Lurs in the context of "Iranologist"

Ethnic groups in the Middle East are ethnolinguistic groupings in the "transcontinental" region that is commonly a geopolitical term designating the intercontinental region comprising West Asia (including Cyprus) without the South Caucasus, and also comprising Egypt in North Africa. The Middle East has historically been a crossroad of different cultures and languages. Since the 1960s, the changes in political and economic factors (especially the enormous oil wealth in the region and conflicts) have significantly altered the ethnic composition of groups in the region. While some ethnic groups have been present in the region for millennia, others have arrived fairly recently through immigration. The largest ethnic groups in the region are Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azerbaijanis but there are dozens of other ethnic groups that have hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of members.

Other indigenous, religious, or minority ethnic groups include: Antiochians, Armenians, Assyrians, Arameans in the Qalamoun Mountains, Baloch, Copts, Druze, Gilaks, Greeks (including Cypriots and Pontians), Jews, Kawliya, Laz, Lurs, Mandaeans, Maronites, Mazanderanis, Mhallami, Nawar, Samaritans, Shabaks, Talysh, Tats, Yazidis and Zazas.

Elam (/ˈiːləm/) was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name Elam stems from the Sumerian transliteration elam(a), along with the later Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the Ancient Near East. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana (US: /ˌsuːʒiˈænə/ UK: /ˌsuːziˈɑːnə/; Ancient Greek: Σουσιανή Sousiānḗ), a name derived from its capital Susa.

Elam was part of the early urbanization of the Near East during the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age). The emergence of written records from around 3000 BC also parallels Sumerian history, where slightly earlier records have been found. In the Old Elamite period (Middle Bronze Age), Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a crucial role during the Persian Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded Elam, when the Elamite language remained among those in official use. Elamite is generally considered a language isolate or unrelated to any other languages. According to Daniel T. Potts, Walther Hinz was less cautious in suggesting that the Elamites were ‘Proto-Lurs’ — that is, ancestors of the inhabitants of modern-day Lurestan in western Iran.

Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (Russian: Владимир Фёдорович Минорский; 5 February [O.S. 24 February] 1877 – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and Kurds in addition to the Kartvelian Laz people.

Yarsanism (Kurdish: یارسان, romanized: Yarsan), Ahl-e Haqq (Kurdish: ئەهلی حەق, romanized: Ehlî Ḧeq; Persian: اهل حق), or Kaka'i, is an inherited, syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of followers of Yarsanism is estimated to be over half a million to one million in Iran. The numbers in Iraq are unknown. The adherents are mostly Kurds, as well as some Shabaks, Laks, and Lurs.

Some Yarsanis in Iraq are called Kaka'i. Yarsanis say that some people call them disparagingly as "Ali Allahi" or "worshipers of Ali", labels which Yarsanis deny. As such, many Yarsanis hide their religious identity, and there are no exact statistics of their population.

Luri (Northern Luri: لری, Southern Luri: لری) is a Southwestern Iranian language continuum spoken by the Lurs, an Iranian people native to West Asia. The Luri dialects are descended from Middle Persian and are Central Luri, Bakhtiari, and Southern Luri. This language is spoken mainly by the Bakhtiari and the Northern and Southern Lurs (Lorestan, Ilam, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Mamasani, Sepidan, Bandar Ganaveh, Bandar Deylam) in Iran.

The Bakhtiari (also spelled Bakhtiyari; Persian:بختیاری) are a Lur tribe from Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language.

Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and eastern Khuzestan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Isfahan provinces. Bakhtiari tribes have an especially large population concentration in the cities of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh, Shahr-e Kord, and Andika, and the surrounding villages.

The Khorshidi dynasty (خورشیدیان), Abbasi dynasty or Shahs of Little Lorestan (لُرستان کُوچک) (1597–1184) was a Lur dynasty that ruled Little Lorestan in the later Middle Ages from their capital Khorramabad.

They were neighbours of the Hazaraspids who ruled over Greater Lorestan. While the Hazaraspids were more politically important because of their vast territory and the fact that they held major communications routes, the Khorsidi dynasty would become a significant power during the Safavid era due to the end of the Hazaraspids. The Khorsidi dynasty remained an important player in the rivalry between the Safavids and the Ottomans.