The entire area came under the control of a local dynasty known as the Atabakan-i-Luristan, which lasted from 1184 to 1597. The rulers of Lur-i-kuchek established their capital in Khorramabad (currently the provincial capital of Luristan), maintained a semi-independent dynasty and paid tribute only when the supreme rulers of Iran were strong enough to collect tribute by force. The last ruler of Lur-i-kuchek was Shah-Vardi Khan, whose sister was married to Shah Abbas, the King of Iran, while Shah-Vardi Khan himself was married to one of the Safavid royal princesses.
The Atabak dynasty was replaced by the Wali dynasty (1596-1929). The founder of the new dynasty was Husain Khan, whose father had married the aunt of the last Atabak, and on the basis of this kinship tie Husain Khan later received the position of ruler of Lur-j-kuchek. The Walis played a significant role in the political affairs of Iran. They guarded southwestern Iran against the Ottomans, who constantly attacked the western and southwestern borders of the country. Ali Mardan Khan was appointed the commander-in-chief of the entire Iranian armed forces dur downfall of the Safavids, when the country was invaded by the Afghans in the early eighteenth century (De Bode 1845).
The reign of the Walis coincided with several dynasties of Iran including: Safavid (1501-1736), Afshar (1736-1750), Zand (1750-1794), Qajar (1796-1925) and the beginning of the Pahlavi(1924-1929). The last two dynasties, namely the Qajar and Pahlavi, are responsible for the political weakness of the Lurs and the decline of the Wali dynasty. Thus, the Lurs maintained their political integrity under the Safavids and Afshars, while they ruled over Iran during the Zand dynasty. However, when the Qajars came to power, they divided Lur-i-kuchek into two parts, Luristan and Posht-kuh. From this time on, the domain of the Walis was limited to Posht-kuh only, while Luristan came under the direct control of the central government. Thus, a governor-general, usually a member of the royal family, was appointed by the king and sent to Luristan. Yet during the Qajar dynasty, Luristan was continually in a state of anarchy. The Qajars were unable to subdue the tribes of Luristan and hence, except for some short periods, there was no peace in Luristan. As a matter of fact, the Qajar dynasty lost total control over Luristan after the assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah in 1896. In short, the division of Lur-i-kuchek by the Qajar dynasty weakened the political strength of the Walis and reduced the Lurs' political influence. Furthermore, the inability of the Qajars to establish law and order in Luristan contributed to the expansion of pastoral nomadism and the destruction of settled communities. Consequently, Luristan suffered politically as well as economically under Qajar rule.
The Qajar dynasty was overthrown by Reza Khan, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, in 1925. The Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979) is best characterized as a dictatorial monarchy with absolute rule, that is, the concentration of power in the monarch's hands. The regime built an army whose strength was without precedent in the history of Iran. The army was used against Lurs and other groups who refused to give up their power to the new regime. Through bloody confrontations between the new monarch and the Lurs (as well as other peoples in Iran), the Pahlavi dynasty eventually crushed the powers of the Lurs. Thus, Reza Shah ended the Wali dynasty of Posht-kuh, executed or exiled many of the Lur leaders, forcefully sedentarized the nomadic pastoral tribes and changed the territorial integrity of Lur-i-kuchek.
The Lurs under the Pahlavi Regime
While the Qajar dynasty was responsible for the spread of anarchy among the Lurs, the Pahlavi-dynasty was responsible for their political disorganization, social disruption and the loss of political freedom and semi-independent status. For the first time in their long history, the Lurs were stripped of their traditional rights and political freedom by the Pahlavi dynasty. When Reza Shah took power, he established a centralized government, transferring power from the provincial communities to Tehran. He carried out his plan through the use of military operations against various provincial communities, including the Lurs. A key element to Reza Shah's success was that the Lurs were not unified so he could attack each group separately. Furthermore, Reza Shah used one tribe to fight against another. As the Lurs were defeated, Reza Shah took the following measures to keep them under control: 1) tribal leaders were removed from their positions of authority and were replaced by military officials, 2) many of the leaders, were executed, imprisoned or exiled to other parts of Iran, 3) some tribes were exiled to distant lands, 4) all pastoral nomadic tribes, which formed the majority of the Lur population, were forceably sedentarized without sufficient provisions, 5) all tribesmen were disarmed, 6) the use of the traditional black tent was outlawed, 7) tribesmen were ordered to abandon their traditional costume and were forced to wear Western clothes; however, this rule was not totally carried out, and 8) governmental offices were established in order to carry out the state policies.
