Bakhtiari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Total population |
|---|
| c. 7 million (est.) |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Southwestern Iran: 1,000,000 [1] |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
The Bakhtiari are a group of southwestern Iranians.Their language is Bakhtiari that is the most popular dialect of Lurish language.
A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (yaylāq, ييلاق) and winter quarters (qishlāq, قشلاق).[citation needed] Numerical estimates of their total population widely vary. Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit the provinces of Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari, and Isfahan. In Khuzestan, Bakhtiari tribes are primarily concentrated in the eastern part of the province.
Bakhtiaris trace a common lineage, being divided into the Chahar Lang (The Four Legs) and Haft Lang (The Seven Legs) groups, each controlled by a single powerful family. The overall Khan alternates every two years between the chiefs of the Chahar Lang and the Haft Lang. The Bakthtiaris became Shia Muslims after the Arabs invaded Iran almost 1400 years ago. Previously, Bakhtiaris were Zorastrian. In Iranian mythology, the Bakhtiari consider themselves to be descendants of Fereydun, a legendary hero from the Persian national epic, Shahnameh.
The Bakhtiari captured Teheran under the Haft Lang khan Sardar Assad and played a significant role in constitutional reform and the abdication of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1907-1909) in 1909, after which he was exiled to Russia. Reza Shah Pahlevi (r. 1925-1941) attempted to destroy the Bakhtiari and they have never fully recovered since that time.
The Bakhtiari are noted in Iran for their remarkable music which inspired Borodin.[1] The Bakhtiari dialect is the most popular dialect of the Lurish language.
Bakhtiari women generally have more status and freedom than most Iranian women, and many of the daughters of the wealthier families are encouraged to receive at least basic education. Many significant Iranian politicians, governors of provinces and other dignitaries are of Bakhtiari origin.
The famous documentary: "Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life" (1925) tells the story of the migration of Bakhtiari tribe between summer quarters Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari to winter quarters in Khuzestan. This film also tells the story of how these people crossed the river Karun with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals. The documentary "People of the Wind" (1975) retraces this same journey, 50 years later. As of 2006, the migration still takes place, although the livestock are now transported in trucks, and the shepherds no longer walk barefoot in the snow between provinces.
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[edit] Famous Bakhtiaris
- Mirza Mohammad Hasan Gholzom, Poet and Author, Lived in Nafch, Shahrekord, Iran.
- Sepideh Haftgoli Bakhtiari
- Sardar Assad, Bakhtiari Haft Lang Chieftain and Constitutionalist
- Sardar zafar
- Ali mardan khan
- Emam gholi khan
- Bibi maryam
- Parvin Alipour, Singer of the epic Bakhtiari folk song, "Shir-e-Ali Merdoon"
- Soraya Esfandiary, Queen of Iran (1951-58)
- Pezhman Bakhtiari, poet (1900-1974)
- Shahpour Bakhtiar, Politician and Prime Minister of Iran (1979)
- Rudi Bakhtiar, Former CNN and FOX TV news-anchor and journalist
- Eman Mobali, football star.
- Amin Abraham Paul Nikfar, Son of Mohammad Nikfar (Born in Masjed Soleiman, IRI) Currently the Iranian Record Holder in the Shot Put and a member of the IRI Track and Field Team, Asian Indoor Champion 2004 (IRI). (http://asianathletics.org/results/ai-results.htm)
- Farshad Soheili, descendant of Malek Shah
- Oman Samani, poet
- Mirza Habib Dstan
- Zeba Bakhtiar, Pakistani actress and former spouse of musician Adnan Sami
- Teymur Bakhtiar, Iranian general and head of Savak
- Lailee Bakhtiar van Dillen, author and television producer[2]
- Davar Ardalan, NPR producer and author, whose mother Mary Laleh Bakhtiar is a Bakhtiari
- Behnoosh Bakhtiari, Iranian actress
- Laleh Bakhtiar, author[3] and former professor at the University of Chicago, who wrote a feminist re-interpretation of the Koran which is now making news.[4][5]
- Mirza Hideyatu'llah Khan (d.1892), Irans finance minister during the Qajar period
- Zargham Saltaneh , Ebrahim : Commander and instrumental figure in the Constitutional Revolution of 1909.
- Doctor Mohammad Mosaddegh the iranian Prime Minister a major figure in modern Iranian history. An author, administrator, lawyer, prominent parliamentarian, and statesman, he is most famous as the architect of the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry.
- bahman alaeddin (masoud bakhtiari) 12 0ct 1940 - 3 nov 2006
the king of song of bakhtiari "khosro avaz bakhtiari" and "kowg taraz" ,famous singer of bakhtiari in history.folk singer
[edit] Books
- Fariba Amini. The first moderate: Shapour Bakhtiar. January, 2003.
- 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
- Shapour Bakhtiar. Memoirs of Shapour Bakhtiar. Habib Ladjevardi, ed. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996. 140 Pages. In Persian. ISBN 978-0932885142.
- 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.
- Mark Gasiorowski, "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.
- Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Grass: A nation's battle for life. Film, B&W, 71 minutes, 1925. Available on DVD.
- Anthony Howarth. People of the wind. Film, Color, 110 minutes, 1976. Available on DVD.
- Pierre Loti. Vers Ispahan. Edition Calmann-Levy, Paris, 1925. 330 pages. Travelogue with Bakhtiari contact. See also Ross and Sackville-West from same period.
- Dr. Elizabeth N. Macbean Ross, M.B., Ch.B. A lady doctor in Bakhtiari Land. Leonard Parsons, London, 1921. Out of copyright and available online here. 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 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.
- ^ Lailee Bakhtiar van Dillen, "The Roses of Isfahan", SERA Publishing (1998), 115 pages. ISBN 978-1891165047.
- ^ Laleh Bakhtiar, "Muhammad", Diane Publishing (1994), 39 pages. ISBN 978-0756778026.
- ^ Badawy, Manuela (2007-03-24). "Woman re-interprets Qur'an with feminist view". Reuters. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2007-03-23T002513Z_01_N21290159_RTRUKOC_0_US-KORAN-FEMINIST.xml&src=rss&rpc=22.
- ^ Spencer, Robert (2007-03-24). "Woman re-interprets Qur'an with feminist view". Jihad Watch. http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2007_03.php.
[edit] External links
- Bakhtiaris
- Minorities At Risk: Assessment for Bakhtiari in Iran
- Bakhtiari - travelling in Iran 1998
- A Bakhtiari folk-song sung by Shusha Guppy in the 1970s: The Lor Youth.
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