Everything about Hindukush totally explained
The
Hindu Kush is a
mountain range located between
Afghanistan and
Pakistan. It is the westernmost extension of the
Pamir Mountains, the
Karakoram Range, and is a
sub-range of the
Himalayas. It is also the
center of population of the
world.
Nomenclature
The name
Hindu Kush is usually applied to the whole of the range separating the basins of the
Kabul, and
Helmand rivers from that of the
Amu Darya (or ancient
Oxus), or more specifically, to that part of the range to the northwest of
Kabul.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit documents refer to the Hindukush as
Pāriyatra Parvat .
Persian
In some of the
Iranian languages that are still spoken in the region many peaks, mountains, and related places in the region have "Kosh" or "Kush" in their names. In the
Persian language of the
Sassanian period,
Hindu referred to any inhabitant of the
Indus River, or
Hind, rather than to followers of
Hinduism as it does now. The name is also said to be a corruption of
Hindu Koh, from the (modern)
Persian word Kuh, meaning mountain. James Rennell, writing in 1793, referred to the range as the "Hindoo-Kho or Hindoo-Kush".
» "The same
hindu- 'mountain' [inScythian or Saka languages] is in the name
Hindǚ-kuš, where the
kuš means 'side, region' connected with Chr. Sogd.
qwšy 'side' with
-ti- Armenian Parthian
k'oušt 'side, region' . . . . Old Indian has both
koṣa- and
kośa-. . . . The legend of
Hindukuš meaning 'slaying Hindus' is assigned to an event a hundred years after Bābur's mention of the name."
Ibn Batuta on the term Hindu Kush
Folk etymology
There are others who consider this origin to be false and put forward alternate possibilities for its origin, although these are usually considered to be
folk etymology :
The origin of the term "Hindu Kush" is a point of contention. The folk etymological explanations range from 'killer of Hindu' to the 'throne of Hindu'.
that the name is a corruption of Caucasus Indicus, a name by which the Hindu Kush range was known in the ancient Western world after its conquest by Alexander the Great in the Fourth Century BC. Greek rule in the Hindu Kush region lasted over three centuries, and was followed by the rule of a dynasty known, significantly, as the Kushan. In its early period, the Kushan Empire had its capital near modern-day Kabul. Later, when the Hindu Kush region became part of the Sassanian Empire, it was ruled by a satrap known as the Kushan-shah (ruler of Kushan).
that the name refers to the last great 'killer' mountains to cross when moving between the Iranian plateau and the Indian subcontinent, named after the toll it took on anyone crossing them.
that the name is a posited Avestan appellation meaning "water mountains."
that the name is a corruption of Hind-o Kushan, containing the name of the Kushan dynasty that once ruled this region for more than three centuries.
Mountains
The mountains of the Hindu Kush system diminish in height as they stretch westward: toward the middle, near
Kabul, they extend from 4,500 to 6,000 meters; in the west, they attain heights of 3,500 to 4,000 meters. The average altitude of the Hindu Kush is 4,500 meters. The Hindu Kush system stretches about 966 kilometres laterally, and its median north-south measurement is about 240 kilometres. Only about 600 kilometres of the Hindu Kush system is called the Hindu Kush mountains. The rest of the system consists of numerous smaller mountain ranges including the
Koh-e Baba,
Salang,
Koh-e Paghman,
Spin Ghar (also called the eastern Safid Koh),
Suleiman Range,
Siah Koh,
Koh-e Khwaja Mohammad and
Selseleh-e Band-e Turkestan. The western Safid Koh, the Siah Band and Doshakh are commonly referred to as the
Paropamisus by western scholars.
Rivers that flow from the mountain system include the
Helmand River, the
Hari River and the
Kabul River, watersheds for the
Sistan Basin.
Numerous high passes ("
kotal") transect the mountains, forming a strategically important network for the transit of caravans. The most important
mountain pass is the
Kotal-e Salang (3,878 m); it links
Kabul and points south to northern Afghanistan. The completion of a tunnel within this pass in 1964 reduced travel time between Kabul and the north to a few hours. Previously access to the north through the
Kotal-e Shibar (3,260 m) took three days. The
Salang tunnel at 3,363 m and the extensive network of galleries on the approach roads were constructed with
Soviet financial and technological assistance and involved drilling 1.7 miles through the heart of the Hindu Kush.
