View source for Gardez

{{Infobox settlement
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<!-- Basic info  ---------------->| name               = Gardez
| native_name        = {{hlist|{{lang|ps|{{nq|گردېز}}}}|{{lang|prs|{{nq|گردیز}}}}}}
| settlement_type    = City
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| image_caption      = The Bala Hesar [[fortress]] in the center of Gardez City
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| pushpin_map        = Afghanistan
| pushpin_relief     = yes
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| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Afghanistan
<!-- Location ------------------>| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Afghanistan}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Paktia Province]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Afghanistan|District]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Gardez District]]
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| population_urban   = 70,641<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=The State of Afghan Cities report 2015 |url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/ |ref=UN-Habitat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111515/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/ |archive-date=2015-10-31 }}</ref>
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| coordinates        = {{coord|33|36|00|N|69|13|01|E|region:AF|display=inline,title}}
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| elevation_m        = 2308
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[[File:Hilltop Outposts.jpg|thumb|279x279px|Hilltop outposts attributed to Alexander the Great.]]
'''Gardez'''{{Efn|{{bulleted list|{{langx|ps|گردېز|Gardez}} {{IPA|ps|gaɾ.d̪ez|}}|{{langx|prs|گردیز|Gardēz}} {{IPA|prs|gäɾ.d̪éːz|}}}}}} is the capital of the [[Paktia Province]] of [[Afghanistan]]. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008.<ref name="GS">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/gardez.htm|title=Gardez|first=John|last=Pike|access-date=22 December 2016}}</ref> The majority of the city's native population is Pashtun.<ref name="GS"/> The city of Gardez, named after 'mountain fortress' in [[Middle Persian]], is located at the junction between two important roads that cut, through a huge alpine valley. Surrounded by the mountains and deserts of the [[Hindu Kush]], which boil up from the valley floor to the north, east and west, it is the axis of commerce for a huge area of eastern Afghanistan and has been a strategic location for armies throughout the country's long history of conflict. Observation posts built by [[Alexander the Great]] are still crumbling on the hilltops just outside the city limits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centcom.mil/en/news/articles/aup-takes-the-reins-from-us-soldiers-in-gardez |title=AUP takes the reins from US soldiers in Gardez |last1=Scar |first1=Ken |date=February 22, 2012 |publisher=U.S. Central Command |access-date=August 1, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201924/http://www.centcom.mil/en/news/articles/aup-takes-the-reins-from-us-soldiers-in-gardez |archive-date=September 23, 2015 }}</ref>
The city of Gardez has a population of 70,641 (in 2015).<ref>{{cite web|title=The State of Afghan Cities report2015 |url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/ |ref=UN-Habitat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111515/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015/ |archive-date=2015-10-31 }}</ref> It has 13 districts and a total land area of {{convert|6174|ha|sqmi}}.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=The State of Afghan Cities report 2015|url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/|ref=UN-Habitat|access-date=2015-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111658/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/|archive-date=2015-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> The total number of dwellings in this city is 7,849.<ref>{{cite web|title=The State of Afghan Cities report2015|url=http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/|ref=UN-Habitat|access-date=2015-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031111658/http://unhabitat.org/books/soac2015_volume2/|archive-date=2015-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 14 August 2021, Gardez was seized by [[Taliban]] fighters, becoming the nineteenth provincial capital to be captured by the Taliban as part of the wider [[2021 Taliban offensive]].

==History==
{{History of Afghanistan}}
[[File:Gardesh Ganesha dedicated by Khingila, Kabul, 7-8th century CE.jpg|thumb|upright|Marble statue of the elephant-headed [[Gardez Ganesha]], consecrated by King "Khingala". Dated to the mid-8th century CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balogh |first1=Dániel |title=Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History |date=12 March 2020 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-01-4 |page=106 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frnVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |language=en}}</ref>]]
Gardez is an ancient settlement, located within a large intramountainous depression in the [[Sulaiman Mountains]] of eastern Afghanistan.<ref name="Iranica">Daniel Balland, "GARDĪZ", in [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] (Online Edition, ([http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gardizgardez- LINK])</ref> Archaeological discoveries, including [[Greeks|Greek]], [[Sassanids|Sassanid]], [[Hephthalites|Hephthalite]], and [[Hindu Shahi]] coins give an insight into the rich history of Gardez.

