Ghazni Province
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Ghazni | |
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Population (2002) |
931,000 |
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22,915 km² | |
Ghazni (Persian: غزنى) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City. The province lies on the important Kabul to Kandahar road, and has historically functioned as an important trade center between those two major cities.
History
Ghazni was a thriving Buddhist center before and during the 7th Century AD.
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The two other great Buddhist centers , Fondukistan and Tepe-e-sardar (Ghazni) in its later phase are a very different matter and display another phase of influences coming from |
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In 683 AD, Arab armies brought Islam to the area and attempted to conquer the capital of Ghazni but the local tribes fiercely resisted. Its resistance was so famed that Yaqub Saffari (840-879) from Zaranj made an example of Ghazni when he ranged the vast region conquering in the name of Islam. The city was completely destroyed by the Saffarids in 869.[2] A substantial portion of the local population including Hindus and Buddhists were converted to Islam by Mahmud of Ghazni
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'The region had previously been conquered by Mahumad of Ghazni and the population converted to Islam .[3] |
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The minaret of Ghazni, built by Bahram Shah during the Ghaznavid Empire.
After the rebuilding of the city by Yaqub’s brother, it became the dazzling capital of the Ghaznavid Empire from 994 to 1160, encompassing much of northern India, Persia and Central Asia. Many iconoclastic campaigns were launched from Ghazni into
Ferishta records attacks by Mahomed Ghoory .
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'at the same time most of the infidels who inhabited the mountains between Ghizny and the |
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It's capital was razed in 1151 by the Ghorid Alauddin. It again flourished but only to be permanently devastated, this time in 1221 by Genghis Khan and his Mongol armies.
Ghazni is also famous for its minarets built on a stellar plan. They date from the middle of the twelfth century and are the surviving element of the mosque of Bahramshah. Their sides are decorated with geometric patterns. Upper sections of the minarets have been damaged or destroyed.
The most important mausoleum located in Ghazni is that of Sultan Mahmud's. Others include the tombs of poets and scientists, for example Al Biruni and Sanayee.
The only ruins in Old Ghazni retaining a semblance of architectural form are two towers, about 43 m (140 ft) high and some 365 m (1,200 ft) apart. According to inscriptions, the towers were constructed by Mahmud of Ghazni and his son.
In the 1960s a 15-meter female Buddha was discovered lying on its back and surrounded by empty pillars that once held rows of smaller male Buddhas. Parts of the female Buddha have been stolen. In the 1980s a mud brick shelter was created to protect the sculpture, but the wood supports were stolen for firewood and the shelter partially collapsed.
During the First Anglo-Afghan War, the Ghazni's capital city was stormed and taken over by the British forces on July 23, 1839 in the Battle of Ghazni. The Afghan Civil War and the continued conflict between the Taliban and the Afghan Northern Alliance during the 1990s put the relics of Ghazni in jeopardy. The Taliban placed Fazl Uddin in charge of protecting the artifacts.
Ghazni’s strategic position, both economically and militarily, assured its revival, albeit without its dazzling former grandeur. Through the centuries the city figures prominently as the all important key to the possession of
Some Sikhs and Hindus also live in Ghazni province. During the Taliban regime they fled the country, but with the current administration they have returned to Ghazni city.
Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, there has been a Provincial reconstruction base and a Nato forces base. These western forces are hunting Taliban militants and al-Qaida, who are still active in the area causing deaths to Afghan government employees and local civilian population of the province as well.
Political and Security Situation
Like many southern Afghan provinces, Ghazni has a precarious security situation caused by Taliban terrorists, who are reported to control most of the rural areas outside of the capital, and are heavily involved in attacks on provincial schools and government infrastructure. The province has avoided the outright warfare seen in other areas of Afghanistan such as Helmand Province and Kandahar Province, but that is due more to political expediency and the tactical plans of the NATO ISAF force than the existence of a stable security situation in the province. Ex-Governor Taj Mohammad was killed by terrorists in 2006 after being appointed police chief of the province with a mandate to quell the power of the Taliban. On the same day there was an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the governor at the time, Sher Alam Ibrahimi. There is an American Provincial Reconstruction Team base located in Ghazni
In late April of 2007, news agencies reported that Taliban fighters had taken control of Giro District in the province. The Taliban reportedly killed the district administrator, chief of police (who had been on the job for only one month) and three police officers. The Taliban withdrew from the district center one day later.
In July 2007, 23 South Korean volunteers were kidnapped in the Ghazni province by the Taliban. Two of them were killed and their bodies were dumped in various places. As of August 1st, security force was planned to be deployed to secure the release of those kidnapped.
In recent years, Ghazni has been beset by droughts, heavy snow, and flooding, all at different times. During the periods of drought, many parts of the province, especially
Government
The current Governor of the province is Sher Khostai.
Ghazni is made up of 19 districts (district capitals are given in parentheses). Note: this is the old district map.
