Ghor Province
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Redirect Template:Redirect Template:Infobox settlement Ghōr (PashtoTemplate:Efn, DariTemplate:Efn: غور) also known as Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds of villages, and approximately 764,472 settled people.<ref name=nsia/> Firuzkoh (known as “Chaghcharan” until 2014) is the capital of the province.
Etymology
The ancient Indo-European, Sogdian gor-/gur- ("mountain"-) is well preserved in all Slavic gor-/gór- (goor-/gur-), e.g.: Gorals, Goran, Goranci, Góra, Gora..., in Iranian languages, e.g.: Gorani language, Guran (Kurdish tribe). The Polish notation using gór- ("ó" stands for a sound between English "oo" and "u") instead of the popular gur- or ghur- preserves the ancient orthography.Template:Clarify
History
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Beginning in 725, the Umayyad governor Asad b. 'Abdallah al-Qasri unsuccessfully raided the region of Ghur.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The inhabitants of Ghor were completely Islamized during the Ghurids era. Before the 12th century, the area was home to Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Hindus and a small number of Jews. Remains of the oldest settlements discovered by Lithuanian archaeologists in 2007 and 2008 in Ghor date back to 5000 BC.<ref>Province hides monuments some of which date back to 5000 BCTemplate:Dead link, Quqnoos.com, 22 May 2008</ref> Ruins of a few castles and other defense fortifications were also discovered in the environs of Chaghcharan. A Buddhist monastery hand-carved on the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the first centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism. The artificial caves revealed testimony of the daily life of the Buddhist monks.<ref>Lithuanian archeologists make discovery in Afghanistan Template:Webarchive, The Baltic Times, May 22, 2008; Archaeologists make new discoveries about ancient Afghan cultures Template:Webarchive, Top News, May 23, 2008.</ref>
Various scholars and historians such as John McLeod attribute the conversion of the Ghauris to Islam to Mahmud Ghazni after his conquest of Ghor.<ref>The history of India By John McLeod Published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002 Page 34</ref>
Traditional Muslim historians such as Estakhri and Ibn Haukal attest to the existence of the non-Islamic enclave of Ghor before the time of Ghazni, which is attributed to converting its population to Islam.
Minhaju-S-Siraj recorded strife between the non-Muslim and Muslim populations:
According to Minhahu-S Siraj, Amir Suri was captured by Mahmud of Ghazni, made prisoner along with his son, and taken to Ghazni, where Amir Suri died.<ref>The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians by Eliot and Dowson, Volume 2, page 286</ref>
In 1011, 1015 and 1020, both Mahmud and Mas'ud I led expeditions into Ghur and established Islam in place of indigenous paganism. After this, Ghur was considered a vassal state of the Ghaznavid empire.<ref>C.E. Bosworth, The Later Ghaznavids, (Columbia University Press, 1977), 68.</ref> During the reign of 'Abd ar Rashi and the usurper Toghrul, Ghur and Gharchistan gained autonomy.<ref>C.E. Bosworth, The Later Ghaznavids, 69.</ref>
Ghor was also the center of the Ghurid dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries. The remains of their capital Firozkoh, which was sacked and destroyed by the Mongols in 1222, includes the Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Karzai and Ghani administrations
Template:Further In June 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, at which point Governor Mohammed Ibrahim fled. Three days later the Afghan government announced that it would not retake Chaghcharan. Khan and Ibrahim began negotiations soon after but reached no agreement. Khan's troops left Chaghcharan on 23 June, a day ahead of when an Afghan National Army battalion, led by Lieutenant-General Aminullah Paktiyanai, arrived with the support of roughly 20 U.S. soldiers.
Taliban administration (2021-present)
In 2021, the Taliban regained control of Ghor after the 2021 Taliban offensive.
Fifty people were killed in floods in the Ghor province in May 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Transportation
Template:Further As of September 2014, Chaghcharan Airport, located at the provincial capital of Chaghcharan, had regularly scheduled flights to the provinces of Kabul and Herat.
As of 2013, roads in the province remained largely undeveloped, unpaved and often lacked bridges over rivers.<ref>NATO Channel, Discover Afghanistan - The Minaret of Jam, August 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F8SREfehZ4 Template:Webarchive</ref>
Economy
Template:Further Agriculture and animal husbandry are the primary economic activities in Ghor Province. According to the United Nations, many young men were forced to leave the province to find work in Herat or Iran and a small percentage of the population were teachers, government officials, carpet weavers, carpenters and tailors. Over half of the population could not cover their basic needs with their level of income.<ref name="aims.org.af">Template:Cite web</ref> Opium production had returned to the region following the Taliban's departure as locals attempted to increase their incomes by farming a more economically lucrative crop.<ref name="aims.org.af"/>
Healthcare
Template:Further The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 14% in 2005 to 9% in 2011.<ref name="cimicweb.org">Archive, Civil Military Fusion Centre, https://www.cimicweb.org/AfghanistanProvincialMap/Pages/Ghor.aspx Template:Webarchive</ref> The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant fell from 9% in 2005 to 3% in 2011.<ref name="cimicweb.org"/>
Education
Template:Further The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 19% in 2005 to 25% in 2011.<ref name="cimicweb.org"/> The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 28% in 2005 to 47% in 2011.<ref name="cimicweb.org"/>
Ghor University that first established as Ghor Higher Education Institute and then promoted to Ghor University has around 500 students with a significant number of girls. There are also some Teacher Training Institutes in the Firuzkoh, Taywara and Lal districts. The number of high schools increased in last the 10 years and attendance in university entrance exams (Kankor) jumped from hundreds to thousands of students. Several agriculture and mechanical schools were also established. There is only one nursing school that trains young female high school graduates for midwifery and nursing that is part of the Ministry of Public Health and run by an NGO in association with Ghor provincial hospital.
Demographics
Template:Further As of 2020, the total population of Ghor province is about 764,472.<ref name=nsia>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nps">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Western Ghor is predominantly of Tajik ethnicity while Eastern Ghor is mostly Hazara.
Geography
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Ghor occupies the end of the Hindu Kush mountains. Ghor is 2,500 meters above sea level and heavy snowfalls often block many of its rugged passes from November to April. It is also a drought-prone area in the summer.
Districts
| District | Capital | Population | Area | Pop. density |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaghcharan | 132,537 | 6,870 | 19 | Tajiks 96%
Pashtuns 2% | |
| Charsada | 30,956 | 1,485 | 21 | Firozkohi Aimaq 50% (Aimaqs), 40% Hazaras, 10% Uzbeks | |
| Dawlat Yar | 47,442 | 1,686 | 22 | Predominantly Hazaras, (Aimaqs) | |
| Du Layna | 35,100 | 3,246 | 13 | Aimaqs 50%
Pashtun 50% | |
| Lal wa Sarjangal | 336,500 | 3,634 | 35 | 100% Hazaras | |
| Marghab | 40,000 | 2,930 | 7 | Predominantly Tajiks | |
| Pasaband | 92,900 | 5,073 | 21 | ||
| Saghar | 33,700 | 2,404 | 16 | Tajiks 100% | |
| Shahrak | 58,200 | 4,600 | 15 | Tajiks 100% | |
| Taywara | Qala-e-ghore | 88,900 | 4,030 | 26 | Tajiks 90% |
| Tulak | Kwajaha | 58,192 | 2,908 | 20 | Predominantly Tajiks[1] |
| Ghor | 954,989 | 36,657 | 26 | 40% Aimaqs, 38% Hazara, 20% Pashtuns 2% Uzbeks.Template:Refn |
Sports
Template:Further Football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, taekwondo and karate are all official sports of the province. In July 2010, the Ghor Province cricket team was founded and represent the province in domestic tournaments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, 2005, Picador Publishers, Template:ISBN
External links
- World Food Programme, Ghor Provincial Profile (accessed 11 February 2013; archived)