During 8th century, the [[Lawik dynasty|Lawik]] rulers of the region adopted Islam. They formerly practiced either [[Hinduism]] or [[Buddhism]], since they were associated with the Buddhist Kabul Shahis, and later with the Hindu Shahis (based in [[Peshawar valley|Gandhara]], in present-day north-west [[Pakistan]]). Gardez later became a center of [[Khawarij|Kharijism]] and suffered several attacks by anti-Kharijite military chiefs. According to ''Zayn al-Akhbar'', written by historian [[Abu Sa'id Gardezi]], Abu Mansur Aflah Lawik was reduced to a tributary status in Gardez by Emir [[Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar]] in 877.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Medieval History of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia|pages= 302–303|publisher=Variorum Reprints|year=1977|author=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth}}</ref> However, the city remained under Lawik rule for about a century more. Around 975, Samanid-appointed governor [[Bilgetegin]] besieged Gardez but was killed by Lawiks during the attack.<ref>''"Hodūd al-Ālam"'', ed. Sotūda, p. 71, tr. Minorsky, p. 91; Bivar & Bosworth, 1965, pp. 17 ff.</ref> In 1162, the city fell to the [[Ghurid dynasty]].

During the 16th-century, Gardez was renowned for its multi-storied houses—as mentioned by [[Baburs]] in his ''[[Baburnama]]''—and was the headquarter of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] ''tūmān'' of "[[Zurmat District|Zurmut]]", whose people were "Afghān-Shāl".<ref name="Iranica"/><ref name="babur">{{cite book |last=Beveridge |first=Annette Susannah |author-link=Annette Beveridge |date=7 January 2014 |title=The Bābur-nāma in English, Memoirs of Bābur|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44608/44608-h/44608-h.htm |publisher=Project Gutenberg}}</ref>

Today, Gardez is the administrative center of a district of the [[Paktia Province|Paktiā]] province, which covers 650&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and had a total population of 44,000 inhabitants in 1979, but was almost totally depopulated during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]].

In 1960, the [[German government]] had their biggest rural development project with a budget of 2.5 million [[Deutsche Mark|Deutsch Marks]] for the development of Paktiā ("Paktiā Development Authority", see above). This led to an economic boom in the 1970s. The number of shops in the bazar increased from 117 in 1965 to more than 600 in 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/gardizgardez-|title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref> The project was unsuccessful as the [[communist]] regime came to power in 1979. The communists lost control of most of Paktiā during the 1980s as the country plunged into war with only Gardez remaining in government control. In 2002, the city and surroundings was attacked by local warlord [[Pacha Khan Zadran]], who was chosen as Paktia governor by [[Hamid Karzai]]'s administration only to be refused by tribal elders.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holguin |first1=Jaime |title=Afghan Warlord Defiant Amid Threats |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghan-warlord-defiant-amid-threats/ |website=www.cbsnews.com}}</ref>

On January 4, 2002, the first American soldier to die in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]], Sergeant First Class [[Nathan Chapman (soldier)|Nathan Chapman]], was killed in Gardez.

On [[May 2020 Afghanistan attacks|14 May 2020]], a [[suicide attack|suicide]] [[truck bomb]]er killed five [[civilian]]s and injured at least 29 others near a court in Gardez. The [[Taliban]] claimed this as a revenge attack against the Afghan government, after [[President of Afghanistan|President]] [[Ashraf Ghani]] blamed the group for the [[May 2020 Afghanistan attacks#12 May attacks|attack at a maternity hospital in Kabul]] two days earlier; the Taliban denied responsibility for the hospital attack.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/05/14/world/asia/ap-as-afghanistan.html|title=Official Says Suicide Attack in Eastern Afghanistan Kills 5|website=[[The New York Times]] |agency=Associated Press|date=May 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="reu2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attacks-blast-idUSKBN22Q0NY|title=Truck bomb in eastern Afghan city kills five, Taliban claim responsibility|date=May 14, 2020|website=www.reuters.com}}</ref>

== Geography ==
Gardez is located at 2,308 m above sea level, making it the third-highest provincial capital in Afghanistan, and is not far from the [[Tora Bora]] region of caves and tunnels. The "old town", located at the foot of the ''[[Bala Hissar (Gardez)|Bālā Hesār]]'' [[fortress]]. The city is watered by the upper course of the Gardez River, which flows into the [[Ab-i Istada]] lake. Gardez is located at a junction between two important roads, [[Khost-Gardez Pass|one]] connecting [[Kabul]] with [[Khost]], the other linking [[Ghazni]] with [[Parachinar]] in Pakistan's [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]. Gardez is {{convert|70|km}} northwest of [[Khost]] and {{convert|100|km}} south of [[Kabul]].

=== Climate ===

Gardez has a [[cold semi-arid climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''BSk'') with dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is low, and mostly falls in winter and spring.
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Gardez
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 14.6
|Feb record high C = 12.7
|Mar record high C = 24.7
|Apr record high C = 26.5
|May record high C = 31.0
|Jun record high C = 34.5
|Jul record high C = 34.8
|Aug record high C = 33.8
|Sep record high C = 30.0
|Oct record high C = 27.8
|Nov record high C = 20.0
|Dec record high C = 17.6
|Jan high C = 1.0
|Feb high C = 2.3
|Mar high C = 8.8
|Apr high C = 16.8
|May high C = 22.2
|Jun high C = 27.8
|Jul high C = 29.6
|Aug high C = 29.0
|Sep high C = 25.1
|Oct high C = 18.6
|Nov high C = 11.9
|Dec high C = 5.7
|Jan mean C = -6.1
|Feb mean C = -4.7
|Mar mean C = 2.7
|Apr mean C = 10.1
|May mean C = 15.1
|Jun mean C = 20.6
|Jul mean C = 22.0
|Aug mean C = 21.1
|Sep mean C = 16.7
|Oct mean C = 10.5
|Nov mean C = 3.8
|Dec mean C = -2.2
|Jan low C = -11.7
|Feb low C = -10.1
|Mar low C = -2.3
|Apr low C = 4.0
|May low C = 7.9
|Jun low C = 12.5
|Jul low C = 14.9
|Aug low C = 13.8
|Sep low C = 8.4
|Oct low C = 2.3
|Nov low C = -2.8
|Dec low C = -7.6
|Jan record low C = −31.0
|Feb record low C = -30.0
|Mar record low C = −19.6
|Apr record low C = -6.4
|May record low C = -2.5
|Jun record low C = 4.7
|Jul record low C = 9.0
|Aug record low C = 4.5
|Sep record low C = 0.5
|Oct record low C = -9.3
|Nov record low C = −13.2
|Dec record low C = −27.8
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm =  35.8
|Feb precipitation mm =  61.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 65.5
|Apr precipitation mm =  50.4
|May precipitation mm =  21.7
|Jun precipitation mm =  4.8
|Jul precipitation mm =  15.8
|Aug precipitation mm =  7.5
|Sep precipitation mm =  0.9
|Oct precipitation mm =  5.8
|Nov precipitation mm =  12.4
|Dec precipitation mm =  33.2
|Jan rain days = 1
|Feb rain days = 1
|Mar rain days = 6
|Apr rain days = 9
|May rain days = 6
|Jun rain days = 2
|Jul rain days = 3
|Aug rain days = 2
|Sep rain days = 0
|Oct rain days = 2
|Nov rain days = 3
|Dec rain days = 1
|Jan snow days = 8
|Feb snow days = 8
|Mar snow days = 5
|Apr snow days = 1
|May snow days = 0
|Jun snow days = 0
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = 0
|Oct snow days = 0
|Nov snow days = 1
|Dec snow days = 6
|Jan sun = 171.5
|Feb sun = 166.8
|Mar sun = 214.2
|Apr sun = 242.9
|May sun = 316.2
|Jun sun = 357.5
|Jul sun = 343.0
|Aug sun = 335.8
|Sep sun = 329.8
|Oct sun = 302.4
|Nov sun = 253.9
|Dec sun = 200.4
|Jan humidity = 69
|Feb humidity = 72
|Mar humidity = 66
|Apr humidity = 58
|May humidity = 47
|Jun humidity = 39
|Jul humidity = 49
|Aug humidity = 51
|Sep humidity = 45
|Oct humidity = 45
|Nov humidity = 51
|Dec humidity = 60
|source 1 = NOAA (1970-1983) <ref name= NOAA>{{cite web
  |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40970.TXT
  |title =Gardiz Climate Normals 1961-1990
  |publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
  |access-date = December 26, 2012}}</ref>
|date=September 2011
}}

== Land use ==
Gardez is located in eastern Afghanistan close to Ghazni and Khost.<ref name="auto1"/> Gardez is predominately non-built up area with agriculture as the largest land use at 39%.<ref name="auto1"/> Residential area accounts for almost half of built-up area and Districts 1-4 consist of the densest housing.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Demographics==
As of 2008, the population of Gardez was estimated to be around 83,131. [[Pashtun people|Pashtuns]] make up ca. 80% of the population while the [[Tajik people|Tajik]] community accounts for ca. 20%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/DDP/Paktia/Gardiz%20DDP%20Summary.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-12-16 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304005446/http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/DDP/Paktia/Gardiz%20DDP%20Summary.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-04 }}</ref>

Majority of the people living in Gardez are pashtuns primarily of the [[Ahmadzai (Ghilji clan)|Ahmadzai]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NPS.edu (Naval Postgraduate School) sourcing and identifying of tribal groups of districts in provinces of Afghanistan. |url=https://nps.edu/documents/105988371/107571254/PaktyaTribalMap07.pdf/d43aae5e-92cc-409a-b4f1-b3c04bfc46b7 |access-date=4 August 2024 |website=nps.edu}}</ref>

There is also a significant community of Hindu and Sikh shopkeepers who altogether ran 9% of the shops in the bāzār, mostly specializing in jewellery and cloth"''<ref name="Iranica"/>

== Economy and administration ==
{{unreferencedsection|date=September 2023}}
[[Image:GardezFOB.jpg|thumb|Gardez has the first [[Provincial reconstruction team|Provincial reconstruction team (PRT)]]]]

The city of Gardez is also a major fuel wood market for Kabul. Many of its natural forests are being cut down to provide fuel wood especially during winter.

During the 1970s, Gardez experienced a significant economic boom, primarily attributable to substantial financial support from Germany. This infusion of funds catalyzed rapid growth in various sectors, such as infrastructure development, industrial expansion, and education initiatives. As a consequence, the city saw a surge in job opportunities, improved living standards, and a thriving business environment, marking a pivotal period in its history. ''"Paktiā Development Authority"'', established in 1965, and of the asphalting of the road to Kabul. Social services included three schools for boys, one school for girls, a hospital, one teacher training institute, the ''[[Madrasa]]ye Roshānī'', two hotels, and forty [[mosque]]s. Most of these buildings were destroyed during the civil war in the 1980s.

After the fall of the [[Taliban]], the first [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]] (PRT) in Afghanistan was established in [[Paktia Province|Paktiā]] near Gardez in early March 2003, headed by the US Army along with a [[U.S. Agency for International Development]] representative, Randolph Hampton.  There are now over 30 PRTs in Afghanistan.  The continuing challenge to bring electricity, medical clinics, schools and water to the more remote villages in Paktia are a result of ongoing security issues.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}

==Security and politics==
Gardez was the former home of the 3rd Corps of the [[Afghan Army]]. By the Afghan Militia Forces period (c.2002), the corps 'theoretically incorporated 14th Division, 30th Division, 822nd Brigade, Border Brigades, and approximately 800... in the Governor's Force in [[Paktia Province|Paktya]], [[Ghazni]], [[Paktika]], and [[Khost Province]]s.<ref>Michael Bhatia, Mark Sedra, Michael Vinay Bhatia, Mark Sedra, 'Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Post-9/11 Security and Insurgency, Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN|113405422X}}, 209.</ref> 
The corps was disbanded around 2003-2005 and replaced in the new [[Afghan National Army]] by the [[203rd Corps (Afghanistan)|203rd Corps]].

According to local Police Chief Brigadier General [[Aziz Wardak|Aziz Ahmad Wardak]], six people were arrested on 19 August 2009 for distributing [[night letter]]s threatening people with attacks if they participated in the election.<ref>{{cite web|author=Niazai, Lemar |title=10 detained for distributing night letters |date=19 August 2009 |work=Pajhwok Elections |url=http://www.aliveinafghanistan.org/aiablog/p=630? }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

== Notable people from Gardez ==
* [[Abu Sa'id Gardezi]], 11th-century geographer and historian
* [[Shah Gardez]], 11th-century Sufi saint who established himself in Multan, Pakistan
* [[Mohammad Najibullah]], President of Afghanistan from 1987 to 1992
* [[Khalaf ibn Ahmad]], the last Saffarid Emir who died in Gardez in 1009 where he had been sent after the Ghaznavid conquest

==See also==
* [[Paktia Province]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Literature ==
{{Commons category|Gardez}}
* S. Radojicic, ''Report on Hydrogeological Survey of Paktya Province'', [[Kabul]], [[UNICEF]], 1977
* [[Clifford Edmund Bosworth|C.E. Bosworth]], "Notes on the Pre-Ghaznavid History of Eastern Afghanistan", in ''The Islamic Quarterly IX'', 1965

{{Paktia Province}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardez}}
[[Category:Populated places in Paktia Province]]
[[Category:Provincial capitals in Afghanistan]]