Lak (tribe)

Lak
لەک / Lek
Laks performing a traditional dance
Regions with significant populations
Western Iran:
  1,160,000[1] to 2,000,000[2]
Languages
Laki
Religion
Majority: Islam (Shia majority, Sunni minority)
Significant minority: Yarsanism

Lak (Kurdish: Lek ,لەک)[3][4] is a Kurdish[5][6] tribe[2] native to Western Iran. They speak Laki, which is considered a Kurdish dialect[2][7][8][9][10][11] by most linguists.[12]

Laks inhabit a large part of Lorestan province where they constitute over 65% of the population[2] and most of the eastern regions of the neighboring province of Kermanshah, some parts of western Ilam province (Poshte-Kuhi Laks), and around western Hamadan. The area to the east of Mount Kabir is known as Pishe-Kuh, and west of the mountain is known as Poshte-Kuh.

The majority of the Laks consider themselves followers of the Shia branch of Islam.[2]

Origins

Mohammad-Ali Emam-Shooshtari divided the Lurs into four groups, Luristani, Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh, and Lurs of Fars, and added that a large part of the Luristanis were of Lak origin, and that Laks were considered Kurds.[13] Abdollah Shahbazi wrote that the tribes of Luristan comprised two groups, the Lur and Lak, which differed in language, culture, and some religious aspects, and that the Laks were originally considered the southernmost group of Kurdish tribes, but later intermingled and assimilated with the Lur tribes.[14] Mohammad Moin, who reviewed the Burhan-i Qati, listed several definitions for the word "Lak", one of which was "the name of a tribe of nomadic Kurds." He described the Laks as "a tribe from the Kurdish tribes of Iran, which lives in Kolya'i, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Isfahan, Kurdistan, Esfandabad, Chaharkaveh, and Aliverdi", and that Lak was also "a name of a tribe of the Qashqai tribes." Moin added that during the Zand period, the Lak and Zand formed two parts of the "Zand-Laki" or "Zanlaki" tribe, which had some descendants near the Iran-Iraq border and Soltanabad.[15]

Vladimir Minorsky described the Lak tribes as a Kurdish island in Luristan,[16] which lived interspersed among the population of northern Luristan, and spoke a variety of Kurdish, distinct from the Luri dialects which were closer to Persian.[17] He also described them as the southernmost group of Kurdish tribes, with origins from further north.[18] Minorsky also noted that the Lak Kurds, who mainly comprised the tribes of Tarhan, Delfan, Selseleh, and Beyranvand, were only considered Lurs in an administrative sense.[19] H. L. Rabino added that they were settled in Luristan by Shah Abbas after he installed the Vali dynasty, to support the government.[18][20] According to A. H. Schindler, the "Akrâd nâme" mentioned that Lurs originated in the region of Manrud in Luristan, and that later many Kurdish families came from Jabal al-Sumaq to Luristan and settled there as Khorshidi subjects. He claimed that those Kurds, who were called Laks by the local Lurs, eventually integrated among the Lurs, and while they were often called Lurs by outsiders, there remained a distinction among the people themselves. He claimed that the tribes of Delfan were hated by the Lurs, who considered them immigrants, and that the Kurzebur, another local tribe, was divided into sections based on Lur or Lak origin.[21]

John R. Perry wrote that the Lak tribes, whose speech resembled Kurdish more than Luri, apparently immigrated to northern Luristan or were settled there by Shah Abbas, and by the later Safavid period, they were mentioned alongside the Zands as Lurs.[22] According to The Cambridge History of Iran, the "northern Lur or Lak tribes" may have been immigrants of Kurdish origin, either way distinct from the Feyli Lurs of Khorramabad.[23] Kaveh Farrokh similarly wrote that the "Lak, or northern Lurs" were "most likely of Kurdish origin" and "distinct from Khorramabad's Faili Lurs."[24] Parviz Rajabi described the Laks as a branch of the Kurds but counted with the Lurs.[25] Willem M Floor claimed the Laks were a tribe of southern Kurdish origin with a historic presence northwards where their last trace may have been in the name of the Lakestan Rural District.[26] Pierre Oberling included the Laki speaking tribes of Selseleh, Delfan, Beyranvand, and the Amra'i of the Tarhan tribes in his article about Kurdish tribes.[27] Richard N Frye considered the "Lakki dialects" as "south Kurdish dialects" and suggested that "speakers of Lakki dialects in northern Luristan are probably relatively late intruders, as are the Kurds in their homeland to the north of the Kermanshah-Hamadan road."[28] Gernot L Windfuhr wrote that the population of Lorestan comprised "the Lori and South Kurdish Lakki tribes".[29] According to Andrew Dalby, "although there are Kurd tribes in Luristan, the true Lurs speak dialects which belong to the south-western Iranian group, like Persian and the dialects of Fars."[30]

