Badakhshan

Badakhshan: a mountainous land with many beasts and offspring. Stones of fine gems are raised from it, and musk is carried from it. Its south joins India by the road through the land of al-Khatl. ²

BADAKHSHAN, also frequently written BADHA- KHSHÄN and sometimes in the literary language BADAKHSHANÄr, is a mountainous region situated on the left bank of the upper reaches of the Amü-Dary or more accurately of the Pandi, the source of this great river, with the adjective Badakhshani or Badakhshi derived from this noun ³. Marquart gives this name the meaning of the region of Badhakhsh or Balakhsh, a type of ruby said to be found only in Badakhshán on the Kokča ³. It is more probable that the word Balakhsh is a dialectal form that originally denoted the region and only later came to be used for the type of ruby ³. The mines where the rubies were extracted were located outside Badakhshän proper in Shugh- nän on the right bank of the Amú-Dary, though the country was usually subject to the same power as Badakhshān during the historical period ³. The rubies of Badakhshăn were famous throughout the Muslim world in the Middle Ages ³. In Persian poetry, the expression "lål-i badakhshi" or "läl-i badakhshani" often figuratively denotes wine or the lips of the Beloved ³. This expression is in universal popular use in Central Asia today ³. The region containing the mines is currently a dependency of the territory of Bukhãrã, which is subject to Soviet rule ³. The mines are worked with the same primitive methods as before and have not yet acquired importance for the European precious-stone market ³. The Kokča or Kökče, called Khirnab in the Hudid al 'Alam, is a tributary of the Amü-Dary that waters Badakhshãn ³. From an economic view, the valley of the Kokca and its tributaries alone have always been important for the region ³. The towns of Badakhshan-doubtless near the present capital of Faydhäbad-Djirm and Kishm were situated in this area ³. The last two towns mentioned in the earliest Arab documents have preserved their names to this day ³. The lapis lazuli of Badakhshän was equally famous in the Middle Ages and came from mines on the upper reaches of the Kokča ³.