Ghazni (Pashto: غزني,Pashto pronunciation:[ɣaz.ni];Dari: غزنی,Dari pronunciation:[ɣäz.níː]), is one of the 34provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeasternAfghanistan.[3] The province contains 19districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people,[4] making it the 5th most populous province. The city ofGhazni serves as the capital. It lies on the importantKabul–Kandahar Highway, and has historically functioned as an important trade center. TheGhazni Airport is located next to the city of Ghazni and provides limited domestic flights to Afghanistan's capital,Kabul.
Ghazni was a thrivingBuddhist center before and during the 7th century AD. Excavations have revealed religious artifacts of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
"The two other great Buddhist centers, Fondukistan and Tepe-e-sardar (Ghazni) in its later phase are a very different matter and display another phase of influences coming from India from the seventh to eighth century. The representations show themes fromMahayana iconography and even in the case of the latter site assumeTantric aspects which had already established themselves in the large Indian monasteries likeNalanda."[5]
"Another important site is that of Tepe Sardar (better known as Tepe-yi Nagara, Tepe of the kettledrum) near Ghazni, which was occupied until perhaps the eighth century AD. From this period dates a huge statue of the Parinirvana Buddha (Buddha lying down at the end of his cycle of rebirths) of unbaked clay. A very similar statue has been found just north of Afghanistan, at the site of Adzhina tepe in Tajikistan. Yet what is most interesting was the find at the same site of a statue of theHindu deityDurgaMahishasura-mardini."[6]
In 644 AD, the Chinese pilgrimXuanzang visited the city of Jaguda (probablyGhazni), while returning fromVarnu (modern Bannu, Pakistan)[7][8]
In 683AD,armies from theUmayyad Caliphate broughtIslam to the area and attempted to conquer the capital of Ghazni but the local tribes fiercely resisted. Its resistance was so famed thatYaqub Saffari (840-879) fromZaranj made an example of Ghazni when he ranged the vast region conquering in the name of Islam. The city was completely destroyed by theSaffarids in 869.[9] A substantial portion of the local population including Hindus and Buddhists were converted to Islam by Mahmud of Ghazni[10][better source needed]
"There is no evidence that Ghazna had previously formed part of theSamanid kingdom. It had been previously overrun with the whole ofZabulistan andKabul by theSaffaris by 260 (873) but it is doubtful how far their power was permanent and even when the Samanids became paramount there is no evidence that Kabul or Ghazna were under them. The ruler of Ghazna is described asPadshah and was allied to theHindushahis of Kabul. These titles were not as yet used by the Muhammadan rulers. The PadshahLavik was probably a Hindu chief even though some passages in the Tabakth i Nisiri give him the name ofAbu Bakr or Abu Ali."[11]
After the rebuilding of the city by Yaqub's brother, it became the dazzling capital of theGhaznavids from 994 to 1160, encompassing much ofNorth India,Persia andCentral Asia. Many iconoclastic campaigns were launched from Ghazni into India. The Ghaznavids took Islam to India and returned with fabulous riches taken from both prince and temple god. Contemporary visitors and residents at Ghazni write with wonder of the ornateness of the buildings, the great libraries, the sumptuousness of the court ceremonies and of the wealth of precious objects owned by Ghazni's citizens.
Ferishta records attacks byMuhammad of Ghor: "at the same time most of the infidels who inhabited the mountains between Ghazni and the Indus were also converted, some by force and others by persuasion."[12][non-primary source needed] Ghazni's eponymous capital was razed in 1151 by theGhorid Alauddin. It again flourished but only to be permanently devastated, this time in 1221 byGenghis Khan and hisMongol armies after 6 years ofKhwarezmid rule. Ghazni's strategic position, both economically and militarily, assured its revival initially under theQarlughids, albeit without its dazzling former grandeur.
Ghazni is famous for itsminarets built on a stellar plan. They date from the middle of the twelfth century and are the surviving element of the mosque of Bahramshah. Their sides are decorated with geometric patterns. Upper sections of the minarets have been damaged or destroyed. The most important mausoleum located in Ghazni is that ofSultan Mahmud's. Others include the tombs of poets and scientists, for exampleAl-Biruni andSanai. The only ruins in Old Ghazni retaining a semblance of architectural form are two towers, about 43 m (140 ft) high and some 365 m (1,200 ft) apart. According to inscriptions, the towers were constructed byMahmud of Ghazni and his son.
Ibn Battuta noted "The greater part of the town is in ruins, with nothing but a fraction of it still standing, although it was formerly a great city."[13]
In the 1960s a 15-meter female Buddha was discovered lying on its back and surrounded by empty pillars that once held rows of smaller male Buddhas. Parts of the female Buddha have been stolen. In the 1980s a mud brick shelter was created to protect the sculpture, but the wood supports were stolen for firewood and the shelter partially collapsed.
Polish forces inRashidan district during "Operation Passage" in April 2009.U.S. paratroopers andAfghan soldiers move into a village during a combined patrol in 2012.