The above policies were intended to subjugate the Lurs to the central government. Reza Shah altered the traditional sociopolitical organization of the Lurs without providing opportunities for their participation in local or national government. Undoubtedly the establishment of the central state demanded the integration of various regions and ethnic groups. However, that need not entail political deprivation and the lack of respect for members of the different tribal or ethnic groups. Under the Pahlavi regime, however, the establishment of the modern state came to mean precisely that - the expansion of state domination and disruption of the traditional political organization without the slightest opportunity for peoples to participate in local or national politics.
Reza Shah was deposed by the British and Russians in 1941, and was replaced by his son Mohammed Reza Shah, who ruled from 1941 to 1979. The reign of Mohammed Reza Shah witnessed further centralization of state power and the disintegration of traditional political organization among the Lurs. The enforcement of the land reform program and the nationalization of the forests and pastureland (1962-63 along with various forces of modernization including the expansion of capitalism, urbanism and modern schooling gradually changed many aspects of the Lurs' culture.
Under the Pahlavi regime, the Lurs lost their freedom and their semi-independent status, and the Lurs' territories were divided into several administrative units without any regard for traditional boundaries. For instance, Lur-i-kuchek has been limited to modern Luristan while Posht-kuh, formerly ruled by the Wali dynasty, was incorporated into Ilam province. The most dramatic change caused by the Pahlavi regime was the loss of freedom and the semi-independent status of the Lurs. Prior to the establishment of the Pahlavi Regime, basic decisions were made within the local communities. For instance, the Bakhtiari was ruled by a local dynasty who paid certain tributes to the central government, while internal affairs were taken care of by the members of that dynasty. In Luristan, each tribal group acted as a semi-independent unit. In Posht-kuh, the Walis were supreme, while the tribes of Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed and those of Mamasani also enjoyed the same internal freedom. The Pahlavi regime, however, sent high-ranking officials from Tehran to supervise the Lur territories. Just prior to the recent revolution, all governors-general were directly appointed by the Shah without taking into consideration the existence of the Lurs' communities. Lurs, like other Iranians, were prohibited from organizing political parties, forming associations or expressing themselves through mass media and public gatherings.
Second, Iranian oil is extracted from the mountain slopes of Luristan, Bakhtiari and Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed provinces, but the Lurs were deprived from their share of oil revenue, particularly during the reign of Mohammed Reza Shah. The money derived from oil went to the pockets of the Tehranis, creating regional economic inequalities.
Third, despite the fact that the Pahlavi regime provided elementary and, to some extent, secondary education for the Lurs, it failed to provide them with opportunities for higher education. Until a few years prior to the revolution, not a single institution of higher education was established among the Lurs, nor were they given scholarships or financial support. The Pahlavi regime was thus responsible for depriving the Lurs of access to higher and prestigious positions. High-ranking Lur families were the only exceptions; they could afford to send their children to universities either in Iran or outside the country.
Modern education was used during the Pahlavi rule as a way to undermine local cultural values. School curriculum was prepared in Tehran without taking the cultural diversity among the Iranian peoples into consideration. Not a single course in the entire elementary, high school or university curricula reflected the history, geography or sociocultural values of the Lurs.
In sum, the Lurs lost their sociopolitical integrity under the Pahlavi dynasty. They were integrated into the "modern" state without any opportunity for effective participation in the decision-making process that affected their lives.
Lur-i-bozorg or the Major Lur