Before the
Salang road was constructed, the most famous passes in the Western historical perceptions of Afghanistan were those leading to the Indian subcontinent. They include the
Khyber Pass (1,027 m), in
Pakistan, and the
Kotal-e Lataband (2,499 m) east of Kabul, which was superseded in 1960 by a road constructed within the
Kabul River's most spectacular gorge, the
Tang-e Gharu. This remarkable engineering feat reduced travel time between Kabul and the
Pakistan border from two days to a few hours.
The roads through the Salang and Tang-e Gharu passes played critical strategic roles during the
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and were used extensively by heavy military vehicles. Consequently, these roads are in very bad repair. Many bombed out bridges have been repaired, but numbers of the larger structures remain broken. Periodic closures due to conflicts in the area seriously affect the economy and well-being of many regions, for these are major routes carrying commercial trade, emergency relief and reconstruction assistance supplies destined for all parts of the country.
There are a number of other important passes in
Afghanistan. The
Wakhjir (4,923 m), proceeds from the
Wakhan Corridor into
Xinjiang,
China, and into
Northern Areas of
Pakistan. Passes which join Afghanistan to
Chitral,
Pakistan, include the
Baroghil (3,798 m) and the
Kachin (5,639 m), which also cross from the Wakhan. Important passes located farther west are the
Shotorgardan (3,720 m), linking
Logar and
Paktiya provinces; the
Bazarak (2,713 m), leading into
Mazari Sharif; the
Khawak Pass (4,370 m) in the
Panjsher Valley, and the
Anjuman (3,858 m) at the head of the Panjsher Valley giving entrance to the north. The
Hajigak (2,713 m) and
Unai (3,350 m) lead into the eastern
Hazarajat and
Bamyan Valley. The passes of the Paropamisus in the west are relatively low, averaging around 600 meters; the most well-known of these is the
Sabzak between the
Herat and
Badghis provinces, which links the western and northwestern parts of Afghanistan.
These mountainous areas are mostly barren, or at the most sparsely sprinkled with trees and stunted bushes. Very ancient mines producing
lapis lazuli are found in Kowkcheh Valley, while gem-grade
emeralds are found north of Kabul in the valley of the Panjsher River and some of its tributaries. The famous 'balas rubies', or
spinels, were mined until the 19th century in the valley of the Ab-e Panj or Upper Amu Darya River, considered to be the meeting place between the Hindu Kush and the Pamir ranges. These mines now appear to be exhausted.
Eastern Hindu Kush
The Eastern Hindu Kush range, also known as the High Hindu Kush range, is mostly located in northern
Pakistan and the
Nuristan and
Badakhshan provinces of
Afghanistan. The
Chitral District of Pakistan is home to
Tirich Mir,
Noshaq, and
Istoro Nal, the highest peaks in the Hindu Kush. The range also extends into
Ghizar,
Yasin Valley, and
Ishkoman in Pakistan's Northern Areas.
Chitral is considered to be the pinnacle of the
Hindu Kush region. The highest peaks, as well as countless passes and massive glaciers, are located in this region. The
Chiantar,
Kurambar, and
Terich glaciers are amongst the most extensive in the Hindu Kush and the meltwater from these glaciers form the
Kunar River, which eventually flows south into Afghanistan and joins the Bashgal, Panjsher, and eventually the much smaller
Kabul River.
The jazz musician
Katie Melua wrote a song called "Halfway Up the Hindu Kush", probably because in the 1960s and 70s Afghanistan was depicted in the media as the romantic haven of nomads and a resort for hashish-smoking hippies.
Military Presence
After historical military presence since the
Alexander the Great time, the recent
Cold War made a presence of
Soviet and
mujahideen fighters and then
revolutionary Taliban. Currently
Al Qaeda’s presence made the
U.S. forces to shift their operation in the
Hindu Kush mountain ranges.
Pre Islamic Tribes of the Hindu Kush
- Shins
- Yeshkun
- Chiliss
- Neemchas
- Koli
- Palus
- Gaware
- Yeshkuns
- Krammins
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hindukush'.
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