'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART II: L to Z' [‎41v] (87/988)

66l
LUR—LUR
Between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries the province of Luristarf
was ruled by a race of independent princes, who were called Atabegs.
d'he last prince of this race was Shah Vardi Khan, who rebelled against
Shah Abbas, early in the seventeenth century : and, on the arrival of the
latter at Khurramabad to punish him, fled to the Pushtd-Kuh. Later, when
Shah 'Abbas pushed forward to Saimarreh, Shah Vardi Khan retreated
to Jangileh, the qishluq of the present A all, and there later lost his lire after
much fighting. On his return to Khurramabad, Shah 'Abbas appointed
one Hussain Khan, a servant of the dead Vali and a traitor to him, as Vali
of Pusht-i-Kuh; but retained the Pish Kuh district under the direct
management of a Persian Governor, with the seat of government at Khur-
ramabad. This arrangement has obtained ever since with a varying
degree of authority as far as the latter is concerned. This division of the
eoi n'ry was the occasion for the importation into the province of a foreign
tribe of some distinction. This was the Silsileh or Saisalih (Saiyid Salih).
On his appointment as Vali of Pusht-i-Kuh, Husain Khan pointed out to
his royal benefactor that, owing to the many enemies against whom
he would have to contend, it would be impossible for him to preserve
order without the assistance of foreign mercenaries. To aid him, there
fore, the Silsileh tribe was drafted from the Mahi I)asht district of the
Kirmanshah province into Luristan, and it was arranged that they, in con
junction with the Dilfan tribe, should supply Husain Khan yearly with one
hundred horsemen. Up to the end of the reign of Nadir Shah, these two
tribes remained the dependents of the Vali of Pusht-i-Kuh; but, with the
upheaval which followed on the death of that monarch, they appropriated
those lands on which they were located and became semi-independent
like their neighbours, or at least only responsible thereafter to the authority
of the Persian Governor.
Tribal Divisions: Pish Kuh .—The district of Pish Kuh, or the province
of Luristan proper, is divided up into four principal tribes, with numerous
sub-divisions. They are the Silsileh, the Dilfan, the Bala Girieh and the
Tihran. These divisions have no single chief like the Bakhtiari; and
more often than not they are engaged in hostilities against one another.
They are notorious for their plundering propensities, particularly the
Silsileh and the Dilfan.
Silsileh .—The habitat of this tribe is to the north of Khurramabad.
^Tliey are of Aiab origin and the circumstances under which they became
incorporated with the Lurs are explained above. They occupy the plain of
Alishtar whose ancient name was Alishakar, and the adjoining country.
The plain itself is highly cultivated and productive of rice and opium in
considerable quantities: it has a superficial area of some 150 square miles.
The Silsileh have three important sub-divisions: the Hasanwand, the
Yusuf wand and the Ouliwand, with a fourth, since become merged into the
two former, known as the Amirwand.
The Hasanwand are settled to the east of the Alishtar plain; and their
lands are irrigated by the waters of the Sar-i-Ab-i-Khaman, and Sar-i-Ab-
i-Narm or Zag, and Sar-i-Ab-i-Amarat. The two first named streams
also water the country of the Bairanawand later on in their courses. Some
families of the Ilasanwand are located within 12 miles of Khurramabad
%