TheFeyli Lurs (Persian:لرهای فیلی; also transliterated asFayli Lurs orFeyli Lors) are a collection ofLur tribes that live in the historicLittle Lorestan region in westernIran. Their dialect is almost identical to that of standardPersian.[1][2]
All of the tribes in Lorestan were known as "Feyli" during the two centuries that the entire territory of Lorestan was governed by theVali dynasty, which descended fromHoseyn Khan Solvizi, who had received the governorship of the province byShah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) in 1593.[2][3] However, this started to change the start of the 19th century. The eastern portion of Lorestan, Pish-e Kuh, was taken byMohammad-Ali Mirza Dowlatshah, the governor-general ofKermanshah and the oldest son ofFath-Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797–1834). The governor of Lorestan was thus only left in control of Posht-e Kuh, the western portion. The word "Feyli" then came to refer exclusively to those tribes in the Posht-e Kuh since it had previously been connected to the Solvizi family.[2]
The Feyli Lurs spoke the Feyli dialect of theLuri language, which was more commonly called "northern Luri", "Luristani" or "Luri proper".[4][5]
Not much reliable data has been collected about the Feylis of Posht-e Kuh. The Kord and Mahaki tribes are the two largest Feyli Lur groups in the area. In 1939,Henry Field estimated their population to be 50,000-60,000 people, while Mas'ud Kayhan estimated it at 40,000 people in 1941.[2]
There also exists a Feyli Lur community in theFars province, which has resided there since they went along with theZand rulerKarim Khan Zand (r. 1751–1779). In 1849, it consisted of 100 families. Eventually, some of them became part of the Amali tribe of theQashqai confederation, which is documented in theFars-Nama-ye Naseri byHasan Fasa'i. Others madeShiraz their new home; in 1939, Henry Field estimated them to be at 100 families, while Kayhan estimated it at 150 families in 1941. In 1956, they numbered between 800 and 1,000 people.[2]