Badakhshan
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.) |
Badakhshan (Hindi:बदख्शां, Persian: بدخشان, Tajik: Бадахшон) is a region comprising parts of northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. Badakhshan Province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan.
Variants
- Badakhshan बदख्शां (AS, p.604)
- Badakhshon (Бадахшон)
- Badashan
Location
It is in the east of Afghanistan, containing the Wakhan Corridor. A part of Badakhshan is located in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (Tajik:Вилояти Мухтори Кӯҳистони Бадахшон/Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon) of Tajikistan in the in south-east of the country.
Population
Badakhshan constitutes a distinct ethno-linguistic and religious community. They are descendants of the Iranians who populated the region in 1000 B.C. In Afghanistan's Badakhshan the prevalent language is Dari (a dialect of Persian). The Pamiri dialects spoken in Tajikistan's Badakhshan belong to the eastern branch of the Iranian languages. The lingua franca in the whole region is Persian, in its Dari and Tajik forms in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, respectively.
History
Badakhshan has a long history. Badakhshan was an important trading center during antiquity. Lapis lazuli was traded exclusively from there as early as the second half of the 4th millennium BC. Badakhshan was the very important region where the "Silk Path" was passing over through. Its significant is its geo-economic role in trades of Silk and ancient commodities transactions between the East and West.
According to Marco Polo, Badashan/ Badakshan was a province where Balas rubies could be found under the mountain Syghinan.
बदख्शां
बदख्शां (AS, p.604) अफ़ग़ानिस्तान में हिंदुकुश पर्वत का निकटवर्ती प्रदेश है. (दे.द्वयक्ष). [1]
द्वय्क्ष
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[2] ने लेख किया है ...द्वय्क्ष (AS, p.461) महाभारतकालीन एक प्रदेश था। महाभारत के उपायन अनुपर्व में युधिष्ठिर के राजसूय यज्ञ में नाना प्रकार के उपहार लाने वाले विदेशियों में 'द्वय्क्ष' तथा 'त्र्यक्ष' नाम के लोग भी हैं- 'द्वय्क्षांस्त्र्क्षाल्ललाटाक्षान् नानादिग्भ्य: समागतान्, औष्णीकान त्तवासांश्च रोमकान् पुरुषादकान्'। उपर्युक्त प्रसंगानुसार द्वय्क्ष भारत की उत्तर-पश्चिमी सीमा के परवर्ती प्रदेशों में रहने वाले लोग जान पड़ते हैं। कुछ विद्वानों का मत है कि द्वय्क्ष बदख्शाँ का और त्र्यक्ष तरखान का प्राचीन भारतीय नाम है। ये प्रदेश आजकल अफ़ग़ानिस्तान तथा दक्षिणी रूस में हैं। इन्हें उपर्युक्त उल्लेख में संभवत: औष्णीष या पगड़ी धारण करने वाला कहा गया है। ललाटाक्ष संभवत: लद्दाख का नाम है। (दे. त्र्यक्ष, ललाटाक्ष)
References
Back to Jat Places in Afghanistan