Districts of Ghazni.
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District name |
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Ethnical data(%) [5] |
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100% Pashtun | ||
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100% Pashtun | ||
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100% Pashtun | ||
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100% Pashtun | ||
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100% Hazara | ||
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100% Hazara | ||
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100% Pashtun | ||
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100% Hazara | ||
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Mostly Pashtun | ||
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100% Pashtun |
Malistan, Jaghuri, Nawur, parts of Qarabagh, Dih Yak and Jaghatu are part of the Hazara area known as the Hazarajat.
Balkh Province
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Population (2006) |
1,096,100[1] |
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17,249 km² | |
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GMT +4:30 | |
Districts of
Districts
The districts of
- Balkh
- Chahar Bolak
- Chahar Kint
- Chimtal
- Dawlatabad
- Dihdadi
- Kaldar
- Khulm
- Kishindih
- Marmul
- Mazari Sharif
- Nahri Shahi
- Sholgara
- Shortepa
- Zari
Ghor Province
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Ghor | |
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Population (2002) |
485,000 [1] |
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36,479 km² | |
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Ghor, also spelled Ghowr or Ghur (Persian: غور), is today one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in central Afghanistan, towards the north-west. The capital of Ghor is Chaghcharan.
History
Ghor, which was part of Persia for many centuries in the past, was one of the regions which participated in the Persian Cultural Revival after the Arab invasion of Persia.
Islam
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' The region had previously been conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni, and the population converted to Islam. [1] |
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Attack by Ghazny
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'In the following year AH 401 (AD 1010), Mahmood led his army towards Ghoor. The native prince of the country, Mahomed, of the Afghan tribe of Soor (the same race which gave birth to the dynasty that eventually succeeded in subverting the family of Sebüktigin), occupied an entrinched camp with 10000 men. Mahmood was repulsed in repeated assults which he made from morning till noon. Finding that the troops of Ghoor defended their entrenchments with such obstinacy, he caused his army to retreat in apparent confusion, in order to allure the enemy out of his fortified position. The Ghoorians, deceived by the stratagem, pursued the army of Ghizny; when the king, facing about, attacked and defeated them with great slaughter. Mahommed Soor, being made prisoner was brought to the king, but having taken poison, which he always kept under his ring, he died in a few hours; his country was annexed to the dominions of Ghizny. The author of the Towareekh Yumny affirms, that neither the sovereigns of Ghoor nor its inhabitants were Mahomedans till after this victory; whilst the author of the Tubkat-Nasiry, and Fukhr -ood -Deen Moobarik Shah Lody, the latter of whom wrote a history of the Kings of Ghoor in verse, both affirm, that they were converted many years before, even so early as the time of Ally[2] |
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Ghor was also the centre of the Ghurid dynasty in the 12th and 13th century. The remains of their capital Firuzkuh, including UNESCO World Heritage site the Minaret of Jam, are located in the province.
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'The rise to power of the Ghurids at Ghur , a small isolated area located in the mountain fastness between the ghaznavid empire and the Seljukids , was an unusual and unexpected development . The area was so remote that till the 11th century , it had remained a pagan enclave surrounded by Muslim principalities . It was converted to Islam in the early part of the 12th century after Mahmud raided it , and left teachers to instruct the Ghurids in the pricipts of Islam . Even then it is believed that paganism , ie . a variety of Mahayana Buddhism persisted in the area till the end of the century .[3] |
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In the 19th century, American adventurer Josiah Harlan claimed the title Prince of Ghor for himself and his descendants in perpetuity, in exchange for military aid during local factional fighting. As a result, American actor Scott Reiniger is (only theoretically) the current Prince.[4]
On June 17, 2004, hundreds of troops of Abdul Salaam Khan, who had rejected the Afghan government's plan to disarm regional militias, attacked Chaghcharan and took over the city in an afternoon-long siege. Eighteen people were killed or wounded in the fighting and province governor Mohammed Ibrahim fled. Three days later the Afghan government announced that it would not retake Chaghcharan. However, Khan and Ibrahim began negotiations soon after, but reached no agreements. Khan's troops left Chaghcharan on June 23, a day ahead of the arrival of an Afghan National Army battalion, led by Lieutenant-General Aminullah Paktiyanai, arrived with the support of about twenty U.S. soldiers.
In his 2004 travel book, The Places in Between, Rory Stewart travels by foot from
Population
The population of Ghor was, and is even today, predominately Tajik.[5]
Geography & Weather
Ghor occupies the end of the
Districts
Districts of Ghor.
- Chaghcharan (Capital)
- Charsada
- Dawlat Yar
- Du Layna
- Lal Wa Sarjangal
- Pasaband
- Saghar
- Shahrak
- Taywara
- Tulak
Politics
The current Governor of the province is Baz Mohammad Ahmadi. A Lithuanian contingent of the ISAF force is stationed in the province.
