vahman and G. Asatrian, Poetry of the Baxtiārīs: Love Poems, Wedding Songs, Lullabies, Laments, Copenhagen, 1995.
  1. ↑ "Bakhtiâri". Ethnologue.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakhtiari_people