Balkh Province

This article is about the province. For the place, see Balkh.
Balkh
بلخ
Province
Map of Afghanistan with Balkh highlighted
Map of Afghanistan with Balkh highlighted
Coordinates: 36°45′N 67°0′E / 36.750°N 67.000°E / 36.750; 67.000
Country Afghanistan
CapitalMazar-i-Sharif
Government
 • GovernorMuhammad Yousuf Wafa (Acting)[1]
 • Deputy GovernorNoorul Huda[2]
 • Police ChiefMatiullah[2]
Area
[3]
 • Total
16,186.3 km2 (6,249.6 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[4]
 • Total
1,543,464
 • Density95/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time)
Postal code
17xx
ISO 3166 codeAF-BAL
Main languagesPersian, Pashto, Turkmen and Uzbek
[5]

Balkh (Dari and Pashto: بلخ, IPA [balx]) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country. It is divided into 15 districts[6] and has a population of about 1,509,183,[7] which is multi-ethnic and mostly a Persian-speaking society. The city of Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital and largest city of the province. The Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport and Camp Marmal sit on the eastern edge of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Balkh, also called Vazīrābād, the name of the province is derived from the ancient city of Balkh,[8] near the modern town. The city of Mazar-e-Sharif has been an important stop on the trade routes from the Far East to the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe. Home to the famous blue mosque, it was once destroyed by Genghis Khan but later rebuilt by Timur. The city of Balkh and the area of Balkh Province were considered a part of various historical regions in history including Ariana and Greater Khorasan.[9]

The province serves today as Afghanistan's second but main gateway to Central Asia, the other being Sherkhan Bandar in the Kunduz Province. Balkh Province borders Jowzjan, Sar-e Pol, Samangan and Kunduz provinces, and the Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan to the north; making it the only province of Afghanistan to share a border with Uzbekistan.

  1. ^ "Balkh Governor Meets with Senior Diplomats of Several Countries". Khaama Press. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "د نږدې شلو ولایاتو لپاره نوي والیان او امنیې قوماندانان وټاکل شول". 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Area and Administrative and Population". Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  4. ^ "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22" (PDF). National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA). April 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "The U.S. Board on Geographic Name". U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference cso was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nsia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Balkh entry Archived 2022-04-21 at the Wayback Machine at Britannica Online.
  9. ^ "Khurasan", The Encyclopaedia of Islam, page 55. Brill. 1967. Archived from the original on 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2010-10-22.