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 (Tajik: Кӯлоб, کولاﺏ, romanized: Kûlob/Kūlob), formerly also Kulyab (Russian: Куляб, romanized: Kuljab), is a city in Khatlon Region, 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

Kulob inscription

In the Hellenistic period, Kulob was part of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. An inscription has been found in Kulob (Kuliab), dating to 200-195 BCE,[3] in which a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicates a fire altar to Hestia for the sake of the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I and his son Demetrius I.[4][3]

Kuliab 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

The historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari refers to the city as early as 737AD, although its founding is said to have been much earlier. Throughout its history, Kulob was known by the name Khatlān or Khatlon in modern Tajik, with its modern name only about 250 years old.[7]

The Sufi mystic Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani died while travelling through Central Asia in 1384 and was buried in Kulob in a tomb which still stands.[8]

Part of the Khanate of Bukhara since the 16th century (the Emirate of Bukhara since the 18th century), the city changed its name from Khatlon to Kulob in 1750. Following the Russian conquest of Central Asia and the creation of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR in 1929, Kulob became one of the largest cities in the republic.[9]

Tomb of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani

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.

Kulob Marketplace

In September 2006, Kulob celebrated its 2700th anniversary.[10]

After Tajikistan's independence in 1991, Kulob was one of the three cities in the country where the Russian 201st Motor Rifle Division was deployed (the others are Dushanbe and Qurghonteppa). Following a number of scandals with local residents, Russia unexpectedly pulled its troops from Kulob in November 2015, effectively abandoning the base there.[11]

Geography

Climate

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.[12]

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

Before ca. 2018, Kulob was the seat of Kulob District, which covered Kulob's outlying rural areas.[13] The city of Kulob covers Kulob proper and four jamoats. These are as follows:[14]

Jamoat Population (Jan. 2015)[14]
Dahana29,776
Kulab19,840
Zarbdor23,839
Ziraki28,747

Notable people

  • Orzu Iso (born 1976), presenter, TV and radio journalist, songwriter and blogger
  • Mavzuna Chorieva (born 1992), boxer
  • Moses Znaimer (born 1942), co-founder of Citytv
  • Shabnam Surayyo (born 1981), Folk Pop singer
  • Manija Dawlat (born 1982), Pop singer
  • Gulchehra Sodiq, (born 1952), singer
  • Davlatmand Khol, (born 1953), singer
  • Odina Hoshim, (born 1926), singer

References

  1. 1 2 "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. 1 2 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. ↑ 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. ↑ Kamoluddin Abdullaev and Shahram Akbarzadeh (2002). Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
  10. ↑ Shams, Biloli (18 July 2011). "ASIA-Plus". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Tajikistan: Russian Troops Pull Out of Southern City". Eurasianet,org. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Climate of Kulob". Weatherbase.com. Weatherbase. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "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.
  14. 1 2 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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