DĪRAKVAND, Lor tribe belonging to the Bālā Garīva group and inhabiting a mountainous area between Ḵorramābād and Dezfūl in the Pīš-Kūh region of Lorestān. According to Albert Houtum-Schindler (p. 86), the Dīrakvand comprised about 2,000 families in 1294/1877; Arnold Wilson (p. 26), reported about 3,000 families in 1330/1912 and Henry Field (p. 183) about 8,000-10,000 individuals in 1307 Š./1928. The absence of more recent data on the tribe suggests that it has lost its separate identity.
According to H.-L. Rabino, the Dīrakvand claimed to be of Qorayšī origin, and their leaders believed themselves to be descendants of Imam ʿAlī’s elder brother ʿAqīl; the atābegs of Lorestān were supposedly from the Dīrakvand (Rabino, p. 23), but Vladimir Minorsky maintained that they were from the Jangrūʾī tribe (p. 828).
According to Wilson (p. 27), the Dīrakvand were “notorious for their predatory habits,” especially along the Dezfūl-Borūjerd road, an important trade route; they also robbed and pillaged one another, and blood feuds were “one of the chief pre-occupations of their chiefs.” Rabino (p. 23) reported that as a result of an attack on the camp of Tīmūr (771-807/1370-1405) part of the tribe was massacred. They were also allegedly punished on several occasions by Shah ʿAbbās I (996-1038/1588-1629). At the beginning of the 20th century they suffered further reverses. According to Wilson (p. 26), around 1318/1900 they were crushed by a force led by Ḥešmat-al-Dawla, governor of Lorestān, and Ḥosaynqolī Khan Feylī, governor of Pošt-e Kūh. Many of the Dīrakvand were taken prisoner, and several chiefs were deported to Kermānšāh. In 1320/1902, after attacking the Baḵtīārī on the Kārūn river 30 km from Šūštar, the tribe was thoroughly defeated by Esfandīār Khan Baḵtīārī.
The Dīrakvand were divided into two branches: the Bahārvand (composed of thirteen clans or tīras) and the Qalāvand (composed of twelve clans; Field, p. 183).
Bibliography:
(For cited works not given in detail see “Short References.”) Curzon, Persian Question II, pp. 279, 384.
C. J. Edwards, “Luristan. Pish-i Kuh and Bala Gariveh,” The Geographical Journal 59, 1922, pp. 335-56.
H. Field, Contributions to the Anthropology of Iran, Chicago, 1939.
A. Houtum-Schindler, “Reisen im südwestlichen Persien,” Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin 14, 1879, pp. 81-124.
H. ṟ Īzadpanāh, Āṯār-e bāstānī wa tārīḵī-e Lorestān, 2 vols., 1350-55 Š./1971-76, II, table facing p. 4.
M. Mardūḵ Kordestānī, Tārīḵ-e Kord wa Kordestān wa tawābeʿ yā Tārīḵ-e Mardūḵ, 2nd. ed., 2 vols. in one, Tehran, 1353 Š./1974, I, p. 92.
V. Minorsky, “Lur-i Kūčik,” EI2 V, pp. 828-29.
H.-L. Rabino, Les tribus du Louristan, Paris, 1916.
A. T. Wilson, Military Report on South-West Persia V. Luristan, Simla, 1912.
(Pierre Oberling)
Originally Published: December 15, 1995
Last Updated: November 28, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. VII, Fasc. 4, pp. 423-424
