There are about one million nomads in modern Iran, extending from the border of Turkistan to the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. Most of these tribes, the Kurds, the Lurs, the Bakhtiaris, the Guilaks (on the Caspian Coast), the Baluchis, are the original invaders who, in the first millennium BC, swept down from central Asia and settled in various parts of the Iranian plateau. Most of the tribes of central Iran are from pure Aryan stock, while other tribes such as the Arabs of Khuzestan and Khorasan, the Turkish tribes of Quchan, the Qashqai tribes, the Shahsavan and Afshar tribes of Azarbaijan and the Turkmans are remnants of races that have passed through Iran at various periods of history.Today there are over a hundred different tribes, each with its own dialect, picturesque dress, dwelling-place and chief. The most important tribes are as follows.
By 1920 nomadic pastoral tribes were over a quarter of Iran’s population. Their number declined sharply as a result forced settlement in the 1920s and 1930s. Continued pressure as well as the lure of the cities and settled life have resulted in a further sharp decline since the 1960s.
