Khulm
|
Khulm خلم Tashqurghan |
|
|---|---|
 Khulm
|
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| Coordinates: 36°41′0″N 67°41′0″E / 36.68333°N 67.68333°ECoordinates: 36°41′0″N 67°41′0″E / 36.68333°N 67.68333°E | |
| Country |
 Afghanistan
|
| Province | Samangan Province, transferred recently to Balkh Province |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 |
Kholm or Khulm, also known as Tashqurghan, is a town until recently, in Samangan province, and now in Balkh province of northern Afghanistan 60 km east of Mazar-i-Sharif one-third of the way to Konduz. Kholm is an ancient town located on the fertile, inland delta fan of the Khulm River (Darya-i- Tashqurghan). As such, it is an agriculturally rich locale and densely populated. It is famous for its covered market, and is a centre for trading in sheep and wool.
The town is slightly to the south of the ruins of the ancient town of Aornos, destroyed in the mid-16th century.
The town and district boast a Dari Persian speaking Tajik majority.Pashtuns, Uzbeks and Arabs form the smaller minorities in the town and district. Many identify themselves as ethnic Arabs although no one actually speaks Arabic. There are other such Persian-speaking "Arabs" to the west, between Mazar-i Sharif and Sheberghan.
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.
The Pashtuns form a minority and live in approximately seven villages. Most Pashtuns living in Kholm, were brought in as settlers by the ultra-nationalist Minister of the Interior Mohammad Gul Khan or (Mahmud Golkhan), during the strong Pashtunization policies of the Zahir Shah government in the 1950s and 60s.
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Wikipedia