Baghlan Province

{{Further|History of Afghanistan}}

The name Baghlan is derived from Bagolango or "image-temple", inscribed on the temple of Surkh Kotal during the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka in the early 2nd century CE. The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang traveled through Baghlan in the mid-7th century CE, and referred to it as the "kingdom of Fo-kia-lang".Xuanzang. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/xuanzang.html Record of the Western Regions]. translated by Samuel Beal (1884) in Buddhist Records of the Western World, London: Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1884

In the 13th century CE, a permanent garrison of Mongol troops was quartered in the Kunduz-Baghlan area, and in 1253 fell under the jurisdiction of Sali Noyan Tatar, appointed by Möngke Khan. Sali Noyan's position was later inherited by his son Uladu and grandson Baktut.{{Cite book|last1=Manz |first1=Beatrice Forbes |year=1999 |title=The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane |location=Cambridge, England |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=160–163 |isbn=9780521633840 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Nzh_9DZ5DYC }} These Turco-Mongol garrison troops (tamma) formed the Qara'unas faction, and by the 14th Century had allied with the Chaghataite Khanate. Under the rule of Temür the Qara'unas were given to Chekü Barlas, and then to his son Jahānshāh. Beatrice Forbes Manz notes that these Kunduz-Baghlan forces appear to have remained cohesive and influential throughout the Timurid period, though under different leaders and different names, up until the Uzbek invasion.{{when|date=February 2023}}{{harvnb|Manz|1999|page=81 }} By the Islamic year 900 (1494–1495 CE), the area was noted in the Baburnama as ruled by a Qipchaq emir.{{harvnb|Manz|1999|page=187}}

In the mid-20th century, as Afghanistan became the target of international development from both the Western and Soviet world, agricultural-industrial projects were initiated in Baghlan. These included factories for the production of sugar from sugar beets (initiated by Czech experts in the 1940s{{Cite encyclopedia|last1=Clements |first1=Frank |last2=Adamec |first2=Ludwig W. |year=2003 |title=Baghlan Province |encyclopedia=Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA38 38] |isbn=978-1-85109-402-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA38 |access-date=18 June 2015 }}) and for vegetable oil.{{Cite web|title=Asian Annual: The "Eastern World" Handbook |year=1959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITsMAQAAIAAJ&q=vegetable+oil+baghlan |access-date=18 June 2015 }} Czech expertise also figured heavily into the development of Baghlans' coal-mining industry,{{Cite encyclopedia|last1=Rafferty |first1=Kevin |last2=Marsden |first2=Peter |year=2002 |title=Afghanistan: Economy |encyclopedia=The Far East and Australasia 2003 |location=London |publisher=Europa Publications |pages=79–86, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&q=baghlan+coal&pg=PA85 page 85] |isbn=9781857431339 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA79 }} centred at Baghlan's Karkar Valley, the only coal mine in Afghanistan to remain operational up through 1992.{{Cite book|last1=Christensen |first1=Asger |year=1995 |title=Aiding Afghanistan: The Background and Prospects for Reconstruction in a Fragmented Society |location=Copenhagen, Denmark |publisher=NIAS Books |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7LKS93lbSM0C&q=baghlan+karkar+coal&pg=PA42 42] |isbn=9788787062442 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7LKS93lbSM0C }}

The modern Baghlan Province was created out of the former Qataghan Province in 1964.{{Cite encyclopedia|author1=Bivar, A. D. H. |author2=Balland, D. |author3=de Planhol, X. |title=Baḡlān |editor=Ehsan Yarshater |editor-link=Ehsan Yarshater |year=2011 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=III |publisher= The Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation (EIF) |pages=416–418 |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baglan-district-and-town-of-afghanistan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811223105/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baglan-district-and-town-of-afghanistan |archive-date=11 August 2017 |url-status=live }}