Xavier de Planhol, describing Yarsani communities, wrote that "it is difficult to specify to what extent the sect extends further east among the Bakhtiyâri, nevertheless it is certainly predominant among the Gurân, the northern neighbors of the Lours, and between Kermânchâh, Sannah and Hamadân, and more or less spread among the neighboring Kurdish tribes (Laks)."[31] Otto Günther von Wesendonk regarded the Lak tribes as "Kurds in Luristan",[32] while Friedrich von Spiegel mentioned the Laks as Kurdish tribes who lived all around Iran, headquartered in Qazvin, Fars, and Mazandaran.[33] Jacques de Morgan also noted the "Laki Kurds" and the "Feyli Lurs" as neighboring but distinct communities.[34]

Mohammad-Amin Riahi claimed the Laks were generally counted as Kurds and Lurs and had elements from both.[35] In "Mamassanī dar goḏargāh-e tārīḵ", a major study on southern Iran,[36] Hasan Habibi Fahliyani, describing Lak elements among the Qashqai, added that the Laks, who he called "Kurd-Lurs", were of Kurdish ancestry and their language was more Kurdish and less Luri, but since they were relocated to northern Lorestan during the time of Shah Abbas, they were commonly mistaken for Lur tribes.[37] Manouchehr Kayani also described the Laks as being "of Kurd-Lur origin, one group living in Kurdistan and the other in Luristan."[38]

Others claimed the Laks were previously considered Lurs but increasingly shifted towards Kurds. According to Bahman Karimi, the Laks were neither Kurds nor Lurs but emerged from an amalgamation of both. G. B. Akopov also believed the Laks included both elements, and claimed that the question was not about whether they were Kurds or Lurs, but rather about clarifying the direction of their ethnic development. He claimed that although historical sources variously considered them Kurds or Lurs, it was evident in 19th-century sources that the Laks were not shifting towards Lurs, and that there were clear differences between them, also noting that J. M. Kinnier having mentioned Laks in Lorestan who "were actually Lurs" was a different topic. By the 20th century, the rise of Persian influence in the region affected both the Kurds and Lurs alike.[39]

Etymology

The name of the Laks was commonly believed to derive from "lak", a Persian word meaning "one hundred thousand", which was said to have been the original Lak population.[40][41] It was also suggested that "Lak" emerged as an ethnic term emerged after a process of cultural and ethnological amalgamations between the migrant tribes and people of the region, and that the term was originally used to refer to certain nomadic tribes before developing into an ethnic term for a large population, both settled and nomadic.[41] Scholars generally agreed that it derived from the Persian numeral for 100,000 used in the Safavid era, dismissing a prominent folk etymology among many Laks claiming that "Lak" (لک) was formed by the letter "L" (ل) representing Lurs and the letter "K" (ک) representing Kurds.[42][43][44]

There was also an old claim that the term "Lak" was used among Lurs to refer to Kurds.[45] A. H. Schindler also claimed that Lurs used the term "Lak" for Kurds, adding that when the Lurs accepted Islam, the Laks did not, which sometimes caused the terms "Lak" and "Kurd" to be used derogatorily in Luristan for people who did not fulfill religious duties.[21] Similarly, Albert Socin wrote that the Lurs stressed their differences from the Kurds, who they called "Lak".[46] According to V. F. Dittel, "In Persia, numerous Kurdish tribes call themselves 'Laki' and speak a language that differs from the other dialect, Luri, which includes the large Bakhtiari tribe, who also have their own literature like the others."[47]

History

The Laks were first mentioned in the Sharafnama alongside the Zands among the less prominent Kurdish tribes subject to Persia.[48][49] According to Mustafa Dehqan, the Sharafnama linking the Laks to the Kurds of Iran rather than the Ottomans was significant, and chronicled the rise to dominance of both the Kurdish identity of the Laks, as well as their interest in Iranian culture and literature.[50] However, Dehqan clarified that the first mention of the Laks, in the Sharafnama, was only minor, and that the first detailed mention of the Laks was in Bustan al-Siyaha of Zain al-Abidin Shirvani. He added that the Lak communities were probably settled in Luristan by Shah Abbas, and although they were largely unknown before the mention by Shirvani, several centers of intellectual life began to develop in their region by the late Afsharid period, which was important in that it gave rise to the Zand dynasty.[51] According to Shirvani, the Laks comprised the tribes of Zand, Mafi, Bajalan, and Zandi-yi Kala, reportedly the tribe of Karim Khan Zand.[40]

