Baghlan Province

Baghlan
بغلان
—  Province  —
The location of Baghlan Province within Afghanistan
Coordinates:
Country Afghanistan
Capital Puli Khumri
Area
 - Total 21,112 km2 (8,151.4 sq mi)
Population [1]
 - Estimate (2006) 779,000
Languages Dari Persian
Pashto

Baghlan (Persian/Pashto: بغلان Baġlān) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is Puli Khumri, but its name comes from the other major town in the province, Baghlan. The ruins of a Zoroastrian fire temple, the Surkh Kotal, are located in Baghlan. The lead nation of local Provincial Reconstruction Team is Hungary since 2006.

Contents

History

The name Baghlan is derived from Bagolango or "image-temple", inscribed on the temple of Surkh Kotal during the reign of the Kushan emperor, Kanishka in the early 2nd century CE.

The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang traveled through Baghlan in the mid-7th Century CE, and referred to it as the "kingdom of Fo-kia-lang".[2]

As a province, Baghlan was created out of the former Qataghan Province in 1964.[3]

Demographics

Tajiks are the majority with 55% of the population. Hazaras make up 15% of the population, Pashtuns 20%, Uzbeks 9%, and the remainder are Tatar.[4]

Baghlan is also home to a small community of Ismaili Muslims, led by the Sayeds of Kayan.

Economy

Agriculture

Baghlan's primary crops (as of 1974) were cotton and sugar beets, industrial sugar production having begun under Czech supervision in the 1940s. The area also produced grapes, pistachios, and pommegranates. The primary livestock are Karakul sheep.[5]

Other products

The province also produces silk, and coal is mined in the Karkar Valley.[6]

Districts

The districts of Baghlan are:

Districts of Baghlan Province
District Capital Population Area[7] Notes
Andarab Sub-divided in 2005
Baghlan Annexed into Baghlani Jadid District in 2005
Baghlani Jadid
Burka
Dahana-I-Ghuri
Dih Salah Created in 2005 within Andarab District
Dushi
Farang Wa Gharu Created in 2005 within Khost Wa Fereng District
Guzargahi Nur Created in 2005 within Khost Wa Fereng District
Khinjan
Khost Wa Fereng Sub-divided in 2005
Khwaja Hijran Created in 2005 within Andarab District
Nahrin
Puli Hisar Created in 2005 within Andarab District
Puli Khumri
Tala wa Barfak

Politics

Governors

The current governor of Baghlan is Mohammad Akbar Barakzai, appointed 2009.

References

  1. ↑ "World Gazetteer". http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=600&geo=-274. 
  2. ↑ Xuanzang. Record of the Western Regions. translated by Samuel Beal (1884) in Buddhist Records of the Western World, London: Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1884
  3. ↑ D. Balland; X. de Planhol. "BAGÚLAÚN". In Ehsan Yarshater. Encyclopædia Iranica. United States: Columbia University. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v3f4/v3f4a082.html. Retrieved 2007-12-19. 
  4. ↑ Baghlan province on NPS
  5. ↑ Frank Clements. Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2003. ISBN 1851094024, 9781851094028
  6. ↑ Frank Clements. Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2003. ISBN 1851094024, 9781851094028
  7. ↑ Afghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers

See also

Provinces of Afghanistan

Badakhshan · Badghis · Baghlan · Balkh · Bamyan · Daykundi · Farah · Faryab · Ghazni · Ghor · Helmand · Herat · Jowzjan · Kabul · Kandahar · Kapisa · Khost · Kunar · Kunduz · Laghman · Logar · Nangarhar · Nimruz · Nuristan · Oruzgan · Paktia · Paktika · Panjshir · Parwan · Samangan · Sar-e Pol · Takhar · Wardak · Zabul
Flag of Afghanistan
Districts of Baghlan Province
Andarab • Baghlan • Baghlani Jadid • Burka • Dahana i Ghuri • Dih Salah • Dushi • Farang wa Gharu • Guzargahi Nur • Khinjan • Khost wa Fereng • Khwaja Hijran • Nahrin • Puli Hisar • Puli Khumri • Tala wa Barfak
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