Turkestan Province Explained

Turkestan Province should not be confused with Russian Turkestan.

Turkestan Province was a province in Afghanistan.

Conventional Long Name:Turkestan Province
Common Name:Afghan Turkestan
Subdivision:Province
Nation:Afghanistan
Image Map Caption:Afghan Turkestan Province in 1929
Capital:Balkh (1850 - 1854)
Takhtapul (1854 - 1869/74)
Mazar-i-Sharif (1869/74 onwards)
Government Type:Province
Date End:Before 1946
Today:Afghanistan
Demonym:Turkestani
Year Start:1850

It was located in northern Afghanistan in the region still known as Afghan Turkestan. In 1890, Qataghan-Badakhshan Province was separated from Turkestan Province. It is present in an administrative map of 1929,[1] but was abolished by the time of the 1946 population census.[2]

From its founding in 1850 until 1854, Balkh was the capital of the province. However, the city of Balkh was deprecated and in ruins. As a result, in 1854 the capital was moved by Muhammad Afzal Khan to Takhtapul.[3] [4] It would remain the capital until the governor Muhammad 'Alam Khan transitioned to Mazar-i-Sharif between July 1869 and 1873/74.[5]

Political administration

In the 19th century, Afghan Turkestan was governed by a governor (hakim) appointed by the Amir.[6] Below is a list of governors of Afghan Turkestan.

Subdivisions

In 1886 the administrative divisions of Afghan Turkestan were as follows:[9]

  1. Mazar-i Sharif (with the districts of Shor Tapa, Boinkara, Kishindi, Aq Kupruk, Tunj
  2. Balkh (directly administered by the Sardar of Turkistan)
  3. Aqcha (with the districts of Khwaja Salar and Dawlatabad)
  4. Tashkorgan (with the districts of Pir Nakchir and Ghaznigak)
  5. Sheberghan
  6. Andkhui
  7. Aybak
  8. Dara-i Suf
  9. Doab
  10. Saighan and Kahmard
  11. Balkh-ab (high up the Band-i Amir river)
  12. Sangcharak
  13. Sar-i Pol
  14. Maimana

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kabul Under Siege: Fayz Muhammad's Account of the 1929 Uprising. Muḥammad. Fayz̤. Hazārah. Fayz̤ Muḥammad Kātib. 1999. Markus Wiener Publishers. 9781558761551. XII. en.
  2. Web site: Afghanistan Provinces. www.statoids.com. 2018-12-22.
  3. Web site: Ḥabībī . ʿA. . AFŻAL KHAN, AMIR MOḤAMMAD . 2024-02-28 . . en-US.
  4. Web site: de Planhol . Xavier . MAZĀR-E ŠARIF . 2024-02-28 . . en-US.
  5. Book: McChesney, R. D. . Waqf in Central Asia: Four Hundred Years in the History of a Muslim Shrine, 1480-1889 . 2014-07-14 . Princeton University Press . 978-1-4008-6196-5 . 270 . en.
  6. Christine Noelle. State and tribe in nineteenth-century Afghanistan: the reign of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826-1863). Routledge, 1997. pp. 101
  7. Book: Lee, Jonathan L.. The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901. 1996-01-01. BRILL. 978-90-04-10399-3. en.
  8. Book: Adamec, Ludwig W. . Historical and political who's who of Afghanistan. Hauptbd: Historical and political Who's who . 1975 . Akad. Druck- u. Verlagsanst . 978-3-201-00921-8 . Graz . 101.
  9. Book: Adamec. Ludwig W.. Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan, Vol. 4: Mazar-I-Sharif and North-Central Afghanistan. Branch. India Army General Staff. 1979. Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. 978-3-201-01089-4.

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