The Soleimani () are a tribe living mainly in southern Iran, specifically around Kerman province. They speak Persian and Turkic and follow Shia Islam.
History According to Pierre Oberling, the Soleimani tribe of Kerman were a Turkic tribe, and they descended from either the Bolvardi Soleimani tribe in Fars province who migrated to Kerman 300 years earlier, or the Soleimanlu clan of the Baharlu tribe which split 230 years earlier. He added that the Soleimani tribe was divided between sedentary and nomadic, and that they were Shia Muslims who mostly spoke Persian, although some nomadic elements still spoke Turkic, and they numbered around 5,000 individuals.The Turkic Peoples of Southern Iran, Pierre Oberling, 1964, pp. 95-96. The Soleimani tribe migrated from Fars to Kerman in the 18th century.Iran's Revolutionary Guard: The Threat That Grows While America Sleeps, Steven O'Hern, 2012, pp. 85, ISBN 9781597977012. The tribe was historically led by a khan.Modern Iran: The Dialectics of Continuity and Change, Michael E. Bonine, Nikki R. Keddie, 1981, pp. 124, ISBN 9780873954655. The Iranian government historically had very little presence and control among the tribe.The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals that Reshaped the Middle East, Jay Solomon (Reporter), 2016, pp. 70, ISBN 9780812993646.
The Soleimani tribe were part of the Mehni tribe of Kerman until the late Qajar period.آئینهای زایش و رویش در جنوب کرمان «سرزمین عشایر سلیمانی»، عباس عبدالله گروسی، ص. 71، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی (باهنر کرمان)، شماره 1، بهار 1369. The clans of the Soleimani tribe included Ibrahimi, Hosseini, Khodaverdi, Alidadi, Alimoradi, Mareki, Mohammadi-Soleimani, Mashhadi-Vali, Mirzakhani, Mirzayi, and Abdolazimi.آئینهای زایش و رویش در جنوب کرمان «سرزمین عشایر سلیمانی»، عباس عبدالله گروسی، ص. 75-76، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی (باهنر کرمان)، شماره 1، بهار 1369. The Soleimani tribe was mainly concentrated in the central and southern parts of Kerman province.سعیدی گراغانی, حمید رضا; ارزانی, حسین; رزاقی بورخانی, فاطمه (2016-08-22). "بوم‌شناسی فرهنگی؛ تحلیل دانش بومی زنان عشایر ایل سلیمانی در فرایند توسعه پایدار مراتع". دو فصلنامه دانش‌های بومی ایران. 3 (5): 178. doi:10.22054/qjik.2017.17969.1045. ISSN 2345-6019. It was one of the main tribes of Kerman.سیری در جغرافیای استان کرمان: با تکیه بر مسائل طبیعی (زلزله)، انسانى، تاریخی، اقتصادی، حسین کلانتری خاندانی، 2008, pp. 204, ISBN 9789649908243.
The Soleimani tribe later came to attention for being the tribe of Qasem Soleimani. His family was from Qanat-e Malek, Kerman, but was originally from Fars, having fought for Nader Shah during campaigns in India and in Afghanistan before settling in Kerman.
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