Firuzkoh
Firozkoh, formerly called Chaghcharan, and historically known as Ahangaran, is a city in central Afghanistan, serving as the capital of Ghor Province. It is within the jurisdiction of Chaghcharan District and has an estimated population of 129,521 people.
Firozkoh is home to Ghor University, which is located about to the east from the city's center. The Chaghcharan Airport is located in the middle of the city.
Geography
Firozkoh is located on the southern side of the Hari River, at an altitude of above sea level. The city is linked by a long highway with Herat to the west, and a long highway with Kabul to the east.Firozkoh has a total land area of or. In 2015 there were 3,474 dwellings in the city.
Land use
Firozkoh is located at the central region of Afghanistan connected by a highway west to Herat and about the same east to Kabul. It is an ancient city that dates back to Genghis Khan and Mongols. The city has always been famous for agriculture.Climate
Chaghcharan has a warm-summer humid continental climate, with snowy winters and warm, dry summers. Precipitation is low, and mostly falls in winter and spring.History
Medieval
Prior to the arrival of Islam the region's inhabitants practiced various different religions including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism. The Islamic conquest of Afghanistan by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni took place in the 10th century. After the defeat of the Ghaznavids in the 12th century the area came under the control of the local Ghurid dynasty of Ghor. The Ghurid Dynasty had its summer capital, Firozkoh nearby and they constructed the Minaret of Jam there. Today the Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located about to the west of Firozkoh.In the 13th century, the Ghor region was invaded by the Mongol army who destroyed Firozkoh but left the Minaret of Jam intact. It was then ruled by the Ilkhanate until Timur conquered it in the 14th century.
It is mentioned by the name Chakhcherān in the 16th century Baburnama, describing Babur's visit in early 1507 while on his journey to Kabul. It was a town located in the Gharjistan region, between Herat, Ghor, and Ghazni.
Modern era
In 2004, an independent FM radio station came on air in the town, the first independent media in this part of Afghanistan.In June 2005, the International Security Assistance Force established a Lithuanian led Provincial Reconstruction Team in which Croatian, Danish, American, Ukrainian, Icelandic, and Georgian troops also served.
On 14 May 2020, the Taliban attacked a checkpoint in the city, killing three Afghan soldiers and taking 11 others captive.
In August 2021 the city was retaken by Taliban fighters, becoming the sixteenth provincial capital to be seized as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive.
Demography
The Firozkoh municipality has an estimated population of 129,521 people. In 2019 the estimate given was 150,982 people. Of these, 7,918 resided in the urban area and the remaining in the surrounding countryside. And in 2015 the estimate was 132,000 people. Majority of them are Aimaqs and Uzbek although Hazaras, Pashtuns and other groups also exist.Transportation
As of August 2015, Chaghcharan Airport, located northwest of the Hari River, one mile northeast of the city, had regularly scheduled flights to Kabul and Herat. However, as of January 2016 commercial operators no longer offer scheduled flights, leaving the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service as the only user of Chaghcharan Airport with flights to Kabul and Herat.The main road from Firozkoh runs toward Herat in the west and Kabul in the east. Due to severe weather, the road is often closed during winter and even in summer it can take days to drive from Firozkoh to Kabul.