Achomi ( fa, اَچُمِی), also called Khodmooni (), Lari ( fa, لآرِی), or Larestani ( fa, لآرِستَانِی), are an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

sub-ethnic group of

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

who inhabit primarily in southern

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 ...

in a region historically known as Laristan. They are predominantly

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 dis ...

, with a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

minority. Significant numbers of Achomi people have migrated to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, UAE, and other

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emir ...

. The historical region of Irahistan consists of several counties in Fars Province ( Larestan,

Khonj Khonj ( fa, خنج, also known as Khunj and Khunji) is a city and capital of Khonj County, Fars Province, Iran. From the 2006 census, its population was 19,347, in 3,353 families. It is located at an altitude of . Khonj was traditionally part ...

, Gerash,

Lamerd Lamerd ( fa, لامرد, also Romanized as Lāmerd and Lāmard, also known as Tarakma) is a city and capital of Lamerd County, Fars Province, Iran. The population was 21,365 with 4,021 families as of the 2006 census. Its main industries are based ...

) and

Bastak County Bastak ( fa, بستک) is a city and capital of Bastak County, Hormozgan 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 Tur ...

in Hormozgan. In Bahrain, Sunni Bahrainis of Achomi ancestry are known as Hola. In Kuwait, they are known as Kandari and Awadhi. 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. 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

Iranian peoples Ethnic groups in Iran {{Asia-ethno-group-stub