Laghman Province

Laghman or Lamghan is originally named after Lamech (Mether Lam Baba), the father of Noah.{{Cite web|title=Afghanistan: Metar Lamech Shrine|url=https://www.culturalprofiles.org.uk/Afghanistan/Units/293.html|access-date=2020-12-15|website=www.culturalprofiles.org.uk}}

{{Further|History of Afghanistan|First Battle of Laghman|Second Battle of Laghman}}

File: A village sits in Laghman Province, Afghanistan.jpg in Laghman Province]]

Located currently at the Kabul Museum are Aramaic inscriptions that were found in Laghman which indicated an ancient trade route from India to Palmyra.[http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0001/000155/015575eo.pdf Cultural policy in Afghanistan; Studies and documents on cultural policies; 1975] Aramaic was the bureaucratic script language of the Achaemenids whose influence had extended toward Laghman.{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asoka-mauryan-emperor|title=AŚOKA|work=iranicaonline.org}} During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka.{{cite journal|jstor=609063|title=The Aramaic Inscription of Asoka Found in Lampāka|first=W. B.|last=Henning|date=2 April 2018|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=13|issue=1|pages=80–88}}

Inscriptions in Aramaic dating from the Mauryan Dynasty were found in Laghman which discussed the conversion of Ashoka to Buddhism.{{cite book |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=C9_vbgkzUSkC&pg=PA39 |title=Handbuch Der Orientalistik: India. The Buddhist Architecture of Gandhara, Part 2, Volume 1 |author=Kurt A. Behrend |page=39 |year= 2004|publisher=BRILL |isbn= 9004135952}} The inscription mentions that the distance to Palmyra is 300 dhanusha or yojana.

The Mahamayuri Tantra dated to between the 1-3rd century mentions several popular Yaksha shrines. It mentions Yaksha Kalahapriya being worshipped in Lampaka.[https://mahamayurividyarajni.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/mahamayuri/ THE MAHAMAYURI VIDYARAJNI SUTRA 佛母大孔雀明王經, Translated into English by Cheng Yew Chung based on Amoghavajra’s Chinese Translation (Taisho Volume 19, Number 982)]

In the seventh century, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Laghman, which he called "Lan-pro" and considered part of India. He indicated the presence of Mahayana Buddhists and numerous Hindus, including Brahmins:{{Cite book |last=Verdun |first=Noémie |title=The Books Sānk and Pātanğal: A Socio-cultural History of al-Bīrūnī's Interpretations of Sāṅkhya and Yoga |publisher=Brill |year=2024 |pages=49–50}}

{{blockquote|"For several centuries the native dynasty had ceased to exist, great families fought for preeminence, and the state had recently become a dependency of Kapis. The country produced upland rice and sugar cane, and it had much wood but little fruit; the climate was mild with little frost and no snow. [...] There were above ten Buddhist monasteries and a few Brethren the most of whom were Mahayanists. The non-Buddhists had a score or two of temples and they were very numerous."{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924071132769#page/n199/mode/2up |last= Watters |first= Thomas |title= On Yuan Chwang's travels in India, 629-645 A.D |year=1904 |publisher= Royal Asiatic Society }}}}

The Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam which was finished in 982 AD mentioned the presence of some idol worshipping temples in the area, and describes the province as an emporium of Hindūstān.{{cite book |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpY3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA649 |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume V |contribution=Islam in India and Pakistan |first1=Annemarie |last1=Schimmel |year=1986 |editor-first1=CE |editor-last1=Bosworth |editor-first2=E |editor-last2=van Donzel |editor-first3=B |editor-last3=Lewis |editor-first4=Ch. |editor-last4=Pellet |page=649 |publisher=Brill Archive |isbn= 90-04-07819-3 }}

The Kabul Shahis only retained Lamghan in the Kabul-Gandhara area by the time of Alp-tegin. According to Firishta, Sabuktigin had already begun raiding Lamghan under Alp-begin.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA126|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th-11th Centuries|year=2002|publisher=Brill|page=126|isbn=0391041738}} He crossed the Khyber Pass many times and raided the territory of Jayapala.{{cite book|title=History of India, Volume 2|author=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|publisher=Viswanathan|page=10}} He plundered the forts in the outlying provinces of the Kabul Shahi and captured many cities, acquiring huge booty.{{cite book|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The struggle for empire|url=https://archive.org/details/delhisultanate00bhar|author=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|author-link=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|page=[https://archive.org/details/delhisultanate00bhar/page/3 3]|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1966}} He also established Islam at many places. Jaipal in retaliation marched with a large force into the valley of Lamghan (Jalalabad) where he clashed with Sabuktigin and his son. The battle stretched on several days until a snowstorm affected Jaipala's strategies, forcing him to sue for peace.

