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Zaranj
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zaranj | |
  Zaranj
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| Province | Nimruz |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 70,000 |
| Area | |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 Kabul |
Zaranj is a city in south-western Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 70,000 people. It is the capital of Nimruz province and is situated right next to Iran's eastern border. It is linked by highways with Lashkar Gah to the east, Farah to the north and Zabol in Iran to the west. Zaranj is of significant importance to the trade-route between Asia and the Middle East. The population of the area are ethnic Pashtun and Baloch people (see map below).
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Zaranj is an ancient historic city which was known as Sarang in Sanskrit during Hindu times and later came to be known as Zarang and now Zaranj. Other historical names for Zaranj include Zirra, [1] Zarangia or Drangiana. [2] In Achamenid texts, the city was referred to as Zra'ka.
In 661, a small Arab garrison reestablish its authority of the region after having temporarily lost control due to skirmishes and revolts. [3]
Later, a new local power emerged which made Zaranj the capital; the Saffarid dynasty. Zaranj was also home to Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari the founder of the Saffarid dynasty. [4]
A new highway is being built between Zaranj and Delaram by the Indian Government's Border Roads Organization at a cost of about US $80 million (expected to go up to a quarter billion due to security concerns) to open up a deep sea port (from Iranian Cha Bahar Port) access to Afghanistan from its main Highway system ringing Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz.
The province has been one of the 7 (Nimruz, Helmand, Kandahar, Oruzgan, Ghazni, Paktika and Zabul) where the Taliban have been recently regrouping.
Due to its proximity to Iran, beautiful Iranian artifacts and carpets or other merchandise are available in Zaranj. In addition, Iran recently received permission from the Afghan government to excavate the site of the Saffarid capital in Zaranj.[5]
There is no airport in Zaranj worth the name. However, UN and PACTEC flights sometimes (Irregularly) land on a dirt strip there during fair weather.
- ^ Ten Thousand Miles in Persia: Or, Eight Years in Irán By Percy Sykes, pg. 363
- ^ The Afghans By Dr Willem Vogelsang, pg. 162
- ^ Islamic History: A New Interpretation By Muhammad Abdulhavy Shaban
- ^ Ariana Antiqua: A Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan By Horace Hayman Wilson, pg. 154
- ^ http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=51657&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
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