In Tarikh-e Alam-ara-ye Abbasi, by Iskandar Beg Munshi, the Laks were briefly mentioned as a Kurdish tribe around Salmas and led by Saru Khan Salmasi.[52] The same Laks of Salmas were also mentioned in a work of Ali Naqi Nasiri reviewed by Willem M Floor.[53] The Laks of Salmas were also categorized among the regional tribes without any affiliation to the Qizilbash in Tadhkirat al-Muluk.[54] In addition to Tarikh-e Alam-ara-ye Abbasi and Tadhkirat al-Muluk, Mohammad-Amin Riahi provided several historical farmans of Safavid shahs which mentioned the Laks of Salmas. Despite having earlier survived many massacres and raids by the Ottomans, the Laks of Salmas disappeared during the Safavid period.[55] The Laks of Salmas were increasingly persecuted after the death of Shah Ismail when Choqa Sultan Tekkelu won over Kopek Sultan Ustajlu and Div Sultan Rumlu.[56] The Laks had been under the fiefdom of Kopek Sultan,[57] and after he was killed, they were incorporated into the fiefdom of Choqa Sultan and there were massacres against the Laks, who were burnt alive in large groups. Three to four years later, Choqa Sultan was killed, although newer administrations continued to target the Laks.[58] First, Shah Ismail had given a farman for the consolation of the Lak community, although the Qizilbash resurgence under Shah Tahmasp further harmed the Laks. Later, Shah Abbas came to power and issued the necessary farmans for the Laks of Salmas, although they were persecuted again under Shah Safi until Shah Abbas II issued another farman.[59] While the Laks of Salmas disappeared, their leadership survived until the Qajar period, and their last leader was Ibrahim Khalil Khan, a descendant of Saru Khan Salmasi.[60] Riahi added that the Laks survived in Lorestan province and around the north.[61]

Before their settlement in Luristan, the Lak tribes of Selseleh were said to have previously lived near Mahidasht, while the Delfan were named after the Dulafid dynasty which historically ruled over their region, and the Bajalan of northern Luristan were the same as the Bajalan of Zohab, which claimed to come from Mosul, with the Luristan branch seemingly exchanging their Kurmanji for Laki during their sojourn with the Laks.[40][41][20]

During the Zand period, the tribes of Lorestan were divided into two groups, the Laks, who were known as "the Vand tribes", and the Lurs, who were known as "the Feyli tribes" and were attached to the Vali dynasty.[62][63] The Vali of Lorestan, Ismail Khan, who ruled over a large Lak population, feared becoming subordinate to Karim Khan Zand. Ismail Khan, who believed that only Alids should rule Iran, was alarmed by the rise of the Zands and mainly opposed them because they were local Laks of humble origin, whereas the Vali dynasty considered themselves superior as they claimed descent from Abbas ibn Ali and were installed by the Safavids.[64] Ismail Khan regarded submission to Karim Khan Zand as dishonorable, emphasizing his Alid ancestry and uniting the Feyli Lur tribes around his cause, creating difficulties for the Zand dynasty. Some tribes in Lorestan, which were mistreated by Ismail Khan, or had family ties to the Zands, supported the Zands, although they were few and were under severe pressure from Ismail Khan and his allied tribes.[65]

In Lorestan, the main supporters of Karim Khan Zand were the Beyranvand tribe, whereas the Feyli Lur tribes supported Ismail Khan against him.[66] After the death of Karim Khan Zand, relations between the Vali dynasty and the Zands improved. However, towards the end of the Zand dynasty, their old enmity resurfaced, and the Vali dynasty helped the Qajars during their rise to power.[67] In Shiraz, Karim Khan had called for the Lak tribe of Beyranvand. In 1797, the Beyranvand and Bajalan actively supported Mohammad Khan Zand against the Qajars. Under the Qajars, many Lak tribes were divided, and the Zand tribe suffered extensively and almost disappeared.[40][41] During the rise of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, the Vali dynasty under Ismail Khan allied with the Qajars. Hasan Khan, the successor of Ismail Khan, maintained the alliance and had even handed over Mohammad Khan Zand to the Qajars. However, the initial good relations between the Vali dynasty and the Qajars, which were based on their shared enmity for the Zands, had soon deteriorated, and the Qajars even seized Lorestan (Pish-e-Kuh), although the Vali dynasty did not cause problems for the Qajars afterwards and remained cooperative.[68][69]

When the Qajars came to power, Ismail Khan persecuted several tribes, including the Laks of Delfan, causing many of them to flee to Kermanshah.[70] The Lak tribes of Hasanvand and Beyranvand, despite being counted among the Feyli tribes, had earlier supported the Zands, and having lost their privileges under the Qajars, began revolting and became the most troublesome tribes in Lorestan for the government.[71] After Mohammad Khan, the last son of Ismail Khan, was killed by the Laks of Selseleh, Ismail Khan ordered his successor Hasan Khan to take revenge, and many of the Selseleh were killed.[72] Later, Hasan Khan, as the Vali of Posht-e-Kuh, was invited to Lorestan by the Qajars to help suppress the revolt of his cousin Huseynqoli Khan, and he took the opportunity to devastate the Beyranvand tribe.[73] His successor, Abbasqoli Khan, in one incident offered twenty horsemen to help the Qajar prince suppress the rebellious Delfan tribes who had advanced toward Posht-e-Kuh.[74][75] The Qajar Persian text known as Tawayif wa Qabayil-i Buzurg-i Akrad had also mentioned the Laks among the Kurdish tribes of Iran.[51] When Reza Shah came to power, during his campaign against the tribes of Lorestan, the Beyranvand tribe reportedly did most of the fighting,[76] while the Selseleh tribe was also among the rebellious tribes.[77]