Jayapala then returned to Waihind but broke the treaty and mistreated the amirs sent to collect the tribute. Sabuktigin launched another invasion in retaliation.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xx7ICQAAQBAJ&pg=PA87|title=Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500BCE to 1740CE|last=Roy|first=Kaushik|date=3 June 2015|publisher=Routledge|page=87|isbn=9781317586920}} According to al-Utbi, Sabuktigin attacked Lamghan, conquering it and burning the residences of the "infidels" while also demolishing its idol-temples and establishing Islam.{{cite book|title=Essays on Islam and Indian History|author=Richard Maxwell Eaton|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=98}} He advanced and butchered the idolaters, destroying the temples and plundering their shrines, even risking frostbite on their hands counting the large booty.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT212|title=India: A History. Revised and Updated|last=Keay|first=John|date=12 April 2011|publisher=Grove/Atlantic Inc.|page=212|isbn=9780802195500}}

To avenge the savage attack of Sabuktigin, Jayapala, who has earlier taken his envoys as hostage, decided to go to war again in revenge. The forces of Kabul Shahi were however routed and those still alive were killed in the forest or drowned in the river.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT212|title=India: A History. Revised and Updated|last=Keay|first=John|date=12 April 2011|publisher=Grove/Atlantic Inc.|pages=212–213|isbn=9780802195500}} The second battle that took place between Sabuktigin and Jayapala in 988 A.D., resulted in the former capturing territory between Lamghan and Peshawar. Al-Ubti also states that the Afghans and Khaljis, living there as nomads, took the oath of allegiance to him and were recruited into his army.{{cite journal|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|title=The Afghans and their relations with the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids|author=Syed Jabir Raza|author-link=Jabir Raza|publisher=Indian History Congress|page=786}} Sabuktigin won one of his greatest battles in Laghman against Jayapala and his army numbering 100,000.The History of India: The Hindu and Mahometan Periods, Mountstuart Elphinstone, p. 321. Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni built the Tomb of Lamech, amid gardens, over the site of his presumed grave, 50 kilometres from Mihtarlam.{{Citation|last=Elphinstone|first=Mountstuart|title=SULTÁN MAHMÚD. (997–1030.)|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139507622.036|work=The History of India|year=2013|pages=532–579|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/cbo9781139507622.036|isbn=978-1-139-50762-2|access-date=2020-12-15|url-access=subscription}}

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Khārkhay Pashtuns such as Yusupzai and Tarkāṇī invaded the Laghmān valley and displaced the native Indo-Aryans.{{Cite web |last=Strand |first=Richard |date=2011 |title=Irânian-Speaking Peoples of the Hindu-Kush Region |url=http://nuristan.info/Iranian/Iranians.html |website=Nuristan}}

During the early years of the 16th century, the Mughal ruler Babur spent much time in Laghman, and in Baburnama (memoirs of Babur) he expatiated on the beauty of forested hillsides and the fertility of the valley bottoms of the region. Laghman was recognized as a dependent district of Kabulistan in the Mughal era,The Garden of Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Central Asia, Afghanistan and according to Baburnama, "Greater Lamghanat" included the Muslim-settled part of the Kafiristan, including the easterly one of Kunar River. Laghman was the base for expeditions against the non-believers and was frequently mentioned in accounts of jihads led by Mughal emperor Akbar's younger brother, Mohammad Hakim, who was the governor of Kabul. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani defeated the Mughals and made the territory part of the Durrani Empire. In the late nineteenth century, Amir Abdur Rahman Khan forced the remaining kafirs (Nuristani people) to convert to Islam.

{{see also|Laghman massacre}}

File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Laghman chat.jpg walking with Governor Iqbal Azizi in 2011.]]

During the Soviet-Afghan war and the battles that followed between the rivaling warlords, many homes and business establishments in the province were destroyed. In addition, the Soviets are said to have employed a strategy that targeted and destroyed the agricultural infrastructure of Laghman.How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict, Arreguin-Toft, pg. 186 As of 2007, an International Security Assistance Force Provincial Reconstruction Team led by the United States is based at Mihtarlam.

In 2021, the first stadium in Laghman opened in Mihtarlam.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-26|title=First Stadium Opened in Laghman|url=https://bakhtarnews.af/first-stadium-opened-in-laghman/|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Bakhtar News Agency|language=en-US}}

{{Further|Health in Afghanistan}}

The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 39% in 2005 to 34% in 2011.[https://www.cimicweb.org/AfghanistanProvincialMap/Pages/Laghman.aspx Archive, Civil Military Fusion Centre] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531104901/https://www.cimicweb.org/AfghanistanProvincialMap/Pages/Laghman.aspx |date=2014-05-31 }} The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 3% in 2005 to 36% in 2011. There are 57 medical health clinics and 2 government hospitals.{{Cite web|title=Laghman|url=https://president.gov.af/en/laghman/|website=English|language=en}}

File:Defense.gov photo essay 110907-F-RN211-154.jpg inspecting the underside of a bridge as traffic squeezes through the narrow roadway in Mihtarlam.]]

