Ghōr (Pashto, Dari: 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. 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.
History
Beginning in 725, the Umayyad governor Asad b. 'Abdallah al-Qasri unsuccessfully raided the region of Ghur.
The inhabitants of Ghor had completely embraced Islam during the Ghurids era. Before the 12th century, the region 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.Province hides monuments some of which date back to 5000 BC , Quqnoos.com, 22 May 2008. 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.Lithuanian archeologists make discovery in Afghanistan , The Baltic Times, 22 May 2008; Archaeologists make new discoveries about ancient Afghan cultures , Top News, 23 May 2008.
Various scholars and historians such as John McLeod attribute the conversion of the Ghauris to Islam to Mahmud Ghazni after his conquest of Ghor.The history of India By John McLeod Published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002 Page 34
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.The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians by Eliot and Dowson, Volume 2, page 286
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.C.E. Bosworth, The Later Ghaznavids, (Columbia University Press, 1977), 68. During the reign of 'Abd ar Rashi and the usurper Toghrul, Ghur and Gharchistan gained autonomy.C.E. Bosworth, The Later Ghaznavids, 69.
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
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.
Geography
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.
Administrative divisions
+ Districts of Ghor ProvinceDistrictCapitalPopulationAreaPop.densityNotesChaghcharan 132,537 6,870 19 96% Tajik Aimaqs, 2% Pashtuns, 2% HazarasCharsada 30,956 1,485 21 60% Tajik Aimaqs, 30% Hazaras, 10% UzbeksDawlat Yar 36,934 1,686 22 Predominantly Hazaras, few Tajik AimaqsDu Layna 40,788 3,246 13 Predominantly Tajik AimaqsLal wa Sarjangal 126,615 3,634 35 100% HazarasMarghab 21,051 2,930 7 Predominantly HazarasPasaband 107,217 5,073 21 84% Tajiks, 11% Pashtuns, 5% HazarasSaghar 39,193 2,404 16 Predominantly Tajik Aimaqs, few PashtunsShahrak 67,625 4,600 15 100% Tajik Aimaqs Taywara Qala-e-ghore 103,364 4,030 26 Predominantly Tajik Aimaq, few Hazaras Tulak 58,192 2,908 20 Predominantly Tajik Aimaq, few Pashtuns and UzbeksGhor 764,472 36,657 2171.0% Farsiwan (59.2% Aimaqs, 11.8% Tajiks), 26.5% Hazaras, 2.0% Pashtuns, 0.4% Uzbeks.
Economy
Agriculture 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. 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.
Transportation
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.NATO Channel, Discover Afghanistan - The Minaret of Jam, August 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F8SREfehZ4
Demographics
Population As of 2020, the total population of Ghor province is about 764,472.
Ethnicity, languages and religion Western Ghor is predominantly of Tajik ethnicity while Eastern Ghor is mostly Hazara.
+ Estimated ethnolinguistic and -religious composition Ethnicity Farsiwan Hazara Pashtun Uzbek Sources Period Tajik Aimaq 2004–2021(Islamic Republic) ≥58% 17 – 39% 1 – 3% <1% 2020 EU 1st 3rd 2nd – – 2020 CSSF 58% 3% 39% 1% – 2018 UN majority – 17% 2 – 3% – 2015 CP 97% 2% ∅ 2015 NPS 58% 39% 3% <1% 2011 PRT 97% 2.4% ∅ 2011 USA 58% – 39% 3% – 2009 ISW – >90% – – Legend: ∅: Ethnicity mentioned in source but not quantified –: Ethnicity not mentioned specifically Source abbreviations: , , .
Education
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 19% in 2005 to 25% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 28% in 2005 to 47% in 2011.
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.
Health
The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 14% in 2005 to 9% in 2011.Archive, Civil Military Fusion Centre, https://www.cimicweb.org/AfghanistanProvincialMap/Pages/Ghor.aspx The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant fell from 9% in 2005 to 3% in 2011.
Sports
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.
See also Mandesh Hazarajat Provinces of Afghanistan
Notes
References
Further reading The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, 2005, Picador Publishers,
External links
World Food Programme, Ghor Provincial Profile (accessed 11 February 2013; archived)