The geographical territory of the Laks was sometimes called Lakestan.[40][41][78] The main Lak region included the southern and western parts of Hamadan, eastern parts of Kermanshah, western and northern parts of Lorestan, and eastern parts of Ilam. However, the Laks also lived in the wider region stretching from the city of Hamadan to the north of Khuzestan province to the city of Shahr-e Kord. The Lak region was previously part of the historical Iranian province officially known as "the fifth province" (ostan-e panjom), with the city of Kermanshah as its provincial capital.[41]

Some Laks also lived near Esfandabad and Leylakh near Sanandaj in Kurdistan, and there were other exclaves of Laks further in areas such as Qazvin, Hashtgerd, Damavand, Kerman, and in the Caspian regions such as Manjil in Gilan and Kelardasht in Mazandaran, Salmas in West Azerbaijan, as well as in Dargaz and Kalat in Razavi Khorasan. Some Lak exclaves continued to speak Laki while others were linguistically assimilated. After the fall of the Zand dynasty, many of their supporters in central Iran were absorbed by greater nomadic confederations. The Laks were mainly absorbed into the Qashqai confederation, although some Laks were absorbed by the Bakhtiari or Boyer Ahmadi tribes. Rahimi Othmani noted thirteen Qashqai tribes of Lak origin. There were also said to be Lak communities in Iraq, as well as in Turkey around Adıyaman and between Adana and Central Anatolia, who adopted the local northern Kurdish dialects, or different languages altogether.[41] In the 1840s, there were upwards of 3,000 Lak families in villages around Kirkuk, where they had adopted the local Kurdish dialect and Sunni Islam, while some Lak tribes lived in Zohab and "in great numbers" in Iran. The Laks were noted as a tribe divided between Ottoman and Persian authority. Historically, their Kurdish affiliation did not matter, as it was Sunni and Shia affiliation which determined Ottoman or Persian subjection respectively.[79]

The Laks were considered a Kurdish tribe on the census in Ottoman Iraq,[80] and after the establishment of the Iraqi state.[81] The Laks in the Ottoman Empire were considered Kurds who historically came from Iran, and in Turkish they were called "Lek Kürtleri",[82][83][84] and historically "Ekrad-ı Lek",[85] or "Lek Ekradi".[86][84] The Laks were also said to be Kurdish migrants into Turkey from Khorasan.[87] Another tribal document mentioned the "Lak" or "Lek" tribe, which lived in "Karaman, Konya, Sultanönü (Eskişehir), Niğde, Kayseriyye, Zamantı (Meraş), Harmancık (Kayserriyye), Çorum, Kırşehir, and Çukurova. From the nomadic Kurdish tribes."[88] While tribes were largely autonomous in the first century of Ottoman rule, a qadi was later appointed to the Lek (Lekwan) Kurds, Reşwan Kurds, as well as Bozulus Turkmen.[89] Meanwhile, the Lekvanik tribe were known for brigandage, and made alliances with other Kurdish tribes to organize robberies.[90] At the end of the 17th century, the Laks joined the Yazidis and several Kurdish tribes in Elbistan in a revolt against the Ottomans.[91]

The most distinguished point in the history of the Laks was the rise of Karim Khan Zand. Two revolutionary leaders later of emerged from among the Laks, namely Yar-Mohammad Khan Kermanshahi, who fought alongside the Constitutionalists in Tabriz and was killed in battle against Qajar prince Farmanfarma in Kermanshah in October 1912, and Khalu Qorban Harsini, the commander of partisan units of Mirza Kuchik Khan in the Jangali movement before the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1920.[41]

Minorsky noted the cohesion of the Lak tribes before 1914, adding that the tribes of Delfan, Selseleh, and Tarhan were united under Nazar Ali Khan of the Amra'i clan. Minorsky also claimed that they additionally had religious solidarity, as all of the Delfan and many Amala of Tarhan were Yarsani.[40] Minorsky claimed that the majority of Laks were Yarsani. Most Laks were Shia Muslims by the 21st century. A considerable amount of Laks remained Yarsani, mainly around Sahneh and Nurabad.[41] There were also Bible translations into Laki by the 21st century.[92][93] In addition to Laki, there were some Laks who adopted neighboring dialects of Kurdish, Luri, and Gorani.[94] Many Lak tribes of Posht-e-Kuh traditionally spoke the local Southern Kurdish dialect and not Laki.[95]

