Parwan Province

Parwan (Persian/Pashto: پروان), also spelled Parvān, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 631,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. The province is divided into ten districts. The town of Charikar serves as the provincial capital.

Located north of Kabul Province and south of Baghlan Province, it was once the name of an ancient town in the Hindu Kush mountains.

Parwan is one of the secured provinces of Afghanistan. However, occasional militant attacks are reported but they are usually minor. Security incidents in Parwan mostly involve grenade attacks on the residences of government officials or roadside bombs.Bagram Air Base, which is one of the largest U.S.-military bases in Afghanistan, is located in Parwan.

History

In 329 BC, Alexander the Great founded the settlement of Parwan as his Alexandria of the Caucasus. It was conquered by Arab Muslims in 792 AD. In 1221, the province was the site of the battle between the invading Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, and the Khwarezmian Empire led by Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, where the Mongols were defeated. The famous Moroccan traveler and scholar, Ibn Battuta, visiting the area in 1333 writes: