Ishkashim, Afghanistan

This article is about the border town in Afghanistan. For the adjacent border town in Tajikistan, see Ishkoshim, Tajikistan.
Ishkashim
A bridge over the Panj River at Ishkashim
A bridge over the Panj River at Ishkashim
Ishkashim is located in Afghanistan
Ishkashim
Ishkashim
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 36°42′33″N 71°34′26″E / 36.70917°N 71.57389°E / 36.70917; 71.57389
Country Afghanistan
ProvinceBadakhshan
DistrictIshkashim
Elevation
[1]
8,500 ft (2,600 m)
Population
 • Total
12,120
Time zoneUTC+04:30 (Afghanistan Time)

Ishkashim (Dari: اشکاشم, romanized: Iškāšim; Iskashimi: Šəkošəm;[2] also transliterated Eshkashem) is a border town in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan,[3] which has a population of around 12,120 people.[4] The town serves as the capital of Ishkashim District. Another town by the same name is located on the other side of Panj River in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, although that town is normally transliterated Ishkoshim following Tajik practice. A bridge linking the two towns was reconstructed in 2006.[5]

Ishkashim lies in a fertile valley at an elevation of 3,037 m (9,964 ft) meters.[4] There are roughly 20 settlements in the valley, but considering the cultivation in the valley is contiguous, it could also be considered a single larger settlement. The valley has only one harvest per year. Wheat and barley are cultivated.[6] Poplar, chinar and maple trees grow as well, but there is little firewood.

Ishkashim is connected by road with Fayzabad in the northwest, through the town of Baharak.[7] It is also connected to the towns of Zebak in the southwest and Khandud in the northeast.[8] The valley lies in an important strategic area, as it commands the only route between the districts of Fayzabad, Shighnan, and Wakhan accessible during the winter. It has a number of small shops, hotels, guest houses, schools and government buildings, including a base for the Afghan Border Police. Many local and foreign tourists visit the town.[9][10]

Etymology

The town has been mentioned under various alternative forms of its name historically, including Šikāšim (شکاشم), Sikāšim (سکاشم), Sikīmišt (سکیمشت), and Iskīmišt (اسکیمشت).[11]

According to Russian Iranologist Tatyana Nikolayevna Pakhalina, the toponym originates from Indo-Iranian *sakā-kṣ̌amā, meaning "land of the Saka" or "Scythia". This would make it related to the names of the regions of Shighnan and Sistan.[2] Alternatively, according to Uzbek philologist Shamsiddin Kamoliddinov, the toponym originates from Turkic *eskimiš, deriving from eski ("old") and -miš (toponym-deriving suffix).[12]

History

Further information: History of Afghanistan

Badakhshan became an Islamic region during the Samanid Empire. It fell to the Ghaznavids followed by the Ghurids and others, and has been used as a trade route between Kabul and Kashgar.[13][14] By the 18th century, it became part of the Durrani Empire after rulers of the Qing dynasty of China signed a treaty with Ahmad Shah Durrani.[15] Large territory that is now north of the Amur River (or the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border) was part of Afghanistan until the late 19th century when the 1893 Durand Line Agreement and the 1895 Pamir Boundary Commission protocols were signed.[16][17] At that time Badakhshan became a buffer zone between what was then Tsarist Russia and British India.[18][19] The area south of the Amur River is currently under the control of the Afghan National Police and Afghan Armed Forces, which took over responsibility from the previous NATO-trained Afghan National Security Forces.[20][21]

Climate

The climate is generally cold, but much warmer than that of neighboring areas, such as Wakhan District.[1] According to the Köppen climate classification, Ishkashim has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dsb) with pleasant summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Ishkashim is 4.3 °C (39.7 °F). About 569 mm (22.40 in) of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for Ishkashim
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −4.7
(23.5) 		−3.6
(25.5) 		2.0
(35.6) 		9.1
(48.4) 		13.9
(57.0) 		19.6
(67.3) 		22.7
(72.9) 		22.8
(73.0) 		18.9
(66.0) 		12.3
(54.1) 		4.9
(40.8) 		−1.5
(29.3) 		9.7
(49.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9.4
(15.1) 		−7.8
(18.0) 		−2.2
(28.0) 		4.3
(39.7) 		8.4
(47.1) 		13.4
(56.1) 		16.3
(61.3) 		16.2
(61.2) 		11.9
(53.4) 		6.1
(43.0) 		0.0
(32.0) 		−5.5
(22.1) 		4.3
(39.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −14.1
(6.6) 		−12.1
(10.2) 		−6.4
(20.5) 		−0.5
(31.1) 		3.0
(37.4) 		7.2
(45.0) 		9.9
(49.8) 		9.7
(49.5) 		4.9
(40.8) 		−0.1
(31.8) 		−4.9
(23.2) 		−9.5
(14.9) 		−1.1
(30.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 56
(2.2) 		73
(2.9) 		101
(4.0) 		94
(3.7) 		69
(2.7) 		19
(0.7) 		14
(0.6) 		11
(0.4) 		8
(0.3) 		29
(1.1) 		39
(1.5) 		56
(2.2) 		569
(22.3)
Source: weather2visit.com[22]

