Pashtun Valley: Balkh Province of Afghanistan

Balkh is the province of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country and its name derives from the ancient city of Balkh, near the modern town. Its capital is Mazar-e Sharif.

History;

Balkh has an incredibly long and rich history; its name is derived from "Bakht" meaning "fortunate" in Arabic/Persian. After the invasion of Alexander the Great's Greek Army, the city was made the capitol of the Bactrian Empire. The invading Arab armies called the city "Uhm al-Balad" or "mother of all cities."

Geography;

Balkh Province is situated in the northern part of Afghanistan, bordering Uzbekistan in the North, Tajikistan in the North-East, Kunduz Province in the East, Samangan Province in the South-East, Sar-e Pol Province in the South-West and Jowzjan Province in the West. The province covers an area of 16,840 km2. Nearly half of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain (48.7%) whiles half of the area (50.2%) is made up of flat land.

Population;

Balkh has a total population of 1,123,948.

Demographics;

The major ethnic groups living in Balkh province are Tajiks and Pashtoons followed by Uzbeks, Hazaras, Turkman, Arab and Baluch.The languages spoken are Dari Persian (50%), Pashto (27%), Turkmen (11.9%) and Uzbek (10.7%).

District;	Population;
Balkh	97,055
Chahar Bolak	69,975
Chahar Kint	32,306
Chimtal	81,311
Dawlatabad	79,638
Dihdadi	66,009
Kaldar	17,932
Khulmi	49,207
Kishindih	49,083
Marmul	9,510
Mazar-e Sharif	375,181
Nahri Shahi	38,791
Sholgara	85,269
Shortepa	30,314
Zari	42,367