Self-identification

Erik Anonby mentioned that the Laks in Iran had always been divided, with some identifying as Kurds, as Lurs, or as a distinct ethnic group related to both, and added that most Laks in Lorestan province firmly identified with the Lurs, with the identification strengthening by the beginning of the 21st century. He linked their increasing tendency to identify as Lurs to the fact that the Lurs were historically the ruling class of both Lorestan and Ilam provinces, as well as the main corpus of the Laks, in Lorestan province, being subjected to Lur rulers such as the Vali dynasty.[96] Anonby compared the works of regional scholars Fattah, Amanollahi, and Izadpanah, and wrote that Fattah gave a detailed overview but claimed he was politically motivated in considering them Kurds, and also noted that while Fattah defended their Kurdish identity and believed there were deliberate efforts to distance them from Kurds, he acknowledged that the efforts had some affect on the identification of Laks. Anonby added that Amanollahi and Izadpanah gave the primary ethnic identity of Laki-speakers as neither Lak nor Kurdish, but rather Lur, considering Laki as a uniquely linguistic term while Luri was both ethnic and linguistic. Anonby agreed with their view on the identity of Laks in Pish-e-Kuh, but admitted that it had been generalized to include the more complex Laks of Posht-e Kuh. Anonby also pointed out that Fattah had more information on Posht-e-Kuh.[97] Hamzeh'ee, a Yarsani scholar from Harsin, referred to them as "Laki Kurds",[5] but also wrote that some scholars did not recognize a clear line between Laks and Lurs, such as Izadpanah who claimed both groups were Lur, to which Hamzeh'ee responded that while the Laks and Lurs did share many cultural aspects, the same could be said for the whole population around Kermanshah and Lorestan.[98]

Anonby noted that the Laks were not a homogenous people, and were traditionally divided into two main groups, the Laks of Pish-e-Kuh (Lorestan province) and the Laks of Posht-e-Kuh (Kermanshah and Ilam provinces and adjacent parts of Iraq), and that they were mainly linked by the Laki language, otherwise the two groups were relatively independent of each other. This later caused debates over whether the Lak ethnicity existed in the first place. He added that most Laks of Pish-e-Kuh identified firmly as Lurs, while the Laks of Posht-e-Kuh showed strong ties to both Kurds and Lurs.[94] Belelli also noted the same pattern of self-identification as Anonby did, adding that regardless of what they identified as, the Laks were aware of having an intermediate position between Kurds and Lurs, whether ethnic, linguistic, cultural, or geographic, and that the shifting self-definitions which varied according to circumstances should not be surprising.[42] Others also noted how the labels (Kurdish, Lur, Lak) that locals applied to themself varied depending on circumstances.[99] According to Rüdiger Schmitt, the Laks spoke a "SE Kurdish dialect" but "strongly identify themselves as Lurs, a more prestigious SW Perside tribe adjacent to them, even though Lurs are low themselves on the prestige scale."[100] Erhard Franz, describing Laki-speakers, claimed that part of them (such as the Kalhor and Kolyai) were considered Kurds and the other part were considered Lurs.[101]

Anonby added that many Laks in Lorestan province considered Luristani Luri as more valuable than Laki, and adopted the Luri language to "get ahead", abandoning the Laki language as it was associated with cultural conservativism, rurality and economic deprivation, despite Luri also facing pressure and shifting towards Persian.[102] Outside of Lorestan, the village of Chashin in Hamadan was made up of Laks who followed Yarsanism, with a population of 1,400 in 2015, and surrounded by villages which spoke Persian, Azerbaijani, and Luri. The Laks of Chashin identified either as Lak Kurds or as Laks altogether, and had explicitly distinguished themselves from the residents of the nearby village of Khaku because they spoke northern Luri.[103] In a 2019 survey for self-declared Kurds in Ilam province, while reviewing the participants, scholars added that "some Kurds in Ilam are referred as Lak who affiliate themselves to both Kurds and Lors."[104] Later, Reza Talebi noted that Kurdish identification among the Laks had strengthened in response to repression under the Islamic Republic.[105]

Tribes

Minorsky mentioned the lists of Lak tribes in Lorestan gathered by Oskar Mann and Rabino, which included the Delfan, Selseleh, and the Amra'i clan of the Tarhan (or Tarkhan). The Beyranvand and Dalvand tribes, which were claimed to be part of the tribes of Bala Gariva, were also considered Lak.[40][106] The Beyranvand were historically distinguished as the only Laki speakers in the Bala Gariva confederation, which spoke Luri.[107] The tribes of Tarhan included both Luri and Laki speakers.[108] According to Iranica, the Delfan, including Kakavand, Bijanvand, Ivatvand, spoke Laki, and the tribes of Tarhan comprised the Luri speaking tribes of Suri, Amrayi, Alivand, Khoshnamvand, Garma'i, and Shiravand, as well as the Laki speaking tribes of Garavand, Adinavand, Kunani, Azadbakht, and Owlad-e Qobad, among others, while the Selseleh, including Hasanvand, Yusofvand, Kowlivand, spoke Luri,[109] or Laki.[27]