{{Further|Economy of Afghanistan}}

The Alingar and Alishing rivers pass through Laghman, as the province is known for its lushness. Laghman has sizable amounts of irrigated land as one can find scores of fruits and vegetables from Laghman in Kabul. Other main crops in Laghman include rice, wheat and cotton as many people living in the area are involved in agricultural trade and business.

File:Spodumene-26305.jpg mined at Alinghar Pegmatite Field.|210x210px]]Laghman also has an array of precious stones and minerals,{{cite web|title=Pegmatites of Laghman, Nuristan, Afghanistan|url=http://www.palagems.com/afghanistan_bariand.htm|work=palagems.com}} as it is well known for being a relatively untapped source of the Tourmaline and Spodumene gemstones which are reported to be in abundance at the northern portions of the province.Gemstones of Afghanistan, Chamberline, pg. 146 There are also marble mines.{{Cite web|title=Laghman|url=https://president.gov.af/en/laghman/website=English|language=en}}

• Qala-e-Seraj
• Hajji Dunya Gul Niazi Jamia Masjid

{{Further|Education in Afghanistan}}

The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 14% in 2005 to 26% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 48% in 2005 to 52% in 2011.

• Laghman University

{{Further|Demographics of Afghanistan}}

As of 2021, the total population of the province is about 502,148, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society.{{cite web |url=https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22 |author= |date=April 2021 |website= |publisher=National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA)|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204559/https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf|url-status=live |access-date=June 21, 2021 |quote=}} According to the Naval Postgraduate School, as of 2010 the ethnic groups of the province are as follows: 52.0% Pashtun, 26.7% Pashai and Nuristani (Kata), and 21.7% Tajik.{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/Docs/Executive+Summaries/Laghman_Exec_Summary1.pdf|title=Welcome - Naval Postgraduate School|website=www.nps.edu|access-date=2 April 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/Laghman.html |title=Laghman Province |work=Program for Culture & Conflict Studies|publisher=Naval Postgraduate School |access-date=2013-06-16}} The people of Laghman are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

Laghman has a population of 396,000 people in 2008. The province has 60,048 households, with an average of six persons per home. Rural areas are home to 99 percent of the population. Sapi, Tajik, Nasir, Ibrahimkhail, Hoodkhail, Nuristani, Kharoti, Jabarkhail, Pashaie, Niazi, Pashtun, and Gujjars are the major ethnic groupings. Pashto is spoken in 345 of the 620 villages, accounting for about 58 percent of the population. Pashayi languages is the second most common language, spoken by a third of the people in 210 localities. Dari is spoken in 57 localities, accounting for slightly more than 9% of the population. Kochi people (nomads) live in Laghman province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season. In the winter, 94,020 people, or around 4% of the Kuchi population, stay in Laghman living in 40 communities.{{Cite book |title=Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Handbook |pages=103}}

{{reflist|group=note}}

File:Laghman districts.png

• Haneef Atmar - national security advisor, former Education and Interior Minister
• Mirwais Azizi - founder and owner of Azizi Bank
• Tariq Shah Bahramee - former Defence Minister
• Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam - writer and political activist
• Abdul Khaliq Hussaini - Former Senator, political activist
• Hafizullah Khaled - humanitarian, peace activist and writer
• Zalmay Khalilzad - statesman, diplomat and businessman
• Abdullah Laghmani - former Deputy Intelligence Officer of Afghanistan
• Isa Khan Laghmani - soldier
• Mangal - singer
• Wafadar Momand - cricketer
• Mohammed Asif Safi - General in Afghan Army during 1970's
• Hafiz Sahar - Editor-in-Chief of Eslah national newspaper in early 1970s, Fulbright Scholar, and Professor of Journalism in Afghanistan and United States.{{cite web |url=http://hafizsahar.com/ |title=Home |website=hafizsahar.com}}
• Gul Pacha Ulfat - poet and writer
• Abdul Zahir (politician) - prime minister of Afghanistan in early 1970s
• Ahmad Zahir - singer and songwriter
• Salma Niazi - Founder and Editor in Chief The Afghan Times

{{Reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• {{official website|http://laghman.com }}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Laghman Province

|North =

|Northeast = Nuristan Province

|East = Kunar Province

|Southeast =

|South = Nangarhar Province

|Southwest = Kabul Province

|West = Kapisa Province

|Northwest = Panjshir Province

}}

{{Provinces of Afghanistan}}

{{Districts of Laghman}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Provinces of Afghanistan

Category:History of Laghman Province

Category:Buddhism in Afghanistan

Category:Provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan