Badakhshan Province
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Badakhshān | |
|---|---|
| — Province — | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 38°0′N 71°0′E / 38°N 71°E | |
| Government | |
| - Type | Provincial government |
| - Governor | Munshi Abdul Majid |
| Area | |
| - Total | 44,059 km2 (17,011.3 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Population [1] | |
| - Estimate (2006) | 823,000 |
| Ethnicity | |
| - Tajik | |
| - Pamiris | |
| - Kyrgyz | |
| Languages | |
| - Persian | |
| - Pamiri | |
| - Pashto | |
| - Kyrgyz | |
| - Uzbek | |
Badakhshan (Persian: بدخشان - Badakhshān) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.
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Geography
Badakshan is primarily bordered by Tajikistan to the north and east. A slim sliver of the province, called the Wakhan Corridor, also extends above northern Pakistan's Chitral and Northern Areas to a border with China. The province has a total area of 44,059 km², most of which is occupied by the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges.
Badakhshan was a stopover on the ancient Silk Road trading path, and China has shown great interest in the province after the fall of the Taliban, helping to reconstruct roads and infrastructure in the province.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the following ecoregions are found within the boundaries of Badakshan: Temperate Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands Gissaro-Alai open woodlands—found along the Pamir River. Common plants are pistachio, almond, walnut, apple, and juniper. sagebrush. Montane Grasslands and Shrublands Hindu Kush alpine meadow—found in the high mountains in the northern and southwestern regions. Common vegetation includes meadow and birch forests. Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe—found in the Wakhan corridor. Pamir alpine desert and meadow—found in the Wakhan corridor. Deserts and Xeric Shrublands Afghan Mountains semi-desert—found south of Feyzabad. Common vegetation includes thorny bushes, zizyphus, acacia, and Amygdatus. Paropamisus xeric woodlands—found in northwestern and central areas. Common vegetation includes almond, pistachio, willows, and sea buckthorn.
History
Badakhshan's name was given by the Sassanids and derives from the word badaxš (an official Sassanian title). The suffix of the name, -ān, means the region belonged to someone with the title badaxš (analogous to Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Tehran, etc).[2]
Badakhshan and Panjshir were the only provinces that were not occupied by the Taliban during their drive to control the country. However, during the course of the wars a non-Taliban Islamic emirate was established in Badakhshan by Mawlawi Shariqi, paralleling the Islamic Revolutionary State of Afghanistan in neighboring Nuristan. Burhanuddin Rabbani, a Badakhshan native, and Ahmad Shah Massoud were the last remnants of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance during the peak of Taliban control in 2000 and 2001, and they used the province as their base of operations. The province was about to fall to the Taliban when the American invasion allowed the Northern Alliance to reclaim control of the country with the aid of American military air power and assistance.
The current Governor of the province is Munshi Abdul Majid. Previously, it was Sayed Amin Tareq.
Economy
Despite massive mineral reserves, Badakhshan is one of the most destitute areas in the world. Opium poppy growing is the only real source of income in the province and Badakhshan has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, due to the complete lack of health infrastructure, inaccessible locations, and bitter winters of the province.
Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Sar-e-Sang district in Badakhshan for many centuries and was the largest and most well-known source in ancient times.[3][4] Most recent mining activity has focused on lapis lazuli, with the proceeds from the lapis mines being used to fund Northern Alliance troops, and before that, anti-Soviet Mujahideen fighters.[5] Recent geological surveys have indicated the location of other gemstone deposits, in particular rubies and emeralds.[6] Exploitation of this mineral wealth could be key to the region's prosperity.[6]
Capital city
Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan sits on the Kokcha River and has an approximate population of 50,000. The chief commercial and administrative center of NE Afghanistan and the Pamir region, Fayzabad also has rice and flour mills. In winter the city is sometimes isolated by deep snow. In 1979 it was a focus of Afghan guerrillas attempting to repel the Soviet invasion. Fayzabad was taken by Soviet forces in 1980 and became a major Soviet garrison town.
Demographics
The population of the province is estimated at 823,000 people[1]. The majority of them are Persian-speaking Tajiks. There are also
- Pamiri-Tajiks, speaking these languages
- small Kyrgyz minorities
- nomadic and semi-nomadic Uzbeks and Pashtuns, who migrate over long distances.
The residents of the province are largely Sunni, but most Pamiris in the province are Ismaili.
Historical population estimates for Badakhshan Province are as follows[7]:
- 2006: 823,000 (World Gazetteer)
- 2004: 725,700 (Central Statistics Office)
- 2000: 923,144 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
- 1998: 924,747 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
- 1997: 663,700 (Central Statistics Office)
- 1991: 615,156 (ProMIS UNIDATA)
- 1990: 554,374 (USAID)
- 1979: 497,798 (Central Statistics Office)
Districts of Badakhshan
 |
| District | Map # | Capital | Population[8] | Area | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arghanj Khwa | 6 | 12,000 | Created in 2005 within Fayzabad District | ||
| Argo | 6 | 45,000 | Created in 2005 within Fayzabad District | ||
| Baharak | 7 | Baharak | 14,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | |
| Darayim | 6 | 65,000 | Created in 2005 within Fayzabad District | ||
| Darwaz | 1 | 21,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | ||
| Darwazi Bala | 1 | 11,000 | Created in 2005 within Darwaz District | ||
| Fayzabad | 6 | Fayzabad | 46,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | |
| Ishkashim | 8 | Ishkashim | 11,000 | ||
| Jurm | 10 | 3,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | ||
| Khash | 10 | 48,000 | Created in 2005 within Jurm District | ||
| Khwahan | 2 | Khwahan | 14,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | |
| Kishim | 9 | 63,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | ||
| Kohistan | 7 | 12,000 | Created in 2005 within Baharak District | ||
| Kuf Ab | 2 | 16,000 | Created in 2005 within Khwahan District | ||
| Kuran wa Munjan | 11 | Kuran wa Munjan | 8,000 | ||
| Ragh | 4 | Ragh | 37,000 | Sub-divided in 2005 | |
| Shahri Buzurg | 5 | Shahri Buzurg | 42,000 | ||
| Shighnan | 3 | 24,000 | |||
| Shiki | 6 | 26,000 | Created in 2005 within Fayzabad District | ||
| Shuhada | 7 | 31,000 | Created in 2005 within Baharak District | ||
| Tagab | 6 | 22,000 | Created in 2005 within Fayzabad District | ||
| Tishkan | 9 | 23,000 | Created in 2005 from Kishim District | ||
| Wakhan | 13 | 13,000 | |||
| Warduj | 7 | 17,000 | Created in 2005 within Baharak District | ||
| Yaftali Sufla | 6 | 39,000 | Created in 2005 within Fayzabad District | ||
| Yamgan | 7 | 20,000 | Created in 2005 within Baharak District | ||
| Yawan | 4 | 27,000 | Created in 2005 within Ragh District | ||
| Zebak | 12 | Zebak | 7,000 |
Notable people from Badakhshan
- Burhanuddin Rabbani - leader of the Jamiat-e Islami political party and former president of Afghanistan
- Tahir Badakhshi - political activist
- Latif Pedram - political activist and candidate for Afghanistan's presidency
References
- ^ a b "World Gazetteer". http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=600&geo=-272.
- ^ Eilers, W.. "BADAKŠĀN". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online Edition ed.). United States: Columbia University. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v3f4/v3f4a011.html.
- ^ Deer, William A.; Howie, Robert A, and Zussman, Joseph (1963) "Lapis lazuli" Rock-Forming Minerals Longman, London, OCLC 61975619
- ^ Lapis lazuli was also found in the Urals Mountains in Russia. Deer et al. above
- ^ Entekhabi-Fard, Camelia (15 October 2002) "Northern Alliance Veteran Hopes Emeralds Are Key Part of Afghanistan’s Economic Recovery" Eurasia Insight, last accessed 20 August 2007
- ^ a b "Afghanistan’s gemstones" Planet Earth Winter 2006, last accessed 20 August 2008
- ^ Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers
- ^ 1 Badakhshan
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Badakhshan Province |
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