Minorsky also mentioned a list compiled by J. L. Rousseau at Kermanshah in 1807, listing the local Lak tribes as Kalhor, Mafi, Nanaki, Jalilvand, Payravand, Kolya'i, Sufivand, Bahramvand, Karkuki, Tawali, Zuyirvand, Kakuvand, Namivand, Ahmadvand, Bohtu'i, Zuliya, Harsini, and Shaykhvand.[40] The Kalhor, Mafi, Sufivand, Karkuki, Jalilvand, and Kolya'i tribes mentioned in the list were also considered Kurdish.[41] Rousseau claimed that the term Lak was a general label applied to the tribes around the southeast of Kermanshah.[39] Other lists also included the Bajalan and Zangana tribes as Lak.[110]

In Iran, different groups of Laks were historically independent of each other, and often identified with either the Kurds or Lurs to varying degrees.[111] It was difficult to properly classify the Lak tribes, as many Lak tribes were often also listed as Kurds or Lurs.[110]

Abbas al-Azzawi listed the Zargush, Suramiri, Rojbayani, Lak (a small tribe in Erbil), and Sheikhbizin tribes as the Lak confederation of the Kurdish tribes in Iraq.[81] Among the Kurdish tribes in Turkey, the Lekvanik around Çukurova, the Sheikhbizin around Haymana, and the Bermeki around Bingöl, were considered Lak.[112]

