| Official Name: | Larestan, Laristan |
| Other Name: | بر فارس، فارس، جهانگيريه، ايراهستان، لارستان، اچمستانJahangirih, Irahestan, South of Fars |
| Area Total Km2: | 45,000 |
| Population Total: | 1,000,000 (In Larestan only) |
Larestan or Laristan (Larestani: لارستان) is a region in the south of Iran, located in the west of Hormozgan, south of Fars, and south of Bushehr province. It is mostly consisted of Persians followed by Turkics, Arabs, Balochs, and Africans. Larestanis are about 1,000,000 living in Larestan with an estimated 2,000,000 Larestanis living in Arab states of the Persian Gulf, due to extensive immigration occurring in the 19th and 20th century for better job opportunities and a better life.
In the 1970s, the population of Larestan was recorded at 183,369, with the current estimate being around half a million.[1] The region is predominantly inhabited by Laris, along with Baluchis, Kurds, Arabs, and the Turkic-speaking Qashqais from the Khamseh tribal confederation. Historically, Laristan has also seen settlements by Mongol, Turkmen, and Uzbek ethnic groups. Additionally, Jewish communities of craftsmen and traders were present, especially in Lar city. Lar played a significant role in the Judeo-Persian literary tradition, with texts in Judeo-Persian produced there, marking it as one of the medieval centers for this writing tradition (Loeb 1970: 31 ff.).
The main language spoken in Larestan is known as Larestani or Achomi or Khodemooni. It is southwestern Iranian language and a descendant of Middle Persian. It has few Arabic loanwords and much purer than Persian. It has at least five dialects that are Lari, Bastaki, Khonji, Evazi, Gerashi.[2] [3]