Dirakvand (tribe)

The Dirakvand (Luri/Persian: دیرکوند) are a Lur tribe living mainly between Khorramabad and Dezful in southwestern Iran. The Dirakvand are one of the tribes of Bala Gariva. They speak Northern Luri and mostly follow Shia Islam.

History

Minorsky had divided the Lur proper into the tribes of Tarhan, Dilfan, Silsila, and Bala Gariva, noting that the first three were Lak but that the tribes of Bala Gariva were "the Lurs par excellence", and that it was "possible that the Dirīgwand are the real nucleus of the Lur race."[1] The Bala Gariva region spoke a dialect of Northern Luri.[2] H. L. Rabino wrote that the Dirakvand claimed to be of Qurayshi origin and that its leaders believed themselves to be descendants of Aqil ibn Abi Talib. Rabino also claimed that the Khorshidi dynasty were from the Dirakvand tribe, although Minorsky maintained that they were from the Jangruyi tribe.[3]

The Dirakvand were historically known for highway robbery, especially along the road from Dezful to Borujerd, and they also robbed and pillaged each other, with blood feuds being "one of the chief pre-occupations of their chiefs." Rabino reported that part of the Dirakvand were massacred after they attacked the camp of Timur Lang. The Dirakvand were also reported to have been punished by Shah Abbas I on several occasions. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Dirakvand suffered further setbacks. Around 1900, the Dirakvand tribe was crushed by a joint force led by Heshmat-al-Dawla, the governor of Lorestan, and Hoseynqoli Khan, the governor of Posht-e Kuh. Many of the Dirakvand were taken prisoner, and several of their leaders were sent to Kermanshah. In 1902, the Dirakvand attacked the Bakhtiari on the Karun river 30 km from Shushtar, resulting in Esfandiar Khan Bakhtiari attacking and thoroughly defeating the Dirakvand.[4][5] The Vali of Posht-e Kuh wished for the Dirakvand tribe to continue its lawlessness and raids so that the road from Dezful to Khorramabad remained impassable and redirected traffic towards Posht-e Kuh where he could reap the benefits.[6]

By the early 20th century, the Dirakvand tribe consisted of two branches, the Baharvand and the Qalavand. The Baharvand consisted of thirteen clans, and the Qalavand consisted of twelve clans.[7] The Mir tribe was another branch of the Dirakvand, along with the Baharvand and Qalavand.[8] It was also said that the Baharvand and the Qalavand were not among the original nine clans of the Dirakvand, but had came later and absorbed most of them.[9] At one point, the Dirakvand had four branches, the Baharvand, Qalavand, Zeynivand, and Mir. However, they all later broke off, with the Dirakvand tribe being reduced to its principal clan.[10]

According to Albert Houtum-Schindler, the Dirakvand included around 2,000 families in 1877, while Arnold Wilson recorded around 3,000 families in 1912, and Henry Field recorded around 8,000-10,000 individuals in 1928. The absence of later data on the tribe suggested that it was losing its separate identity.[11] Ernst Herzfeld mentioned carvings on a cave in the Dirakvand region of Luristan which were connected to the Parthian period, although added that their exact date was uncertain.[12] In 1928, Reza Shah dispatched forced led by Amir Ahmadi to subdue the Dirakvand tribe, after which they were defeated at the Korki mountains north of Dezful, and complete state authority was established over southwestern Iran.[13]

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ "LORI LANGUAGE ii. Sociolinguistic Status of Lori". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  3. ↑ "DĪRAKVAND". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  4. ↑ "DĪRAKVAND". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  5. ↑ Tribes and Empire on the Margins of Nineteenth-Century Iran, Arash Khazeni, 2009, pp. 98, ISBN 9780295989945.
  6. ↑ Mobility and Territoriality: Social and Spatial Boundaries Among Foragers, Fishers, Pastoralists and Peripatetics, 2021, pp. 320, ISBN 9781000325027.
  7. ↑ "DĪRAKVAND". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  8. ↑ لرستان در عهد قاجار، سعادت خودگو، 2004, pp. 191, ISBN 9789648120271.
  9. ↑ Nomads in Archaeology, Roger Cribb, 2004, pp. 58, ISBN 9780521545792.
  10. ↑ "ʿAŠĀYER". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  11. ↑ "DĪRAKVAND". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  12. ↑ Khorasan: Denkmalsgeographische Studien zur Kulturgeschichte des Islam in Iran. Ernst Herzfeld. pp. 143.
  13. ↑ حکم مى‌کنم : رضاخان به مناسبت صدمين سالگرد کودتاى سوم اسفند، ١٢٩٩، آرمان مستوفی، pp. 161, ISBN 9781595847577.
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