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Kulob

Coordinates: 37°54′33″N 69°46′55″E / 37.90917°N 69.78194°E / 37.90917; 69.78194
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This article is about the city in Tajikistan. For other places, see Kulab (disambiguation).
Kulob
Tajik: Кӯлоб
The 2700th Anniversary monument, Kulob
The 2700th Anniversary monument, Kulob
Kulob is located in Tajikistan
Kulob
Kulob
Location in Tajikistan
Kulob is located in Bactria
Kulob
Kulob
Kulob (Bactria)
Kulob is located in West and Central Asia
Kulob
Kulob
Kulob (West and Central Asia)
Coordinates: 37°54′33″N 69°46′55″E / 37.90917°N 69.78194°E / 37.90917; 69.78194
CountryTajikistan
RegionKhatlon Region
Elevation
580 m (1,900 ft)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • City214,700
 • Urban
106,300
Official languages

Kulob[a] or Khatlon[b] is a city in Khatlon Region in southern Tajikistan. Located 203 km (126 mi) southeast of the capital Dushanbe on the river Yakhsu (a right tributary of Panj), it is one of the largest cities in the country. Its population is estimated at 106,300 for the city proper and 214,700 for the city with the outlying communities (2020).[1] The city is served by Kulob Airport.

History

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Greek inscription

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During the Hellenistic period following the conquests of Alexander the Great, the region of modern Kulob was part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. A Greek inscription dating to the period 200–195 BC[3] has been discovered in which a person named Heliodotos dedicates a fire altar to Hestia for the sake of the king Euthydemus I and his son Demetrius I.[4][3]

Kulob inscription, 200–195 BC: "Heliodotos dedicated this fragrant altar for Hestia, venerable goddess, illustrious amongst all, in the grove of Zeus, with beautiful trees; he made libations and sacrifices so that the greatest of all kings Euthydemos, as well as his son, the glorious, victorious and remarkable Demetrios, be preserved of all pains, with the help of Tyche with divine thoughts."[5][6]

Later history

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Tomb of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani

The historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari refers to Khatlon as early as AD 737, although its founding is said to have been much earlier.[7] The Sufi mystic Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani died while travelling through Central Asia in 1384 and was buried in Khatlon in a tomb which still stands.[8]

Kulob Marketplace

The city was conquered by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan and subsequently formed part of the Timurid Empire.[9] It was incorporated into the Khanate of Bukhara in 1559[9] and subsequently usually aligned with the Emirate of Bukhara against Kokand and Afghanistan after the 18th century. Its name was changed to Kulob in 1750.[7] The local lord Surrah Khan imprisoned the British and Kokand agent Abdul Mejid on behalf of Bukhara in 1861 before the disorder in the emirate prompted him to release the party.[10]

Following agreements between the British and Russian Empires over the disposition of Afghanistan, the city and its hinterland were incorporated into the Russian Empire as part of its conquest of most of Central Asia. After the Russian Revolution, Kulob was only incorporated into the Soviet Union in March 1921[9] and was organized as part of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in 1929. Kulob was one of the largest cities in the republic.

During the Tajikistani Civil War in the early 1990s, the city served as the main base of the Popular Front militias. Danghara, a village in the Kulob area, is the birthplace of Tajikistan's president Emomali Rahmon. In September 2006, Kulob celebrated its 2700th anniversary.[11]

After Tajikistan's independence in 1991, Kulob was one of the three cities—alongside Dushanbe and Qurghonteppa—where the Russian 201st Motor Rifle Division was deployed. Following a number of scandals with local residents, Russia unexpectedly pulled its troops from Kulob in November 2015, effectively abandoning the base there.[12]

Geography

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Climate

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Kulob has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The average annual temperature is 15.8 °C (60.4 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 28.3 °C (82.9 °F) and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of 2.2 °C (36.0 °F). The average annual precipitation is 468.4 mm (18.44 in) and has an average of 72.8 days with precipitation. The wettest month is March with an average of 94.2 mm (3.71 in) of precipitation and the driest month is August with an average of 0 mm of precipitation.[13]

Climate data for Kulob
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.2
(36.0) 		4.8
(40.6) 		10.4
(50.7) 		16.9
(62.4) 		21.2
(70.2) 		26.0
(78.8) 		28.3
(82.9) 		26.6
(79.9) 		21.8
(71.2) 		16.2
(61.2) 		10.0
(50.0) 		5.0
(41.0) 		15.8
(60.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 53.8
(2.12) 		64.6
(2.54) 		94.2
(3.71) 		82.5
(3.25) 		59.0
(2.32) 		6.1
(0.24) 		3.7
(0.15) 		0.5
(0.02) 		1.3
(0.05) 		24.0
(0.94) 		33.9
(1.33) 		44.8
(1.76) 		468.4
(18.44)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 7.7 9.2 12.3 11.8 9.6 2.6 1.1 0.0 0.7 4.2 5.7 7.9 72.8
Average relative humidity (%) 75.5 72.2 68.0 63.6 55.0 39.1 34.0 35.1 38.4 49.4 62.4 71.8 55.4
Source: "The Climate of Kulob". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2 August 2014.

Subdivisions

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Before ca. 2018, Kulob was the seat of Kulob District, which covered Kulob's outlying rural areas.[14] The city of Kulob covers Kulob proper and four jamoats. These are as follows:[15]

Jamoat Population (Jan. 2015)[15]
Dahana 29,776
Kulab 19,840
Zarbdor 23,839
Ziraki 28,747

Notable people

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Notes

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  1. ^
  2. ^ Tajik: Хатлон, romanized: Xatlon, IPA: [χɐtˈlɔn]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Population of the Republic of Tajikistan as of 1 January 2020" (PDF) (in Russian). Statistics office of Tajikistan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  2. ^ "КОНСТИТУЦИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ ТАДЖИКИСТАН". prokuratura.tj. Parliament of Tajikistan. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b Shane Wallace Greek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveries Archived 2020-01-12 at the Wayback Machine p.206
  4. ^ Osmund Bopearachchi, Some Observations on the Chronology of the Early Kushans Archived 2021-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, p.48
  5. ^ Shane Wallace Greek Culture in Afghanistan and India: Old Evidence and New Discoveries Archived 2020-01-12 at the Wayback Machine p.211
  6. ^ "Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum: 54.1569". Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  7. ^ a b Borjian, Habib (1 November 2013). "Kulab". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  8. ^ Rafiabadi, Hamid Naseem (2003). World Religions and Islam: A Critical Study, Part 2. Sarup & Sons. pp. 97–105. ISBN 9788176254144.
  9. ^ a b c Abdullaev, Kamoludin (2018), "Kulob", Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, p. 249, ISBN 9781538102527.
  10. ^ James, Hugh Rees (1863), "Report on a Journey to Kokan", Selections from the Records of the Government of India, vol. XXXIX, Calcutta: Foreign Department Press, p. 14, printing a letter dated 19 October 1861.
  11. ^ Shams, Biloli (18 July 2011). "ASIA-Plus". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Tajikistan: Russian Troops Pull Out of Southern City". Eurasianet.org. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Climate of Kulob". Weatherbase.com. Weatherbase. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Population of the Republic of Tajikistan as of 1 January 2015" (PDF) (in Russian). Statistics office of Tajikistan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b Jamoat-level basic indicators Archived 2022-01-04 at the Wayback Machine, United Nations Development Programme in Tajikistan, accessed 8 October 2020
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