The Bahktiari

The Bakhtiari (or Bakhtiyari) are a Luri-speaking nomadic pastoral tribe of southwestern Iran, inhabiting a territory that straddles the Zagros Mountains and equates to the modern provinces of Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari, and Isfahan. Each year they migrate with their herds of sheep, cattle, and goats from summer pastures on the high plateaus of the Char Mahal valley, across the Zagros Mountains, to over-winter their herds on the lowland plains of Khuzestan. Crossing high mountain passes with the dangers of snow, flooded rivers, and lack of grazing, the migration was always dangerous, but is still undertaken even today, when many Bakhtiari still live in black goat-hair tents and follow the nomadic routes and traditions of their ancestors.

The origins and history of the Bakhtiari are obscure, since there is little scientific or literary evidence. However, based on an account in the Tarikh-i Guzidah, or Select History written by Hamdullah Mustawfi of Qazwin in 1330 CE, they are believed to have migrated to the central Zagros region from Syria in the tenth century CE. Bakhtiari folk-history has a more fanciful account of their origins – that they are the descendants of Fereydun, a legendary hero of the Persian epic, Firdausi's Shah-Nameh (Book of Kings).

Whatever the origins of the Bakhtiari, they managed to retain their independence during the rule of the various empires that dominated the region, and during the 16th century the tribe split into two sub-tribes, the Haft Lang (Seven Legs) and the Chahar Lang (Four Legs).

According to a source quoted on the bakhtiari.com website, “’Bakhtiari’ itself means bearer, or friend, of luck or good fortune, it is posited that the name ‘Bakhtiari’ became associated with these pastoral nomads from some time in the Safavid period (1501-1722). Further it is possible that some leader was known as 'friend of good fortune' and his followers were identified with him and his name.” [Source]

Websites used for research:
Bakhtiari.com
Samarkand.co.uk
The Bakhtiari of Iran

Written by Samdzimari Scyles