Charikar
Charikar or [[Chaharikar] (Persian: چاریکار, pronounced Chârikâr) is the capital of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan. It is the main town of the Kohdaman Valley. Charikar is known for its pottery and high-quality grapes.
Location
The city lies on the road 69 km to the north of Kabul.[1] Travelers would pass Charikar when traveling to Mazar-I-Sharif, Kunduz or Puli Khumri. Charikar is at the gateway to the Panjshir Valley, where the Shamali plains meet the foothills of the Hindu Kush.
History
Alexander Cunningham[2] mentions that According to the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang Kiapishe, or Kapisene, was 4000 li, or about 666 miles in circuit. If this measurement be even approximately correct, the district must have included the whole of Kafiristan, as well as the two large valleys of Ghorband and Panjshir, as these last are together not more than 300 miles in circuit. Kiapishe is further described as being entirely surrounded by mountains ; to the north
[p.19]: by snowy mountains, named Po-lo-si-na, and by black hills on the other three sides. The name of Polosina corresponds exactly with that of Mount Paresh or Aparasin of the 'Zend Avesta,'[3] and with the Paropamisus of the Greeks, which included the Indian Caucasus, or Hindu Kush. Hwen Thsang further states, that to the north-west of the capital there was a great snowy mountain, with a lake on its summit, distant only 200 li, or about 33 miles. This is the Hindu Kush itself, which is about 35 miles to the north-west of Charikar and Opian ; but I have not been able to trace any mention of the lake in the few imperfect notices that exist of this part of Afghanistan.
In 1221, the Battle of Pirvan was fought near Charikar, in which Jalal ud-Din with an army of 30,000 with 100,000 auxiliaries delayed an advance column of 30,000 men of the invading Mongol army long enough to allow part of his army to escape into the northern Punjab, and avoid the immediate consequences of the fall of the Khwarezmid Empire.[4][5]
External links
References
- ↑ Sir Alexander Cunningham: The Ancient Geography of India/Northern India,p.23
- ↑ The Ancient Geography of India/Northern India,pp.18-19
- ↑ ' Zend Avesta,' iii. 365, Boundehesh. " It is said that Aparasin is a great mountain, distinct from Elburj. It is called Mount Paresh."
- ↑ Man, John (2005) Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection St.Martin's Press, New York, pages 181–182, ISBN 978-0-312-31444-6
- ↑ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, Volume I ca. 3000 BCE–1499 CE. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-85109-667-1.