Irahistan ( fa, ایراهستان) or Irahestan is a historical region consisting of southern Fars Province and western Hormozgan Province in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The region of Irahistan currently consists of several counties in Fars province (

Larestan Larestan County ( fa, شهرستان لارستان) is located in Fars province, Iran. The capital of the county is Lar. At the 2006 census, the county's population (including those portions of the county later split off to form Evaz Count ...

Khonj County Khonj County ( fa, شهرستان خنج) is in Fars province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Khonj. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 37,978 in 7,025 households. Retrieved 30 October 2022 The following census in ...

Gerash County Gerash County ( fa, شهرستان گراش) is located in Fars province, Iran. The capital of the county is Gerash. At the 2006 census, the county's population as a part of Larestan County was 39,348, in 8,734 households. Retrieved 12 November ...

Lamerd County Lamerd County ( fa, شهرستان لامرد) is located in Fars province, Iran. The capital of the county is Lamerd. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 76,971, in 16,602 households. Retrieved 30 October 2022 The following census ...

and

Mohr County Mohr County ( fa, شهرستان مُهر) is in Fars province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, ...

) and

Bastak County Bastak ( fa, بستک) is a city and capital of Bastak County, Hormozgan Province, Iran. Bastak was traditionally part of the region of Irahistan. At the 2006 census, its population was 8,376, in 1,765 families. See also *Achomi people *Eva ...

Bandar Lengeh County Bandar Lengeh County ( fa, شهرستان بندر لنگه) is located in Hormozgan province, Iran. The capital of the county is Bandar Lengeh Bandar Lengeh ( fa, بندرلنگه, also Romanized as Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e-Langeh and B ...

and

Parsian County Parsian County ( fa, شهرستان پارسیان, formerly Gavbandi County) is in Hormozgan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is ...

in Hormozgan. The region's importance grew during the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

period with vast expansion of settlements in Irahistan. In medieval times, the region was ruled by local lords until they were removed by a

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

invasion in 1610. In the thirteenth century, the city of Lar became a center of trade and commerce in Irahistan and the population of this city grew rapidly, outpacing the more historical towns and cities. The people in this region speak

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Achomi Achomi ( fa, اچُمی), also known as Larestani and Khodmooni, is a Southwestern Iranian Persian language spoken by people in southern Fars and western Hormozgan and by significant numbers of immigrant groups in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, ...

. Achomi people speak the

Achomi language Achomi ( fa, اچُمی), also known as Larestani and Khodmooni, is a Southwestern Iranian Persian language spoken by people in southern Fars and western Hormozgan and by significant numbers of immigrant groups in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, ...

. The language is in decline and has reported eight dialects and it is understood by mainstream Persian speakers mostly. The Achomi people are of Persian descent. The majority of Achomi people are

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

, with a Shia minority. In the thirteenth century, Lar briefly became a center of trade and commerce in southern Persia. Irahistan was nearly always an obscure region, never becoming involved in the politics and conflicts of mainstream Persia. This was due to independent rule during the Safavid times, but that has failed due to the British Empire "Anti Piracy Company" and continued to decline due to Reza Shah Pahlavi's centric policies and the Ayatollah policies.

Ahmad Eghtedari Ahmad Eghtedari ( fa, احمد اقتداری‎; 24 May 1925, Gerash, Iran – 16 April 2019, Tehran) was an Iranian teacher, lawyer, writer, historian and geographer who was regarded as a prominent scholar in Persian Gulf studies. Historicall ...

noted in his book Ancient Larestan (1955): "To those people of the towns, villages, and ports of Larestan who have stayed in the land of their ancestors, with its glorious past and its desolate present. And to those who have endured the hardship of migration to earn a living on the islands of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean and in the towns of India, Arabia and other places. They remember with joy their beloved birthplace and still grieve for its ruin." Achomi people refer to themselves as ''Khodmooni'', a term literally meaning "part of ourselves".

References

External links

Gerash.com
{{coord, 27, 41, N, 54, 20, E, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title Fars Province Hormozgan Province