Logar Province

Logar لوګر لوگر
Province
Aerial view of Mohammad Agha District in Logar province
Map of Afghanistan with Logar highlighted
Coordinates (Capital): 34°00′N 69°12′E / 34.0°N 69.2°E / 34.0; 69.2Coordinates: 34°00′N 69°12′E / 34.0°N 69.2°E / 34.0; 69.2
Country	Afghanistan
Capital	Puli Alam
Government
• Governor	Mohammad Halim Fidai
Area
• Total	3,879.8 km2 (1,498.0 sq mi)
Population (2015)
• Total	392,045
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+4:30
ISO 3166 code	AF-LOG
Main languages	Pashto Dari

Logar (Pashto: لوګر‎, Persian: لوگَر‎‎) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern section of the country. It is divided into seven districts and contains hundreds of villages. Puli Alam is the capital of the province.

As of 2013, Logar has a population of about 373,100. It is a multi-ethnic tribal society, with about 60% belonging to the Pashtun group and the rest being Tajiks and Hazaras.

The word of Logar is a combination of two Pashto words: Loy (لوى "Big") and Ghar (غر "mountain"). The Logar River enters the province through the west and leaves to the north.

The Logar province territory fell to the Maurya Empire, which was led by Chandragupta Maurya. The Mauryas introduced Buddhism to the region, and were planning to capture more territory of Central Asia until they faced local Greco-Bactrian forces. Seleucus is said to have reached a peace treaty with Chandragupta by giving control of the territory south of the Hindu Kush to the Mauryas upon intermarriage and 500 elephants.

Alexander took these away from the Indo-Aryans and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus (Chandragupta), upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange 500 elephants.

Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India, when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness; who, after making a league with him, and settling his affairs in the east, proceeded to join in the war against Antigonus. As soon as the forces, therefore, of all the confederates were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight.