Takhar Province
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Takhar (
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  ...
,
Farsi Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...
/
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 ...
: ) 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 northeast of the country next to
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
. It is surrounded by
Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
in the east, Panjshir in the south, and
Baghlan Baghlan (Dari: بغلان ''Baġlān'') is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous province, Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 500 metres above sea level in the ...
and
Kunduz , native_name_lang = prs , other_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Kunduz River valley.jpg , imagesize = 300 , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_ ...
in the west. The city of
Taloqan Taloqan ( Persian, also transcribed Taleqan or Taluqan) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006. In 2021, the Taliban gained contro ...
serves as its capital. The province contains 17
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 ...
, over 1,000 villages, and approximately 1,113,173 people, which is
multi-ethnic Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
and mostly a rural society. The city was attacked during the
2021 Taliban offensive A military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan, that had begun following the ...
(which coincided with the withdrawal of United States troops). On May 2, 2021, PiramQul Ziayi, the most influential anti-Taliban figure in Takhar, was assassinated in Rustaq district. Following the fall of several districts of Takhar to the Taliban on June 20, 2021, a group of Takhar elders led by Mohibullah Noori, a Resistance leader, announced at a press conference in Kabul that will mobilize people resistance in support of security forces in Takhar. Mohibullah Noori led the group entered the Taloqan City on June 26, 2021 and united the Takhar commanders to resist against Taliban. The Taliban tried to take the city in July 2021, however the attack was repulsed. Later during the huge Taliban offensive
Haji Agha Gul was killed by Taliban
and Khair Mohammad Teymour injured and all forces, including provincial officials, retreated to the Versaj district. On August 8, 2021, the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
gained control of the province during the
2021 Taliban offensive A military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan, that had begun following the ...
. However, National Resistance Front fighters have still maintained a presence in the province.


History


Early history


7th to 16th centuries


16th to 20th centuries

Between the early 16th century and the mid-18th century, the territory 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 given to
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 ...
by
Murad Beg Mir Mohammad Murad Beg (1780-1840s) was ''Khan'' of Kunduz (modern Afghanistan) in the 19th century. Earlier in the 19th century, he defeated Mir Yar Beg to take control of Badakhshan, and extended his rule north of the Oxus river The Amu Dary ...
of
Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
after a treaty of friendship was reached in or about 1750, 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 ...
. It was ruled by the
Durranis The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...
followed by the
Barakzai dynasty The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty (, "sons of Barak") ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durra ...
and 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 early 20th centuries.


1964–2001

It was established in 1964 when
Qataghan Province Qataghan Province ( Persian/Pashto: قطغن), was a province of Afghanistan which became defunct in 1963, when it was divided into the current Baghlan Province, Kunduz Province, and Takhar Province.Ludwig W. Adamec. Historical and political gaze ...
was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. During the 1980s
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
, the area fell under the influence of Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Massoud. It was controlled by the
Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...
in the 1990s. It experienced some fighting between the Northern Alliance and the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
forces. Takhar holds notoriety as the location where
Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated on 9 September 2001 by suspected
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
agents.


2001–2015

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...
(ISAF) took over security responsibility of the area in the early 2000s, which was led by
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The province also began to see some developments and the establishment of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). In a small incident in July 2008, the
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 ...
killed Mullah Usman when several armed Taliban militants under his command raided a police checkpoint in the
Kalafgan district Kalafgan District is a district of Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The district is well governed, with self-governance in parts of Kalafgan because of how remote they are. 42 villages are located in the district. In 2017, Kalafgan was considered to b ...
. This was the first time since the fall of
Taliban regime The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...
in 2001 that the Taliban insurgents engaged police in this province. Mullah Usman was the most senior Taliban commander in the northeast region of Afghanistan, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry. In May 2009, Taliban insurgents fighting Afghan government attacked the Baharak district in Takhar province. A bomb attack on 28 May 2011 killed General Shahjahan Noori, Mohammed Daud Daud and injured Governor Taqwa. Several German soldiers and Afghans were also killed. In April 2012, the water supply at the
Rostaq district Rostaq District ( fa, بخش رستاق) is a district (bakhsh) in Darab County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 14,241, in 3,402 families. The District has no cities. The District has two rural district Rural distr ...
's school for girls was poisoned by unknown insurgents, sickening at least 140 Afghan schoolgirls and teachers ranging in age from 14 to 30, causing them to be hospitalized and some to partially lose consciousness, though there have been no deaths so far.


2015 earthquake

On 26 October, the 7.5 Mw Hindu Kush earthquake shook northern
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
with a maximum
Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
of VIII (''Severe''). This earthquake destroyed almost 30,000 homes, left several hundred dead, and more than 1,700 injured.


Demographics

As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 1,113,173 which is mostly tribal and a rural society. The main inhabitants of Takhar province are
Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
,
Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...
and few
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
.


District information


Economy

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 ...
and
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 ...
are the main industries of the province. Takhar has
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
reserves of fairly good quality which are being exploited by hand in some villages and sold in the region. The local population considers
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
the most relevant resource for the Province. Gold is being washed in Takhar River, and about 2 kg are being transported to the specific weekly markets in the city of Taloqan. Also the city is a main source of construction materials like: loam, sand, and different types of stones. Takhar province is known for its salt mountains and you can find large deposits of fine salt in the region. The Takcha Khanna salt mine is one of the growing number of salt supplier, for the population of Takhar and northern Afghanistan. While the mines offer economic opportunities in the region, the availability of iodized salt considerably reduces the prevalence of health problems related to iodine deficiency.


See also

*
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 ...
*
Taloqan Taloqan ( Persian, also transcribed Taleqan or Taluqan) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006. In 2021, the Taliban gained contro ...


Footnotes


External links

*
Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

Takhar Province
*
Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development prs, وزارت بازسازی و انکشاف دهات) , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = , seal = , seal_width = 155 , seal_caption = , logo ...

Takhar Province
*
Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), formerly the "Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System," is an operation supported by the Defense Media Activity (DMA). It provides a connection between world media and the American ...

Takhar ProvinceTakhar
(pictures of Takhar province) {{Authority control Provinces of Afghanistan States and territories established in 1964 Provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan