Lorestan

Lorestan
/lawr'euh stahn", -stan", lohr'-/, n.
Luristan.

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also spelled  Luristan 

      , geographic and historic region, western Iran. Its name means Land of the Lurs (Lur) and it extends from the Iraqi frontier and Kermānshāh and separates the Khūzestān lowland from interior uplands.

      Extensive mountains stretch northwest–southeast; between the higher ranges are well-watered pockets with lush pastures. Oak forest covers the outer slopes, together with elm, maple, walnut, and almond trees. The Lurs are of aboriginal stock with strong Iranian and Arab admixtures, speak a Persian dialect, and are Shīʿite Muslims. Under the Pahlavis the Lurs were settled, and only a few retain their pastoral nomadism. Lorestān was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1,000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625. The Luristan Bronzes, noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. The bronzes were found mainly in tombs near Kermānshāh. Cyaxares, ruler of the Medes, drove out the Scythians in about 620. Under Cyrus the Great, Lorestān was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sāsānid dynasties.

      Little Lorestān, the northern part, was governed by independent princes of the Khorshīdī dynasty, called atabegs, from 1155 to the beginning of the 17th century, when the last atabeg, Shāh Vardī Khān, was removed by the Ṣafavid ʿAbbās I the Great and government of the territory was given to the chief of a rival tribe, with the title of vālī; his descendants retained the title.

      The southern part of Lorestān, or Great Lorestān, was independent under the Faḍlawayh (Fazlaveye) atabegs from 1160 until 1424; its capital was Idaj, now only mounds and ruins at Malamir.

      Lorestān proper stretches between the Dez valley (used by the Trans-Iranian Railway) and the Upper Karkheh River, and northward to near Imāmshahr and Nehāvend. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy; crops include rice, wheat, barley, cotton, oilseeds, sugar beets, vegetables, and fruits. Industries produce cement, sugar, processed foods, carded wool, and ginned cotton. Iron ore and molybdenum are mined. Roads and railways link Khorramābād with Borūjerd and Alīgūdarz.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lorestán — Lorestan o Luristan es una de las 28 provincias de Irán, así como un territorio histórico. del Irán occidental al sur de los Montes Zagros. Terreno muy montañoso, con cordilleras con nieves perpetuas. Entre dichas cordilleras, las llanuras son… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Lorestan — 33° 29′ 14″ N 48° 21′ 14″ E / 33.4871, 48.3538 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lorestan — استان لرستان Lorestan Lage der Provinz Lorestan im Iran Basisdaten Staat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lorestán — Provincia de Lorestán استان لرستان Capital: Khorramabad Superficie: 28.294 km² Población:     Total 1.758.628 (2005)   Densidad: 62,2 hab./km²; Gobernador: Ghorban Ali Sa adat …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lorestân — Luristân ou Lorestân prov. montagneuse de l Iran occidental (28 803 km²; 1 370 000 hab.). En 1929, on découvrit, dans des tombeaux mégalithiques, de nombreux bronzes du Luristân (Ier millénaire av. J. C.): armes, mors de chevaux, figurines,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Lorestan — Admin ASC 1 Code Orig. name Lorestān Country and Admin Code IR.23 IR …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

  • Lorestan Province — استان لرستان   Province   L …   Wikipedia

  • Lorestān bronze — is a term referring to a set of Early Iron Age bronze artifacts of various individual forms which have been recovered from Lorestān and Kermanshah areas in west central Iran. They include a great number of weapons, ornaments, tools, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Lorestān Province — Infobox Iran Province province name = Lorestān ostan name = لرستان loc capital = Khorramabad latd = 33.4871 longd = 48.3538 area = 28,294 pop = 1,758,628 pop year = 2005 pop density = 62.2 sub provinces = 9 languages= Luri Persian Laki Lorestān… …   Wikipedia

  • Lorestan — /lawr euh stahn , stan , lohr /, n. Luristan …   Useful english dictionary

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