Demographics

Further information: Demographics of Afghanistan
Local people

Dari is the dominant language in Ishkashim.[6] Pashto is the second as many government officials and some locals are fluent in both of Afghanistan's official languages. Ethnic Tajiks make up the majority of the local population. Historically, there have also been many followers of Nizari Isma'ilism in the area,[6] who are called Ishkashimis. Some of whom may speak the Ishkashimi language in addition to Dari.[1]

Economy

Further information: Economy of Afghanistan
Market

The native people of Ishkashim are mostly involved in agriculture, transport, trade, and tourism. Many of them are unemployed.[23] Some go to work in Kabul or in other Afghan cities.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Adamec, Ludwig W., ed. (1972). Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan. Vol. 1. Graz, Austria: Akadamische Druck-u. Verlangsanstalt. p. 85.
  2. ^ a b Nazarov, Nazar (March 2024). Yazdanpanah Lamouki, Tayyar (ed.). نگاهی به وام‌واژه‌های جغرافیایی «اشکاشم» و «رن» [A Look at the Geographical Loanwords "Ishkashim" and "Rin"] (PDF). Researches on the Coast of the Caspian Sea (in Persian). 9. Pejvak-e Farzan: 271–280. ISBN 978-600-8991-70-0.
  3. ^ "4 Common Markets Between Afghanistan and Tajikistan Open After 4 Years". TOLOnews. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  4. ^ a b Population of Ashkāsham, Afghanistan Archived 2009-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "News: Aga Khan and President Rahmonov inaugurate reconstructed bridge in Ishkashim". Asia-Plus. October 31, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  6. ^ a b c Salopek, Paul (October 16, 2017). "Walking the Wild Rim of War". National Geographic. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  7. ^ "Multimillion Dollar Road Project Launched in North of Afghanistan". Ariana News. May 13, 2017. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  8. ^ "Silk Road Highway Reaches China-Afghanistan Border, Facilitating Historic Trade Routes". Bakhtar News Agency. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  9. ^ "Sulfur Springs Draw Tourists to Badakhshan". TOLOnews. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  10. ^ "Badakhshan sees tourist numbers spike". Ariana News. September 1, 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  11. ^ Edmund Bosworth, Clifford (1998). "Eškāš(e)m". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VIII/6: Eršād al-zerāʿa–Eʿteżād-al-Salṭana (Online ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. p. 614.
  12. ^ Kamoliddinov, Shamsiddin (2010). Ancient Turkic Toponyms of the Middle Asia: Turkic Place-Names in Ancient and Medieval Textual Sources. Saarbrücken: Lambert Academic Publishing. pp. 52, 96. ISBN 978-3-8383-9828-0.
  13. ^ Beveridge, Annette Susannah (7 January 2014). The Bābur-nāma in English, Memoirs of Bābur. Project Gutenberg. p. 202.
  14. ^ Stein, Mark Aurel (1907). "Ancient Khotan". Nature. 76 (1981): 619–620. Bibcode:1907Natur..76..619H. doi:10.1038/076619a0. S2CID 3999325.
  15. ^ Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1970). An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. Vol. First Edition. Kabul: Afghan Air Authority, Afghan Tourist Organization. p. 263. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  16. ^ Balland, Daniel (1 January 2000). "BOUNDARIES iii. Boundaries of Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  17. ^ De Planhol, Xavier. "BADAḴŠĀN i. Geography and Ethnography". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  18. ^ Shahrani, M. Nazif (2002). The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War (2nd ed.). University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-98262-5.
  19. ^ "In Central Asia's forbidding highlands, a quiet newcomer: Chinese troops". The Washington Post. February 18, 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  20. ^ "Over 1,000 ANA soldiers in Badakhshan flee to Tajikistan". Pajhwok Afghan News. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  21. ^ Pascual Juanola, Marta (23 July 2021). "The Taliban conquest of a thin strip of land could change Afghanistan". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Ashkāsham monthly weather averages". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Unemployment fueling drug addiction, migration in Ishkashim". Pajhwok Afghan News. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkasham