Kunduz
Kunduz
Afghanistan Time) | |
---|---|
Postal code | 35XX |
Main language | |
BSk |
Kunduz (
As of 2015, the land use of the city (within the municipal boundary) is largely agricultural (65.8% of total area). Residential land comprises nearly half of the 'built-up' land area (48.3%) with 29,877 dwellings. Institutional land comprises 17.9% of built-up land use, given that the airport is within the municipal boundary.[1]
Etymology
Kunduz is also sometimes spelled (
History
Kunduz is the site of the ancient city of Drapsaka. It was a great centre of Buddhist learning and very prosperous during the 3rd century AD.
The city used to be called Aornos (Bactrian: οαρνο, romanized: warn)[4] and later Walwalij[5] or Varvaliz, a compound of the old name Warn and Bactrian: λιζο, romanized: liz, lit. 'fortress'.[6] The name Kuhandiz began to be used from the Timurid time.
In the 18th and 19th centuries it was the capital of an
In the early 20th century, between 100 to 200,000 Tajiks and Uzbeks fled the conquest of their homeland by the Russian Red Army and settled in northern Afghanistan.[9]
In the early 20th century, under the governance of Sher Khan Nashir, Kunduz became one of the wealthiest Afghan provinces. This was mainly due to Nasher's founding of the Spinzar Cotton Company, which continues to exist in post-war Afghanistan. At its peak, the Spinzar Cotton Company employed 5,000 people full time. Kunduz is the most important agricultural province which produces wheat, rice, millet, and other products and obtained the nickname of "the hive of the country."[10]
21st century
Kunduz is the centre for the northeast provinces and was captured by the
History of Afghanistan | |
---|---|
Timeline | |
410–557 | |
Nezak Huns | 484–711 |
On 19 May 2020, the Taliban killed one policeman and one civilian and injured 18 others in a motorbike bomb blast in Kunduz. On the same day, the Taliban attempted again to capture Kunduz, attacking several government posts but were repelled by the Afghan security forces. The Taliban were forced to flee the city, leaving ten dead bodies behind.[18] Eight Afghan soldiers and three civilians were killed and 55 others were wounded during the Taliban attack.[19]
On 8 August 2021, the Taliban as part of their nationwide military offensive captured Kunduz, along with Sar-e-Pul and Taloqan after heavy clashes with ANA forces.[20][21]
On 8 October 2021, a militant of ISKP detonated a suicide vest targeting shia worshippers at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque, killing 50+ people and wounding over 100.
Geography
Kunduz is strategically situated on the main north–south highway linking Kabul to Tajikistan, and east–west Mazar-i-Sharif to Taloqan and Fayzabad.
Climate
Kunduz has a
Climate data for Kunduz | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 21.2 (70.2) |
25.0 (77.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
38.9 (102.0) |
42.2 (108.0) |
46.2 (115.2) |
45.3 (113.5) |
44.2 (111.6) |
39.2 (102.6) |
39.4 (102.9) |
28.4 (83.1) |
21.6 (70.9) |
46.2 (115.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.3 (43.3) |
9.5 (49.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
23.0 (73.4) |
29.8 (85.6) |
37.3 (99.1) |
39.0 (102.2) |
36.9 (98.4) |
31.8 (89.2) |
24.5 (76.1) |
16.0 (60.8) |
9.7 (49.5) |
23.3 (73.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.6 (34.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
10.4 (50.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
29.3 (84.7) |
31.3 (88.3) |
29.2 (84.6) |
23.9 (75.0) |
16.9 (62.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
4.4 (39.9) |
16.8 (62.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.4 (27.7) |
0.0 (32.0) |
5.7 (42.3) |
11.6 (52.9) |
15.7 (60.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.3 (73.9) |
21.5 (70.7) |
16.3 (61.3) |
10.6 (51.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
0.0 (32.0) |
10.6 (51.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | −22.7 (−8.9) |
−23.1 (−9.6) |
−11.8 (10.8) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
4.2 (39.6) |
12.5 (54.5) |
15.7 (60.3) |
12.6 (54.7) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
−20 (−4) |
−23.1 (−9.6) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 44.0 (1.73) |
56.5 (2.22) |
76.7 (3.02) |
54.4 (2.14) |
29.8 (1.17) |
0.1 (0.00) |
1.3 (0.05) |
0.3 (0.01) |
0.1 (0.00) |
7.3 (0.29) |
23.7 (0.93) |
28.4 (1.12) |
322.6 (12.68) |
Average rainy days | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 57 |
Average snowy days | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
80 | 75 | 75 | 71 | 54 | 31 | 28 | 29 | 32 | 44 | 63 | 76 | 55 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 114.4 | 114.6 | 158.9 | 201.0 | 276.5 | 332.1 | 340.2 | 315.5 | 289.7 | 221.8 | 169.3 | 118.3 | 2,652.3 |
Source: NOAA (1958-1983)[22] |
Demographics
The city of Kunduz has an estimated population of about 268,893 as of 2015.
