Badakhshan Province - History

History

History of Afghanistan
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Ancient
Proto-Elamite civilization 2300–1800 BCE
Indus valley civilization 2200–1800 BCE
Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BCE
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Median Empire 728–550 BCE
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Seleucids 330–150 BCE
Mauryans 305–180 BCE
Greco-Bactrians 256–125 BCE
Indo-Greeks 180–130 BCE
Indo-Scythians (Sakas) 155–80? BCE
Indo-Parthians 20 BCE – 50? CE
Kushans 135 BCE – 248 CE
Sassanids 230–565
Indo-Sassanids 248–410
Kidarites 320–465
Hephthalites 410–557
Kabul Shahi 565–879
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Rashidun Caliphate 642–641
Umayyads 661–750
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Seljukids 1037–1194
Khwarezmids 1077–1231
Ghorids 1149–1212
Ilkhanate 1258–1353
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Arghun 1479–1522
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Safavids 1510–1709
Modern
Hotaki dynasty 1709–1738
Afsharids 1738–1747
Durrani Empire 1747–1826
Emirate 1826–1919
Kingdom 1919–1973
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Islamic State 1992–2001
Islamic Emirate 1996–2001
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Further information: History of Afghanistan

Badakhshan etymologically derives from the Sassanid word badaxš, an official title. The suffix of the name, -ān, means the region belonged to someone with the title badaxš. This Sassanid naming convention is seen in other Central Asian locations, including Azerbaijan, Isfahan, and Tehran.

The territory was ruled by the Khanate of Bukhara between the early 16th century and the mid-18th century. It was given to Ahmad Shah Durrani by Murad Beg of Bukhara after a treaty of friendship was reached in or about 1750, and became part of the Durrani Empire. It was ruled by the Durranis followed by the Barakzai dynasty, and was untouched by the British during the three Anglo-Afghan wars that were fought in the 19th and 20th centuries. It remained peaceful for about one hundred years until the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan at which point the Mujahideen began a rebellion against the central Afghan government, which was backed by the Soviet Union.

During the 1990s, much of the area was controlled by forces loyal to Burhanuddin Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Massoud. Badakhshan was the only province that the Taliban did not get to conquer during their rule from 1996 to 2001. However, during the course of the wars a non-Taliban Islamic emirate was established in Badakhshan by Mawlawi Shariqi, paralleling the Islamic Revolutionary State of Afghanistan in neighboring Nuristan. Burhanuddin Rabbani, a Badakhshan native, and Ahmad Shah Massoud were the last remnants of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance during the peak of Taliban control in 2001.

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