Like many southern Afghan provinces, Ghazni has a precarious security situation. TheTaliban insurgents are found in the rural areas outside of the capital, and are involved in attacks on provincial schools and government infrastructure. The province has avoided the outright warfare seen in other provinces of Afghanistan such asHelmand andKandahar, but that is due more to political expediency and the tactical plans of theNATO-ledISAF force than the existence of a stable security situation in the province. Ex-GovernorTaj Mohammad was killed by insurgents in 2006 after being appointed police chief of the province with a mandate to quell the power of the Taliban. On the same day there was an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the governor at the time,Sher Alam Ibrahimi.[15] There is a Polish and AmericanProvincial Reconstruction Team base located in Ghazni.
In late April 2007, news agencies reported that Taliban fighters had taken control of Giro District in the province. The Taliban reportedly killed the district administrator, chief of police (who had been on the job for only one month) and three police officers. The Taliban withdrew from the district center one day later.
On September 28, 2010, the Deputy Governor of Ghazni and five others were killed after a suicide bomber on a motorized rickshaw attacked their vehicle. Deputy Governor Mohammad Kazim Allahyar and several men travelling with him were killed instantly when the attacker detonated his explosives at the back of their car near the airport in Ghazni City. The bodies were so badly burnt that there was some confusion about the identity of the other victims. Provincial police chief Delawar Zahid reported Allahyar's son, nephew and driver died, along with two civilians passing by on a bicycle.[16]
Recent geologic surveys have indicated Ghazni may have one of the world's richest deposits oflithium.Gold andcopper were also found in theZarkashan Mine of Ghazni province with an estimated value of US$30 billion. Whilst lithium deposits valued at around US$60 billion, were discovered in four eastern and western provinces of Afghanistan, together with other newly (2010) discovered mineral deposits, the total value estimate of US$3 trillion is based on a survey of 30 percent of the country's land mass.[19]
^Note: "Predominantely" or "dominated" is interpreted as 99%, "majority" as 70%, "mixed" as 1/(number of ethnicities), "minority" as 30% and "few" or "some" as 1%.
TheSardeh Band Dam is located in Andar District near the border withPaktika Province. It creates a large water reservoir that is critical to the irrigation of the Kahnjoor farming zone. The dam itself and the canal system it feeds both need repairs and maintenance.
GovernorMusa Khan Akbarzada stated that key development projects would be launched in southern Ghazni in 2012 ahead of the Asian capital of the Islamic civilization for 2013. The projects include the construction of a proposed Islamic cultural center, a mosque, a covered bazaar, a gymnasium, a guesthouse, an airport, a five-star hotel and two 27 story-buildings and others. More than 2,000 people would find work opportunities on the $30 million projects; $10 million would be provided by the central government, $7 million by the Polishprovincial reconstruction team (PRT) and $3 million by the US. A 40-kilometer road would be asphalted by the end of 2012.
Ghazni province is to be connected to the national electrical distribution system via North-east Power System (NEPS). The construction of the transmission line would begin from east Chimtala to Ghazni using a high voltage transmission network (2 x 220kV transmission lines andpower substations). The project is to be implemented byUSFOR-A andUSAID costing $101 million. However, theAsian Development Bank agreed to complete the transmission line from Chimtala to Dast-i-Barchi; hence reducing the Project scope to begin from Dast-i-Barchi instead of Chimtala. The implementation of this project was delayed due toUSACE being unable to award a contract because bids received for the project were more than double the estimated costs, due largely to security concerns resulting from the risks associated with implementing firm-fixed-price contracts in a kinetic environment, poor cost estimates, and unrealistic periods of performance. USACE is re-procuring both projects and plans to award contracts in June or July 2012, which will delay the project's execution schedules between 6 and 15 months. Furthermore, the delays in transferring funds contributed to delays in project execution. This line is a key part of a planned NEPS to SEPS connection to transport power to Kandahar to replace the expensive diesel-fueled power plants.
TheGhazni Airport began operations in April 2012 but does not have any commercial flights as of August 2018. Residents in neighboring provinces, such as Logar, Paktika, Maidan Shahr and Zabul, would also benefit from the airport.
Ghazni is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. Ethnically, Ghazni is composed mainly ofHazaras andPashtuns, which both make up about 45% of the population each. Hazaras live mainly in the north and west, while the Pashtuns live mainly in the south and east.Tajiks make up only about 5% of the whole province's population, but are the main ethnic group of the capital cityGhazni at about 50% there. Also, there is a small community ofHindus.[40] Agriculture and animal husbandry are the primary occupation of the citizens of Ghazni. Wheat, alfalfa, melons, and almonds are among the largest crops produced.[citation needed]
Ghazni PRT brings medical care and winter clothes to Nawa District.
The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 35% in 2005 to 18% in 2011.[41] The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 7% in 2005 to 11% in 2011.[41]
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) fell from 35% in 2005 to 31% in 2011.[41]The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 39% in 2005 to 54% in 2011.[41]
^Battutah, Ibn (2002).The Travels of Ibn Battutah. London: Picador. pp. 146–147.ISBN9780330418799.
^Babur-Nama Translated from the original Turki Text of Zahirud'd-din Muhammad BABUR padshah Ghazi by Annette Susannah Beveridge Vol1 and 11 Published by Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, p. 217.
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