Jowzjan, sometimes spelled Jawzjan or Jozjan (
Dari
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...
: ), is one of the thirty-four
provinces of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions. Each province encompasses a number of districts or usually over 1,000 villages.
Provincial governors played a cr ...
, located in the north of the country bordering neighboring
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
. The province is divided into 11
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
and contains hundreds of villages. It has a population of about 613,481,
[ which is multi-ethnic and mostly agriculturalists. ]Sheberghan
Sheberghān or Shaburghān ( Uzbek, Pashto, fa, شبرغان), also spelled ''Shebirghan'' and ''Shibarghan'', is the capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.
The city of Sheberghan has a population of 175,599. It has four ...
is the capital of Jozjan province.
History
The province is named after the early medieval region and principality of Juzjan
Guzgan ( fa, گوزگان, also known as Gozgan, Guzganan or Quzghan, in Arabic Juzjan or Juzjanan) was a historical region and early medieval principality in what is now northern Afghanistan.
Etymology
The area was known as "Guzgan" or in the ...
. Between the early 16th century and mid-18th century, the area was ruled by the Khanate of Bukhara
The Khanate of Bukhara (or Khanate of Bukhoro) ( fa, , Khānāt-e Bokhārā; ) was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1500 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its ...
. It was conquered by Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
and became part of the Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
in or about 1750, which formed to the modern state of Afghanistan. The area was untouched by the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
during the three Anglo-Afghan wars
Anglo-Afghan War may refer to:
* British-Afghan Wars
** First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)
** Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880)
** Siege of Malakand & Tirah Campaign (1897)
** Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
** Operation Herrick (War in Afghan ...
that were fought in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Recent history
Following a series of changing allegiances and falling out with Uzbek warlord Abdul Malik Pahlawan
Abdul Malik Pahlawan is an Uzbek warlord and politician based in Faryab Province in northern Afghanistan. He is the head of the Afghanistan Liberation Party and was heavily involved in the factional fighting that consumed Afghanistan throughout ...
in 1997, the Taliban withdrew from the area, but in 1998 a contingent of 8,000 Taliban troops pressed through neighboring Faryab, seizing Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; prs, عبدالرشید دوستم; Uzbek Latin: , Uzbek Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan exiled politician, former Marshal in the Afghan National Army, founder and leader of the political party Junbish- ...
's headquarters in Sheberghan.
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
-led Provincial Reconstruction Team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRT ...
(PRT), which has been based in Mazar-e-Sharif
, official_name =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia
, pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif
, pushpin ...
since about 2005 and responsible for four provinces including Jozjan, established an office and some troops in the province. Security situation in the province has rapidly deteriorated in 2009 and 2010. A new Turkish PRT has also been established in the province in the summer of 2010, providing security to the area which also covers Sar-e Pol. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANFS) began expanding in the last decade and gradually took over security from International Security Assistance Force
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, comman ...
(ISAF). The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border is maintained by the Afghan Border Police
The Afghan Border Force (ABF) was responsible for security of Afghanistan's border area with neighboring countries extending up to into the interior and formed part of the Afghan National Army. In December 2017, most of the Afghan Border Police ...
(ABP) while law and order for the rest of the province is provided by the NATO-trained Afghan National Police
The Afghan National Police (ANP; ps, د افغانستان ملي پولیس; prs, پلیس ملی افغانستان), is the national police force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across ...
(ANP).
Although it can be regarded as a relatively secured place compared to some other provinces of Afghanistan, there is an increasing number of incidents particularly in Darzab, Qush Tepa and Fayzabad districts. The Mazar-e-Sharif-Sheberghan highway (called Aqyol) has turned into a dangerous traveling route because of militants carrying out attacks against government forces, NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
workers and civilians.
In April 2012 construction of a mega power network with power pylons carrying 500 megawatts of electricity from neighboring Turkmenistan started in the province; the project is supported by Turkmenistan and Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. Initial work on the $390 million project had already been completed. Turkmenistan will install power pylons over a distance of 374 kilometres on its soil toward the Afghanistan border and the project will take a year to complete. The network would supply electricity to many areas in Jozjan, Balkh
), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001
, pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia
, pushpin_relief=yes
, pushpin_label_position=bottom
, pushpin_mapsize=300
, pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
, Sar-e Pol, Faryab
Faryab (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. The pr ...
and Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
provinces.
Healthcare
The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 24% in 2005 to 44% in 2011.[Archive, Civil Military Fusion Centre, ]
The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 9% in 2005 to 21% in 2011.
Education
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 31% in 2005 to 16% in 2011.
The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 40% in 2005 to 46% in 2011.The primary school numbers in the province as of 2011 accounts for 116 (2011)
/small>
Geography and demographics account
Jozjan is situated in the northern part of Afghanistan, bordering Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
in the north, Balkh Province, Balkh province in the east, Sar-e Pol province in the south and Faryab province
Faryab (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. The pr ...
in the west. Jozjan province covers an area of 10,326 km2. More than one quarter of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain (29.4%), while more than two thirds of the area is made up of flat land (68.9%). It is one of the provinces known to contain petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
and natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
. Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
and agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
are the main industries.
As of 2021, the population of Jozjan province is about 613,481, who are multi-ethnic and mostly farmers. Occasional ethnic violence is reported in the area, most recently in 2002.
39.5% of the population speak Uzbek, 28.7% speak Turkmen, 17.2% speak Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
, 12.1% speak Dari Persian
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the Variety (linguistics), variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Politics of Afghanistan, Afghan government ...
and 2.5% speaks other languages.
14.1% of the population lived below the national poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
.
Notable people
* Zhulād of Gōzgān
Zhulād of Gōzgān (Bactrian script: ζoλooo γωζoγoνo, ruled circa 658-688 or 690-720 CE) was a ruler of the mid-7th century CE, in the region of Guzgan in northern Afghanistan, then part of Tokharistan. His name "Zhulad" suggests Iranian ...
, ruler of the mid 7th century, in the region of Guzgan
Guzgan ( fa, گوزگان, also known as Gozgan, Guzganan or Quzghan, in Arabic Juzjan or Juzjanan) was a historical region and early medieval principality in what is now northern Afghanistan.
Etymology
The area was known as "Guzgan" or in the ...
, then part of Tokharistan
Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources.
In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan c ...
* Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub al-Juzajani
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Sa'di al-Juzajani ( ar , أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن يعقوب بن إسحاق السعدي الجوزجاني , born around 180 AH – died 872 CE/259 AH) was a Muslim hadith scholar, one of t ...
, 9th century Muslim scholar, student of ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Dhuhli ( ar, أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل الذهلي, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal al-Dhuhlī; November 780 – 2 August 855 CE/164–241 AH), was a Muslim jurist, theologian, ascetic, hadith traditionist, and f ...
* Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani Abū 'Ubayd al-Jūzjānī, (d.1070), () was a Persian physician and chronicler from Guzgan.
He was the famous pupil of Avicenna, whom he first met in Gorgan.
He spent many years with his master in Isfahan, becoming his lifetime companion. After A ...
, from the 11th century, the famous pupil of Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
, was from this region, hence his name
* Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani
Minhaj-al-Din Abu Amr Othman ibn Siraj-al-Din Muhammad Juzjani (born 1193), simply known as Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, was a 13th-century Persian historian born in the region of Ghur.
In 1227, Juzjani migrated to Ucch then to Delhi. Juzjani was th ...
(born 1193), thirteenth-century chronicler of India
* Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; prs, عبدالرشید دوستم; Uzbek Latin: , Uzbek Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan exiled politician, former Marshal in the Afghan National Army, founder and leader of the political party Junbish- ...
, Vice President of Afghanistan, is from Hodja Dukhu village of this province
* Qari Hekmat, leader of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
in Darzab District
Darzab ( fa, درزاب) is the southwesternmost district in Jowzjan province, Afghanistan. It borders Sheberghan District to northeast, Sar-e Pol Province to the west and Faryab Province
Faryab (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of ...
.
* Abdul Salam Hanafi
Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi ( ps, عبدالسلام حنفي, , Uzbek/) is an Afghan Uzbek political and Deobandi-Islamic religious leader who is a senior leader of the Taliban, an acting second deputy prime minister, alongside Abdul Ghani Ba ...
, Acting Second Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan.
See also
* Al-Juzjani Al-Juzjani is a toponymic surname or nisba for people from Juzjan (or Guzgan). Notable people with the surname include:
* Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani (980–1037), physician and pupil of Ibn Sina
* Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub al-Juzajani (790–872), Islamic ha ...
* Provinces of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions. Each province encompasses a number of districts or usually over 1,000 villages.
Provincial governors played a cr ...
References
External links
Jowzjan Province - Powerpoint Overview
{{Authority control
Provinces of Afghanistan
Provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan