Kunduz

Kunduz کندز
City
Kunduz Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 36°44′N 68°52′E / 36.733°N 68.867°E / 36.733; 68.867Coordinates: 36°44′N 68°52′E / 36.733°N 68.867°E / 36.733; 68.867
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Kunduz Province
District	Kunduz District
First mention	329 BC
Elevation	391 m (1,283 ft)
Population (2012)[1]
• Total	304,600
Time zone	Afghanistan Standard Time (UTC+4:30)

Kunduz (Pashto: کندز‎; Persian: قندوز‎) is a city in northern Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Kunduz Province. It is sometimes spelled as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz.

Sitting in the Kunduz District, the population of the city is around 304,600.^[1] It is about the 5th largest city of Afghanistan in terms of population.

Kunduz is located in the historical Tokharistan in the region of Bactria. It is linked by highways with Mazar-e Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Sher Khan Bandar to the north. Kunduz is located at an elevation of 391 meters above sea level.

Etymology

The name of the city is derived from Persian compound, kuhan/quhan diz, "old/ancient fort" or from Turkic konak/konut ("residence, palace, court, housing, established dwelling area, city, town, village"), from Proto-Turkic *kon-, "to settle down/to perch." Alternative derivations also include Turkic kündüz ("day, daylight"), from Proto-Turkic kün, "day/sun".

Interestingly, until 1960s, the city served as the capital to the now-defunct province of Qataqan, itself meaning "Old/Ancient city" (from Turkic kata ("old/ancient') and Eastern Iranian (Sogdian) kand or Common Turkic kent, "fort", "town".

Climate

Kunduz has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is generally low except from January to April, with summers almost always rainless.

History

History of Afghanistan
Timeline
Ancient Proto-Elamite civilization 2300–1800 BC Indus valley civilization 2200–1800 BC Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BC Aryans 1700–700 BC Medes 728–550 BC Achaemenids 550–330 BC Seleucids 330–150 BC Mauryans 305–180 BC Greco-Bactrians 256–125 BC Indo-Greeks 180–130 BC Indo-Scythians (Sakas) 155–80? BC Indo-Parthians 20 BC – 50? AD Kushans 135 BC – 248 AD Sasanians 230–484 Kidarites 320–465 Hephthalites 410–557
Medieval Sasanians 512–651 Kabul Shahi 565–879 Rashidun Caliphate 642–641 Umayyads 661–750 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Ghorids 1149–1215 Khwarezmids 1215–1231 Ilkhanate 1258–1353 Khiljis 1290–1320 Kurts 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1506 Arghuns 1479–1522 Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709
Modern Hotaki Empire 1709–1738 Afsharid dynasty 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1826 Emirate of Afghanistan 1826–1919 Kingdom of Afghanistan 1919–1973 Republic of Afghanistan 1973–1978 Democratic Republic of Afghanistan 1978–1992 Islamic State of Afghanistan 1992–2001 Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan 1996–2001 Interim/Transitional Administration 2001–2004 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan since 2004
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Kunduz is the site of the ancient city of Drapsaka. It was a great center of Buddhist learning and very prosperous during the 3rd century AD.

The city used to be called Walwalij^[3] and the name Kuhandiz began to be used from the Timurid time.

In the 18-19th centuries it was the capital of a rather large eponymous sometimes independent, sometimes autonomous Uzbek-Tajik khanate that in 1820s encompassed land from Khulm to Pamir. This khanate was finally destroyed by Afghanistan in 1859. Between one hundred and two-hundred thousand Tajiks and Uzbeks fled the conquest of their homeland by Russian Red Army and settled in northern Afghanistan.^[4]

In the early 20th century, under the governance of Sher Khan Nasher, Kunduz became one of the wealthiest Afghan provinces. This was mainly due to Nasher's founding of the Spinzar Cotton Company, which continues to exist in post-war Afghanistan.

Kunduz is the most important agricultural province which produces wheat, rice, millet, and other products and obtained the nickname of "the hive of the country."

Kunduz is the centre for the north east provinces, and was the stronghold of the Taliban during its regime. It was the last major city held by the Taliban before its fall to US-backed Afghan Northern Alliance forces on November 26, 2001. The city is strategically important because it is the only way connecting Takhar province and Badakhshan provinces, which play a critical role in the existing government.

Demography

Ethnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan

The city of Kunduz has a population of about 304,600.^[1] Ethnic Pashtun people make up the largest percent followed by Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Arabs and a few others.^[5][6]

The Kunduz "Arabs" are Persian-speaking and have been so since time immemorial. However, they claim an Arab identity. There are other such Persian-speaking "Arabs" to the north and west, between Kholm, Mazar-e Sharif and Shibarghan. Their self-identification as Arabs is largely based on their tribal identity and may in fact point to the 7th and 8th centuries migration to this and other Central Asian locales of many Arab tribes from Arabia in the wake of the Islamic conquests of the region.^[7]

Administration

The city of Kunduz is divided into 6 districts: Khan Abad, Ali Abad, Char Dara, Dashti Archi, Qala -e-Zal and Imam Sahib. Kunduz has 9 representatives in the lower house and 2 in the upper house and has a provincial council. The most influential leader of Kunduz was Arif Khan, who was a governor of Kunduz Province and was shot dead in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan in the year 2000. Soon after the incident his brother Haji Omar Khan took his responsibility and was appointed as the Governor of Kunduz (2000-2001). In the Karzai administration, Haji Omar Khan was elected to be a representative of Kunduz Province in the Lower House (Wolasi Jirga) and at a time serve as an Advisor Minister to the President Hamid Karzai.

The famous figure from the Kunduz area was Haji Nazikmir Khan. He was the leader and the Grand Malik of the Zakheil tribe. Haji Nazkmir was the wealthiest person in the province. He owned thousands of acres of farmland, apartment buildings, commercial buildings, Russian car agency, and many hotels. He and his family were also known for having a close relationship with the royal family of Afghanistan.

Notable people

• Javed Ahmadi (1992-), player in the current Afghanistan national cricket team
• Suleyman Al-Qunduzi (1297-1374), Islamic scholar and theologian
• Nazik Mir Sarfraz, Afghan Parliament member killed in a suicide bomb in Baghlan province

See also

• List of cities in Afghanistan
• Farhad Darya
• Arif Khan
• Kunduz airstrike

References

Further reading

• Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977): An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1970. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Tourist Organization.
• Thomas J. Barfield, The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan: Pastoral Nomadism in Transition. 1982.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kunduz.

• Kunduz Province by Naval Postgraduate School
• Welcome to Kunduz, Allauddin