Ghazni

Ghazni province is located in south-eastern Afghanistan, occupies an area of 12,663 square miles, has a population of about 700,000, and is subdivided into twenty four districts. The Tajiks inhabit the north of the province, Ghilzai Pashtun in the center and south, and Hazaras are in the west; in addition, Durrani Pashtuns are scattered throughout the province. Ghazni is a major agricultural and industrial area, famous for its sheepskin coats but also for corn, fruit, and sheep’s wool and camel hair cloth. The town of the same name is strategically located on the road from Kabul to Kandahar, some 80 miles southeast of Kabul and 7,000 feet above sea level. Its fame is derived from the fact that it was the capital of the Ghaznavid dynasty from 977 to 1186; the old town is walled and guarded by a citadel. Because of its strategic location, it was the scene of severe fighting between Afghan and British forces in the first two Anglo-Afghan wars, with a British force in the first war being wiped out in December 1841. The citadel in the old town was garrisoned by Afghan troops but was then seized and held by the mujahideen. The town has a population of about 30,000 and has the same population mix as the rest of the province,with the addition of a few Hindu shopkeepers.

References

Bosworth, Clifford E. 1963. The Gaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 944–1040. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Elliot, H. M., and J. Dowson. 1953. History of Ghazni. Calcutta, India: Sasil Gupta.