Ghōr Province

Ghōr (), also spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in central Afghanistan, towards the north-west. The capital of Ghor is Chaghcharan. The name "Ghor" is a cognate to Avestan gairi-, Sanskrit giri- and Middle Persian gar, meaning "mountain", and survives in modern Pashto as ghar (غر "mountain"). 97% of the population speak Dari Persian.
==History==
===Buddhist===
Remains of the oldest settlements discovered by the Lithuanian archaeologists in 2007 and 2008 in Ghor date back to 5000 BC.Province hides monuments some of which date back to 5000 BC, Quqnoos.com, 22 May 2008 Ruins of a few castles and other defense fortifications were also discovered in the environs of Chaghcharan. A Buddhist monastery hand-carved in the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the first centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism. The artificial caves revealed testimony of daily life of the Buddhist monks.Lithuanian archeologists make discovery in Afghanistan, The Baltic Times, May 22, 2008; Archaeologists make new discoveries about ancient Afghan cultures, Top News, 05/23/2008.
===Islam===
Various scholars and historians such as John McLeod attribute the conversion of the Ghauris to Islam at the hands of Mahmud Ghazni who converted them to Islam after his conquest of Ghor. 
Traditional Muslim historians such as Istakhri and Ibn Haukal attest to the existence of the non-Islamic enclave of Ghor prior to the time of Ghazni, who is attributed with converting its population to Islam.
 
 
 
Minhaju-S-Siraj records the strife between the non-Muslim and Muslim populations. 
 
According to Minhahu-S Siraj, Amir Suri was captured by Mahmud of Ghazni, made prisoner along with his son and taken to Ghazni, where Amir Suri died.The History of Inda as told by its own Historians by Eliot and Dowson , Volume 2 page 286 
 
===Attack by Mahmud of Ghazni===
Ghor was also the centre of the Ghurid dynasty in the 12th and 13th century. The remains of their capital Firuzkuh, including UNESCO World Heritage site the Minaret of Jam, are located in the province.
On June 17, 2004, hundreds of troops of Abdul Salaam Khan, who had rejected the Afghan government's plan to disarm regional militias, attacked Chaghcharan and took over the city in an afternoon-long siege. Eighteen people were killed or wounded in the fighting and province governor Mohammed Ibrahim fled. Three days later the Afghan government announced that it would not retake Chaghcharan. Khan and Ibrahim began negotiations soon after, but reached no agreements. Khan's troops left Chaghcharan on June 23, a day ahead of the arrival of an Afghan National Army battalion, led by Lieutenant-General Aminullah Paktiyanai, arrived with the support of about twenty U.S. soldiers.
In his 2004 travel book, The Places in Between, Rory Stewart travels by foot from Herat to Kabul and on his way, he provides a riveting portrait of Ghor Province as well as much historical information about the region.
Ghor, which was part of Persia for many centuries, was one of the regions which participated in the Persian Cultural Revival after the Arab invasion of Persia.
==Population==
The population of Ghor today is about 635,302 people, consisting of Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and small community of Pashtuns.Ghor Province on NPS.edu Tajiks are the majority ethnic group in the province.Tribal map of Ghor
==Geography & Weather==
Ghor occupies the end of the Hindu Kush mountains. Ghor is 2,500m above sea level and heavy snowfalls often block many of its rugged passes from November to April. It is also a drought-prone area in the summer.
==Districts==
 Districts of Ghor Province
District 	Capital	Population	AreaAfghanistan Geographic & Thematic Layers	Notes
Chaghcharan 	 	 	 	Sub-divided in 2005
Charsada 	 	 	 	Created in 2005 within Chaghcharan District
Dawlat Yar 	 	 	 	Created in 2005 within Chaghcharan District
Du Layna 	 	 	 	Created in 2005 within Chaghcharan District and Shahrak District
Lal Wa Sarjangal	 	 	 	
Pasaband 	 	 	 	
Saghar 	 	 	 	
Shahrak 	 	 	 	
Taywara 	 	 	 	
Tulak 	 	 	 	
==Politics==
The current Governor of the province is Baz Mohammad Ahmadi. A Lithuanian contingent of the ISAF force is stationed in the province.
==See also==
* Ghurids
* Buddhism in Afghanistan
* Mandesh
==References==
The current governor of Gho Province is Sayed Munib Eqbal who replaced Baz Mohammad Ahmadi almost four months ago.
==External links==
* ḠUR, Encyclopedia Iranica
* Encyclopaedia Britannica (Online Edition) - Ghurid Sultanate
* Encyclopaedia Britannica (Online Edition) - Muizz-ud-Din-Muhammad a.k.a. Mohammad of Ghor
* Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition) - Muhammad of Ghor
* Historical Guide to Afghanistan - Chakhcharan to Herat (Ghaznavids, Ghorids, and Mongols)
Category:Provinces of Afghanistan
Category:Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan
Category:Mahayana Buddhism
 
ar:ولاية غور
ast:Gor
az:Qövr
bg:Гор (провинция)
de:Ghor
et:Ghowri provints
el:Γκοούρ (περιοχή)
es:Provincia de Ġawr
fa:ولایت غور
fr:Ghôr
ko:구르 주
hi:ग़ोर
it:Ghowr
nl:Ghowr
ja:ゴール州
no:Ghowr (provins)
pnb:صوبہ غور
ps:د غور ولايت
pl:Ghor (prowincja)
pt:Ghowr (província)
ru:Гор (провинция, Афганистан)
fi:Ghowrin maakunta
sv:Ghor
tg:Вилояти Ғувр
tr:Gur Vilayeti
ur:غور
war:Ghor (lalawigan)
zh:古爾省