During the Soviet–Afghan War, the Soviets in 1982 established the Kayan military zone in southern Baghlan. The area was defended by 10,000 Ismaili militiamen, increasing to 18,000 by 1992, who sided with the Soviets due to differences with the Islamist opposition.{{Cite book|author1=Bhatia, Michael V. |author2=Sedra, Mark |year=2008 |title=Afghanistan, arms and conflict: armed groups, disarmament and security in a post-war society |publisher=Psychology Press |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YghqI97M56kC&pg=PA252 252ff.] |isbn=978-0-415-45308-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YghqI97M56kC }} Afghan Ismailis overall were inclined to support the Communists, though a local Ismaili leader, Sayed Manuchehr, lead a partisan movement against the Communists until Ismaili leader Sayed Mansur Naderi accepted Soviet support.{{cite book|last1=Emadi |first1=Hafizullah |year=2005 |title=Culture and Customs of Afghanistan |location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bY8ck6iktikC&q=manuchehr+baghlan&pg=PA73 73]|isbn=978-0-313-33089-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY8ck6iktikC }}

Large portions of Baghlan and neighbouring Samangan Province were under the sway of the Soviet-aligned Naderi clan, the hereditary Ismaili Sayeds (spiritual leaders) of Kayan. Under their jurisdiction, was largely quiet and societally functional throughout the 1980s, with hospitals, schools, and administrative services, funded by the communist central government. Despite the Naderi's alliance with the Communists, they also maintained positive relations with the Mujahideen as well, permitting them to move through the area provided they refrained from attacks.{{Cite book|last=Giustozzi |first=Antonio |year=2009 |title=Empires of Mud: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan 2002-2007 |location=London |publisher=Hurst & Company |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=z2thMlBAFfcC&pg=PA61 61–62] |isbn=978-1-85065-932-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2thMlBAFfcC }}

One of the Soviets' three primary bases in Afghanistan, Kiligai, was located in Baghlan Province, and served as the "largest military supply and armoury centre of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan."{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=61jVAAAAMAAJ&q=%22kila+gai%22 |title=Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East |date=2009-05-11 |access-date=18 June 2015 }}

The capital of Baghlan province was officially transferred to the city of Puli Khumri from the central city of Baghlan. This transition occurred during the 1980s under the influence of Sayed Mansur Naderi, son of Sayed Kayan, who held significant military and political power at the time.Author: Hakimi, Aziz Ahmed. Title: Fighting for Patronage: American counterinsurgency and the Afghan Local Police. Publisher: University of London. Date: 23.07.2015. Access date: 04.04.2024. The relocation aimed to enhance public access to administrative offices, leveraging Puli Khumri's strategic location along the Kabul-Mazar highway. The cabinet of Dr. Najibullah, led by Sultan Ali Keshtmand, initially proposed this move through declaration number 492 on March 1, 1989. It was subsequently formalized by Dr. Najibullah through decree number 1603 on March 9, 1989.Official Gadget of Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan Republic Government. (1989, July 6). Decree number 1603 of March 9, 1989 by Afghanistan President about transfer of Baghlan capital to Puli Khumri city and omission of Puli Khumri as a district in the administrative structure of the province. Retrieved April 5, 2024, from https://law.acku.edu.af/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/acku_risalah_knf2720_meem69_1368_n695_dari_title1.pdf

File:ANA in Baghlan-2010.jpg in Baghlan in 2010]]As the 2001 Afghan War commenced, Ismaili leader Sayed Mansoor Naderi attempted to retake Baghlan from the Taliban. Naderi was aligned with Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum and his Jumbesh-e Milli party, and the competing Tajik-dominated Jamiat-e Islami party was also keen to seize control of Baghlan as Taliban power eroded. The Jamiat were able to seize the capital of Pul-i Khumri before Naderi, who despite his strong backing among the Afghan Ismailis and Shia Hazaras, was unable to rally enough supporters to control the province. Naderi failed to retake the capital in 2001 and 2003, in the latter event he negotiated a power-sharing agreement with the dominant Andarabi militias and made the Ismaili bastion of the Kayan Valley his base.{{harvnb|Giustozzi|2009|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=z2thMlBAFfcC&pg=PA118 118]}}

On 13 June 2012, two earthquakes hit Afghanistan and there was a major landslide in Burka District of Baghlan Province. The village of Sayi Hazara was buried under up to 30 meters of rock, killing an estimated 71 people.

