Badghis Province

Bādghīs (Persian/Pashto: بادغیس Lap of Wind) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in northwestern Afghanistan, between the Murghab and Hari rivers, extending as far northward as the edge of the desert of Sarakhs. It includes the Chul formations through which the Russo-Afghan boundary runs. The province was carved out of portions of Herat Province and Meymaneh Province in 1964 and has a total area of 20,591 km². Its na... more

Bādghīs (Persian/Pashto: بادغیس Lap of Wind) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in northwestern Afghanistan, between the Murghab and Hari rivers, extending as far northward as the edge of the desert of Sarakhs. It includes the Chul formations through which the Russo-Afghan boundary runs. The province was carved out of portions of Herat Province and Meymaneh Province in 1964 and has a total area of 20,591 km². Its name is from Persian word Bādkhīz (بادخیز) meaning "where the winds arise" or "home of the winds". The name "Badghis" is from the Pashto word Bādghezz (باد غېږ) meaning "lap of wind" or "home of the winds". The region was surveyed by the boundary commission of 1885. Since that date it was largely settled by the amir with purely Afghan tribes. The province was one of the last captured by the Taliban in their military offensive before the American invasion in 2001. Even after their official takeover of the province, the largely Tajik population of... less