Herat (Pashto/Persian: هرات) is one the 34 Provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of the country. Its primary city and administrative capital is also named Herat.
The province was one of the first major battlegrounds in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and remained an active area of guerrilla warfare throughout, with local military commander and mujahideen Ismail Khan le...
more
Herat (Pashto/Persian: هرات) is one the 34 Provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of the country. Its primary city and administrative capital is also named Herat.
The province was one of the first major battlegrounds in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and remained an active area of guerrilla warfare throughout, with local military commander and mujahideen Ismail Khan leading resistance to Soviet rule from 1979 until the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 (see the article on the city of Herat for further details). When the Soviets withdrew, Ismail Khan became the governor of the province, a position he remained until the Taliban took control of the province in 1995. Following the ousting of the Taliban in 2001 by the US and coalition forces as well as the Afghan Northern Alliance, Khan once again became governor of Herat. (See U.S. invasion of Afghanistan).
The province was ruled more or less autocratically by Khan,...
less