On 13 April 2021, an official in Baghlan Province said a group of Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint in the province that day and killed six security personnel.{{Cite web|date=13 Apr 2021|title=Afghan government forces killed 91 Taliban fighters|url=https://newsupd.com/2021/04/13/afghan-government-forces-killed-91-taliban-fighters/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413235620/https://newsupd.com/2021/04/13/afghan-government-forces-killed-91-taliban-fighters/|archive-date=2021-04-13|access-date=2021-04-13}}{{Better source needed|date=October 2021}}

Claiming that the Taliban had not acted in the spirit of amnesty, the Public's Resistance Forces under Khair Muhammad Andarabi reportedly attacked Taliban fighters 20 August 2021 in several parts of Baghlan province, inflicting up to 60 Taliban killed or wounded. They claim to have captured Puli Hisar, Dih Salah and Banu districts, and are advancing on other Taliban-held districts.{{Cite web|author=India Today Web Desk|date=21 Aug 2021|title=Resistance forces capture 3 districts in Afghanistan, several Taliban fighters killed: Report|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/resistance-forces-capture-3-districts-afghanistan-taliban-fighters-killed-1843514-2021-08-20|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018235231/https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/resistance-forces-capture-3-districts-afghanistan-taliban-fighters-killed-1843514-2021-08-20|archive-date=2021-10-18|access-date=2021-08-22|website=India Today|language=en|publication-place=New Delhi}} Clashes were still reported in Baghlan province by January 2022.{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-arrest-uzbek-commander-clashes/31677178.html|title=Taliban's Arrest Of Ethnic Uzbek Commander Sparks Clashes In Northern Afghanistan|first=Bruce|last=Pannier|publisher=Radio Free Europe|date=January 29, 2022|accessdate=January 31, 2022}}

File:Warlord of Kayan 1989 Jeff Naderi.jpg Warlord of Kayan]]

The Warlord of Kayan is a significant and popular documentary movie, filmed in 1989 by Jeff B. Harmon, featuring the political and social landscape of Baghlan during the civil wars. The former governor of Baghlan Sayed Jafar Naderi was chosen as the central character in this documentary. He, who was also known as Jeff Naderi outside the borders of Afghanistan, is the son of Sayed Mansur Naderi, an influential political and religious figure.{{cite web |url=https://www.journeyman.tv/film/1083/warlord-of-kayan|title=Warlord of Kayan|publisher=Journeyman Pictures Website |date=2018-10-19 |access-date=2024-04-01}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mcall.com/2001/10/28/from-allentown-to-the-afghan-mountains-man-who-spent-youth-here-now-commands-northern-alliance-warriors/|publisher=The Morning Call (Pennsylvania) |title=From Allentown to the Afghan mountains, October 2001|date=28 October 2001 }} The film won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.{{cite news |url=https://www.khaama.com/warlord-of-kayan-an-insightful-documentary-on-afghanistans-history-98754/|title=Warlord of Kayan: An Insightful Documentary on Afghanistan's History

|newspaper=Khaama Press|date=2014-06-07 |access-date=2024-04-02}}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCAwgZlQmYg|title=Jeff B. Harmon - Air date 10-14-96 (Interview)|publisher=Harold Channer |date=2007-05-13 |access-date=2024-04-02}}