Notable Lak people

References

  1. ↑ "Laki".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hamzeh'ee, M. Reza (2015). "Lak Tribe". Iranica Online. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  3. ↑ ""بێڕێزیكردن بە كوردانی لەك" كاردانەوەی تووندی لێكەوتەوە". Rûdaw (in Kurdish). 30 July 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Radyoya Lekî li Kirmaşanê; Îran li çi digere?". Rûdaw (in Kurdish). 9 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 Hamzehʼee, M. Reza (1990). The Yaresan: A Sociological, Historical and Religio-historical Study of a Kurdish Community. K. Schwarz. p. 64. ISBN 9783922968832.
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  7. ↑ "Laki". Ethnologue.
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  10. ↑ Hulst, Harry van der; Goedemans, Rob; Zanten, Ellen van (2011). A Survey of Word Accentual Patterns in the Languages of the World. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110198966.
  11. ↑ Rüdiger Schmitt (2000). Die iranischen Sprachen in Gegenwart und Geschichte (in German). p. 85. ISBN 3895001503.
  12. ↑ "Atlas of the Languages of Iran A working classification". Languages of Iran. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  13. ↑ تاریخ جغرافیائی خوزستان، محمدعلی امام شوشتری، ص. ٨١.
  14. ↑ مقدمه‌ای بر شناخت ایلات و عشایر، عبدالله شهبازی، ص. ١٣٣-١٣٤، نشر نی، چاپ اول ١٣٦٩.
  15. ↑ برهان قاطع، محمدحسین بن خلف تبریزی، ۱۰۶۲ هـ.قـ.، دکتر محمد معین، جلد ٣: ق - ل، ص. ١٩٠٠، چاپ ٢ فروردین ۱۳۳۳، انتشارات ابن‌سینا.
  16. ↑ 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
  17. ↑ Minorsky, Vladimir (1943). "The Gūrān". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 11 (1): 75. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  18. 1 2 Minorsky, Vladimir (2012). "Lak". Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0562 ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4
  19. ↑ Vladimir Minorsky, "Notes sur la secte des Ahlé-Haqq", pp. 57, in Revue du monde musulman, Volumes XL-XLI, Septembre-Décembre 1920, Mission scientifique du Maroc.
  20. 1 2 "LURISTAN iv. The Origin of Nomadism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
  21. 1 2 Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin, Volume 14, 1879, pp. 87-88.
  22. ↑ Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779, John R. Perry, 2015, pp. 17, ISBN 9780226661025.
  23. ↑ The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7, From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic, Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly, Charles Melville, pp. 64, ISBN 9780521200950.
  24. ↑ Iran at War: 1500-1988, Kaveh Farrokh, 2011, pp. 130, ISBN 9781780962214.
  25. ↑ کریم خان زند و زمان او، پرویز رجبی، 1973, pp. 30, ISBN 9789648897456.
  26. ↑ Titles & Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, ʻAlī Naqī Naṣīrī, Willem M. Floor, 2008, pp. 270-271, ISBN 9781933823232.
  27. 1 2 "KURDISH TRIBES". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
  28. ↑ The History of Ancient Iran, Volume 37, Richard Nelson Frye, 1984, pp. 29.
  29. ↑ "IRAN vii. NON-IRANIAN LANGUAGES (9) Arabic". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
  30. ↑ Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages, Andrew Dalby, 1998, pp. 371, ISBN 9780231115681.
  31. ↑ Minorités en Islam: géographie politique et sociale, Xavier de Planhol, 1997, pp. 136, ISBN 9782082128094.
  32. ↑ "Das kurdische Problem", Otto Günther von Wesendonk, pp. 124, in "Preußische Jahrbücher: Zweihundertdreiundzwanzigster Band (Volume 223)", January–March 1931, Verlag von Georg Stilke, Berlin.
  33. ↑ Erânische Alterthumskunde: Erster Band (Volume 1), Geographie, Ethnographie und Älteste Geschichte, Friedrich Spiegel, 1871, pp. 744.
  34. ↑ Mission scientifique en Perse, Volume 2, Études Géographiques, pp. 234, Jacques de Morgan, Paris, 1895.
  35. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 25، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  36. ↑ "FOLKLORE STUDIES i. OF PERSIA". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  37. ↑ ممسنی در گذرگاه تاريخ، حسن حبیبی فهلیانی، 1992, pp. 248-249. انتشارات نوید.
  38. ↑ سيه چادرها: تحقيقى از زندگى مردم ايل قشقائى، منوچهر کیانی، 1992, pp. 164.
  39. 1 2 كردان گوران و مسأله كرد در تركيه: از آغاز جنبش كماليان تا كنفرانس لوزان، G. B. Akopov (Hakopian), M. A. Hasarof, translated by Sirus Izadi, 2007, pp. 91-93, ISBN 9644012593.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Minorsky, Vladimir (2012). "Lak". Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0562 ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "LAK TRIBE". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  42. 1 2 The Laki Variety of Harsin: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon, Sara Belelli, 2021, pp. 24, ISBN 9783863098254.
  43. ↑ دستور زبان لكى، ضرب المثلها و واژه‌نامه، کامین عالی‌پور، 2005, pp. 16, ISBN 9789648120257.
  44. ↑ Pahlavan, Kayvan (2004). رضا شاه از الشتر تا الاشت: نیای لر رضا شاه. p. 103. ISBN 9789647217675.
  45. ↑ جغرافیای تاریخی و تاریخ لرستان، علی احمد ساکی، 1964, pp. 39.
  46. ↑ Socin, Albert. "VII. Die Sprache der Kurden". Band 1, Abteilung 2 Neupersische Schriftsprache. Die Sprachen der Afghanen, Balutschen und Kurden. Kleinere Dialekte und Dialektgruppen. Register zum Band 1, edited by Wilhelm Geiger and Ernst Kuhn, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 1901, pp. 249. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112378489-004.
  47. ↑ Курды: Легенда Востока, pp. 30, ISBN 9780369404503.
  48. ↑ Minorsky, Vladimir (2012). "Lak". Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0562 ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4
  49. ↑ "LAK TRIBE". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  50. ↑ Dehqan, Mustafa. "Darceñge: A Lekī Poem by Miļā Nawshād". Kurdish Art and Identity: Verbal Art, Self-definition and Recent History, edited by Alireza Korangy, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2020, pp. 192. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110599626-009.
  51. 1 2 Zîn-ə Hördemîr: A Lekî Satirical Verse from Lekistan, Mustafa Dehqan, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2008; 18(3), pp. 295. doi:10.1017/S1356186308008523.