Historically, during the late 19th century the city was predominantly Tajik with a significant Uzbek minority.[26] However, as part of the Pashtunization initiative in Northern Afghanistan, successive Afghan governments sent Pashtuns north into Kunduz, taking both land reclaimed from the wetlands of Kunduz and from other non-Pashtun groups.[26]
Administration
Kunduz city is divided into 8 Districts ('Nahias') with a total land area of 11,206 hectares.[1]
The most influential leader of Kunduz was Arif Khan, who was a governor of Kunduz Province and was shot dead in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan in the year 2000. Soon after the incident his brother Haji Omar Khan took his responsibility and was appointed as the Governor of Kunduz (2000–01).
Sports
- Professional sports teams from Kunduz
Club | League | Sport | Venue | Established |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pamir Zalmi | Shpageeza Cricket League | Cricket | Kunduz Cricket Ground | 2021 |
Mawjhai Amu F.C.
|
Afghan Premier League | Football | Kunduz Ground | 2012 |
Stadiums
- Kunduz Cricket Ground
- Kunduz Ground
Notable people
- Nashertribe
- Gholam Nabi Nasher Khan (1926–2010), parliamentarian
- Sayed Noorullah Murad (Afghan politician, member of federal cabinet, military commander and scholar) Imam Saheb district
- Gulbudin Hekmatyar, Afghan political leader, Afghan politician, former mujahideenand drug trafficker
- Javed Ahmadi (1992–), player of the Afghanistan national cricket team
- Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, former Afghan National Parliament Speaker
- Farhad Darya, Afghan singer
See also
- List of cities in Afghanistan
- Farhad Darya
- 2009 Kunduz airstrike
- 2015 Kunduz hospital airstrike
- Kunduz Trauma Centre
- Kunduz Airport
- Kunduz University
- Battle of Kunduz (2015)
- Battle of Kunduz (2016)
References
- ^ UN-Habitat. 2015. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ UN-Habitat. 2015. Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ISBN 9783201012720.
- ^ Sims-Williams. New Light on Ancient Afghanistan. pp. 16–17.
- ^ "Asien-Afrika-Institut". uni-hamburg.de. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012.
- ^ Gholami, Saloumeh. Selected Features of Bactrian Grammar. p. 80.
- ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine (1997). State And Tribe In Nineteenth Century Afghanistan: The Reign Of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826-1863). p. 84.
- ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine (1997). State And Tribe In Nineteenth Century Afghanistan: The Reign Of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826-1863). p. 88.
- ^ a b Wörmer, Nils (2012). "The Networks of Kunduz: A History of Conflict and Their Actors, from 1992 to 2001" (PDF). Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. Afghanistan Analysts Network. p. 8. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Misguided Economy | Boston Review". 8 February 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Afghans counter Taliban offensive in northern Kunduz province". BBC News.
- ^ "Taliban and Afghan Government Dispute Status of Kunduz". New York Times. 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Taliban advance on key northern city". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Taliban 'seize half' of Afghanistan's Kunduz city". www.bbc.com. BBC. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "Afghan Taliban seize northern city center in major attack". Reuters. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "Taliban admit Kunduz withdrawal". 13 October 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ cbs/AFP (3 April 2018). "Carnage as airstrike hits boy's[sic] school in Taliban territory". CBS News. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Motorbike bomb, fighting claim 12 lives in Afghanistan's Kunduz province". 19 May 2020. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020 – via http://www.xinhuanet.com/.
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: External link in
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- ^ "Eight Afghan soldiers die fighting off Taliban attack on key city". 19 May 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2020 – via au.news.yahoo.com/.
- ^ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas. "The Taliban seize Kunduz, a major city in northern Afghanistan". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Latifi, Ali. "Taliban captures Kunduz, third provincial capital in three days". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Kunduz Climate Normals 1958-1983". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- ^ "Kunduz Province" (PDF). Program for Culture & Conflict Studies. Naval Postgraduate School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha; Matthew S. Baker, Stratfor. National Geographic Society. 2003. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- .
- ^ ISSN 1879-3665.
- ]
Further reading
- Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977): An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1970. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Tourist Organization.
- Thomas J. Barfield, The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan: Pastoral Nomadism in Transition. 1982.
External links
- Kunduz Province by Naval Postgraduate School
- Welcome to Kunduz, Allauddin
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .