ProcessoftheChangesintheAdministrativeDivisionsof ChaharmahalandBakhtiariProvince)from2006(

This paper aims to explain the process of the changes in the administrative divisions in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province )since 2006( relying on historical sources and documents. Based on a number of historical proofs and archeological findings in relation to ancient times, vast areas of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari were initially under the rule of the Elamite Empire )300 BC(. Later, this region turned into the summer residence of the Akaemenid, Arsacid, and Sassanid rulers. Upon the arrival of Islam in Iran, the present Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, similar to other regions of Iran, was governed by caliphs. During this period, Lur-residing districts )including the Bakhtiari region( covered vast areas of Jibal, Fars, and Khuzestan Provinces. Following Iranians’ quest for independence in the third century )AH(, this region came under the sovereignty of Greater Lorestan )Lur-e-Bozorg( once again with Izeh as its capital city. Between 550 AH and 827 AH, this area was governed by the Atabegs of Greater Lorestan. After the rise of the Safavid Dynasty to power in 907 AH, given the changes in the various states and areas of Iran, two regions which were separate from each other in terms of their political geography came into being: “Chaharmahal” and “Bakhtiari”. The land of Chaharmahal was directly controlled by Isfahan. However, since this time onwards, the word “Bakhtiari” has been used as both the name of a tribe and the name of a geographical-political region, which has continued its political life with a semi-independent feudal government. During the reigns of Afsharid and Zand dynasties, considering the fact that, expect for a short time, the country experienced great chaos and frequent rebels, the same administrative divisions of the Safavid period existed with very few changes. During the Qajar period, the land of “Chaharmahal Bakhtiari” was known as the “Bakhtiari Land” and as the fourth region. After the Persian Constitutional Revolution, with the legislation of the laws of states and provinces in 1906, the status of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in its present from was established. Since 1907, when the first law of the administrative divisions of Iran was approved, until 1973, the present Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, was mostly known as a “governorate” and “governorate general” and as a sovereign of Isfahan. The year 1973 is of particular importance in the process of the changes in the administrative divisions of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari because on 29 September 1973, with the approval of the delegation of ministers, the governorate general of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari turned into a province.