Facts About Badakhshan

Badakhshan is a province of Afghanistan. It is situated in the extreme northeastern portion of the country and covers an area of about 16,000 square miles (41,440 sq km). On the north, Badakhshan is bounded by the Amu Darya River (the ancient Oxus), which forms the frontier between Afghanistan and Central Asia; on the south, by the lofty mountain chain of the Hindu Kush; and on the west, by the province of Kataghan (Qataghan). On the east the elevated Wakhan Corridor, a 200-mile (322-km) projection of the province, reaches the western border of China. The province has a population of 904,70.

 

With the exception of plains in the north that slope down to the Amu Darya River, the province is very mountainous, with many peaks exceeding 15,000 feet (4,570 meters) in height. The Kokcha River drains much of the region and empties into the Amu Darya. Only a few inches of precipitation fall annually, and cultivation is limited to land irrigated by dams on the Kokcha and small areas watered by natural springs and streams. Summers are cool and winters are severe, with snow remaining on the higher peaks until midsummer.

 

A single motorable road runs from the west as far as Faizabad, the provincial capital, which is situated at an altitude of 4,000 feet (about 1,220 meters) on the edge of a plain where the Kokcha River emerges from the mountains. From Faizabad, a caravan trail leads about 30 miles (50 km) upstream to the village of Jurm at an elevation of 5,000 feet (about 1,520 meters). From Jurm, ancient trails wind eastward over the mountainous terrain of the Wakhan Corridor to China. There are few other villages of any size in the province.

 

Among the mineral resources of Badakhshan, the most famed are the lapis lazuli deposits, which have been worked for more than 3,000 years. Quantities of this semiprecious stone are exported to jewelers throughout the world. In ancient times, the province was renowned for its rubies. Emeralds and gold have also been mined.

 

Historically, Badakhshan has been important not only for its mineral wealth, but also because it is situated astride direct (though difficult) trade routes from Europe and the Middle East to China, and from central Asia to Pakistan and India. It was part of ancient Greek Bactria, and is associated with either occupation or transit by Alexander the Great, Tamerlane, and Marco Polo, and with frequent conflicts over control of trade in the Amu Darya River valley. After centuries as an international pawn, Badakhshan became, in 1859, an integral part of Afghanistan. In spite of the isolation of the region from roads and highways, many hunters move into the highest ranges in search of mountain goats and the famed Marco Polo wild sheep.

 

The inhabitants of Badakhshan are primarily Muslims of the orthodox Sunnite sect. The Sunnī Muslims are divided into two groups—the Tajiks (Tadzhiks), who are of Iranian stock and speak Persian, and the Uzbeks, who speak Uzbek, a Turkic language. In the 1950s and 1960s, Pushtu-speaking Pushtuns came into the province from southeastern Afghanistan to take advantage of the irrigation facilities along the lower reaches of the Kokcha River.