  52. ↑ History of Shah 'Abbas the Great (Tārīk-e 'Ālamārā-ye 'Abbāsī), Eskandar Beg Monshi, Roger M. Savory, vol. 2, Book 3, pp. 1123, Persian Heritage Series no. 28, Westview Press, ISBN 0891582967.
  53. ↑ Titles & Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, ʻAlī Naqī Naṣīrī, Willem M. Floor, 2008, pp. 125, 270-271, ISBN 9781933823232.
  54. ↑ Tadhkirat al-Muluk: A Manual of Safavid Administration, Vladimir Minorsky, pp. 16-17, 1980, ISBN 0906094127.
  55. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 24، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  56. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 22، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  57. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 25، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  58. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 26-27، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  59. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 28-29، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  60. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 25-26، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  61. ↑ "فرمان شاه عباس دوم در بارۀ ایل لك و سه سند تاریخی دیگر"، محمدامین ریاحی، در "یکی قطره باران: جشن‌نامۀ استاد دکتر عباس زریاب خوئی"، احمد تفضلی، ص. 25، تهران، ١٣٧٠.
  62. ↑ Pahlavan, Kayvan (2004). رضا شاه از الشتر تا الاشت: نياى لر رضا شاه (in Persian). انتشارات آرون. p. 223. ISBN 9789647217675.
  63. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 219.
  64. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 221.
  65. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 230.
  66. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 226.
  67. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 227–228.
  68. ↑ یعقوبی, ابراهیم; مظاهری, خداکرم (2020). "کوچ والیان لرستان فیلی به پشتکوه؛ بازخورد سیاست قاجاری کردن ایران". فرهنگ ایلام (in Persian). 21 (66–67): 161–177 (pp. 39–40).
  69. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 228.
  70. ↑ ايلام و تمدن ديرينۀ آن، ایرج افشار سیستانی، ١٩٩٣، pp. 153.
  71. ↑ رهنورد, منصور; شیخ نوری, محمدامیر; دهنوی, نظام علی (2018–2019). "رابطه والیان فیلی لرستان و حکّام زندیه". پژوهشنامه تاریخ‌های محلی ایران (in Persian). 7 (13): 228–229.
  72. ↑ یعقوبی, ابراهیم; مظاهری, خداکرم (2020). "کوچ والیان لرستان فیلی به پشتکوه؛ بازخورد سیاست قاجاری کردن ایران". فرهنگ ایلام (in Persian). 21 (66–67): 161–177 (pp. 40).
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  74. ↑ ايلام و تمدن ديرينۀ آن، ایرج افشار سیستانی، ١٩٩٣، pp. 156.
  75. ↑ جغرافیای تاریخی و تاریخ لرستان، علی احمد ساکی، 1964، pp. 334.
  76. ↑ Amanolahi, Sekandar. “Reza Shah and the Lurs: The Impact of the Modern State on Luristan.” Iran & the Caucasus, vol. 6, no. 1/2, 2002, pp. 203-204. JSTOR 4030721.
  77. ↑ Amanolahi, Sekandar. “Reza Shah and the Lurs: The Impact of the Modern State on Luristan.” Iran & the Caucasus, vol. 6, no. 1/2, 2002, pp. 199. JSTOR 4030721
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  79. ↑ Ottoman-Iranian Borderlands: Making a Boundary, 1843-1914, Sabri Ateş, 2013, pp. 107, ISBN 9781107033658.
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  81. 1 2 ʻAshāʼir al-ʻIrāq, vol. 2, al-Kurdiyah (Tribes of Iraq: vol. 2, the Kurds), pp. 215-216, ʻAbbās ʻAzzāwī, (Baghdad: Matba'at al-Ma'arif), 1947. https://hdl.handle.net/2333.1/2fqz6b7s
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  83. ↑ Border Thinking on the Edges of the West: Crossing Over the Hellespont, Andrew Davison, 2014, pp. 108, ISBN 9781134636532.
  84. 1 2 Tarihi Gelişmeler İçinde Türkiye'nin Sorunları Sempozyumu: Dün, Bugün, Yarın: Bildiriler, pp. 149, Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Atatürk İlkeleri ve İnkilâp Tarihi Enstitüsü, Ankara, 8-9 Mart 1990, 1992, ISBN 9789751604330.
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  88. ↑ Tunalı'dan Beydili'ye, Emin Baydil, 2010, pp. 110, ISBN 9789752673397.
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  91. ↑ Rendre la justice à Amid: Procédures, acteurs et doctrines dans le contexte ottoman du XVIIIème siècle, Yavuz Aykan, 2016, pp. 215, ISBN 9789004305793.
  92. ↑ "Hope for Iran in the Gospel: The Intimacy of Heart Languages: Patheos". Transform Iran. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  93. ↑ "Scripture poverty in Iran spurs indigenous Bible translation". Mission Network News. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
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  95. ↑ نگاهى به ايلام: مجموعه‌اى از اوضاع تاريخى، جغرافيائى، اجتماعى و اقتصادى منطقه، ایرج افشار سیستانی، 1987, pp. 152.
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  98. ↑ Hamzehʼee, M. Reza (1990). The Yaresan: A Sociological, Historical and Religio-historical Study of a Kurdish Community. K. Schwarz. p. 50. ISBN 9783922968832.
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  101. ↑ Kurden und Kurdentum: Zeitgeschichte eines Volkes und seiner Nationalbewegungen, Erhard Franz, 1986, pp. 30, ISBN 3891730063.
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  103. ↑ Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context, 2024, pp. 233, ISBN 9783111169286.
  104. ↑ The Sociolinguistics of Iran’s Languages at Home and Abroad, The Case of Persian, Azerbaijani, and Kurdish, 2019, pp. 85, ISBN 9783030196059.
  105. ↑ The Concept of Identity in Iran: Religion, National Disintegration, and Radicalism in Post-Revolutionary Iran, Reza Talebi, 2026, pp. 136, ISBN 9783032199881.
  106. ↑ "KURDISH TRIBES". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  107. ↑ The Laki Variety of Harsin: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon, Sara Belelli, 2021, pp. 21–22, ISBN 9783863098254.
  108. ↑ The Laki Variety of Harsin: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon, Sara Belelli, 2021, pp. 21, ISBN 9783863098254.
  109. ↑ "ʿAŠĀYER". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
  110. 1 2 Anonby, Erik John (2004), Kurdish or Luri? Laki's disputed identity in the Luristan province of Iran, pp. 9.
  111. ↑ Anonby, Erik John (2004), Kurdish or Luri? Laki's disputed identity in the Luristan province of Iran, pp. 8.
  112. ↑ Lek Kürtleri: Çukurova Lekvanikleri, Haymana Lek Şahbazanları, Bingöl Bermeki Lekleri: Tarihsel, Sosyal Bir İnceleme, Mustafa Gökpınar, Ali Can Geliş, 2016, pp. 1-5, ISBN 9786059183239.

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