The film was also featured in the Sunday Times magazine and a picture of Sayed Jafar Naderi taken by Jeff B. Harmon during one of the filmmaking scenes had gone on the magazine's front cover. Hard copies of magazine collected by Magazine Canteen are still available.{{cite web |url=https://magazinecanteen.com/products/the-sunday-times-magazine-sayed-jafar-naderi-afghanistan|title=THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE - SAYED JAFAR NADERI AFGHANISTAN|publisher=Magazine Canteen |date= |access-date=2024-04-04}}

{{Further|Politics of Afghanistan|List of governors of Baghlan}}

The town of Puli Khumri serves as the capital of the province. All law enforcement activities throughout the province are handled by the Afghan National Police (ANP). The provincial police chief represents the Ministry of the Interior in Kabul. The ANP is backed by the Afghan Armed Forces, and previously by NATO-led forces. Taj Mohammad Jahid has been the governor of the province since July 2020.{{Cite news| title = Ghani appoints new governors for five provinces of Afghanistan| work = The Khaama Press News Agency| access-date =12 July 2020 | date=7 July 2020 | url = https://www.khaama.com/ghani-appoints-new-governors-for-five-provinces-of-afghanistan-08943/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712092114/https://www.khaama.com/ghani-appoints-new-governors-for-five-provinces-of-afghanistan-08943/ |archive-date=12 July 2020 |url-status=live }}

The majority of the population in Baghlan province speak the Dari variety of Persian.{{Cite web |date=February 29, 2024 |title=Baghlan Development.pdf |url=https://nps.edu/documents/105988371/107571254/Baghlan_Development.pdf/c78f7b1a-893e-48dc-aae9-ac325aafd446#:~:text=Dari%20is%20spoken%20by%2070,numbers%20vary%20in%20different%20seasons.}}

The majority of the population of this province is Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and Pashtuns.{{Cite web|title=Provincial Development Plan, Baghlan: Provincial Profile |year=2008 |publisher=Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Government of Afghanistan |url=http://www.mrrd.gov.af/nabdp/Provincial%20Profiles/Baghlan%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703075512/http://www.mrrd.gov.af/nabdp/Provincial%20Profiles/Baghlan%20PDP%20Provincial%20profile.pdf |archive-date=3 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}

Baghlan province is also home to a small community of Isma'ili Hazaras, led by the Sayeds of Kayan.

{{Further|Health in Afghanistan}}

The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 19% in 2005 to 25% in 2011.{{Cite web|title=Baghlan Province |publisher=NATO's Civil-Military Fusion Centre (CFC) |url=https://www.cimicweb.org/AfghanistanProvincialMap/Pages/Baghlan.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531104856/https://www.cimicweb.org/AfghanistanProvincialMap/Pages/Baghlan.aspx |archive-date=31 May 2014 }}

The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 5.5% in 2005 to 22% in 2011.

{{Further|Education in Afghanistan}}

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 21% in 2005 to 24% in 2011.

The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 29% in 2005 to 62% in 2011.

{{Further|Economy of Afghanistan}}

Baghlan's primary crops (as of 1974) were cotton and sugar beets, industrial sugar production having begun under Czech supervision in the 1940s. The area also produced grapes, pistachios, and pomegranates. The primary livestock is Karakul sheep.

The province also produces silk, and coal is mined in the Karkar Valley.

File:Baghlan districts.png was moved to Bamyan Province, and the districts of Andarab and Khost Wa Fereng were subdivided.]]

{{reflist|group=note}}

• Baghlan
• 2007 Baghlan sugar factory bombing
• Kayan, Baghlan
• Sayed Kayan
• Warlord of Kayan
• Sayed Mansur Naderi
• Sayed Jafar Naderi

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category|Baghlan Province}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Baghlan Province

|North = Kunduz Province

|Northeast = Takhar Province

|East =

|Southeast = Panjshir Province

|South = Parwan Province

|Southwest = Bamyan Province

|West = Samangan Province

|Northwest =

}}

{{Provinces of Afghanistan}}

{{Baghlan Province}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Provinces of Afghanistan

Category:States and territories established in 1964

Category:Provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan