Farah, Afghanistan

Farah is the capital and largest city of Farah Province in western Afghanistan. It is located on the Farah River, close to the border with Iran. It is one of the largest cities of western Afghanistan in terms of population, with about 1.5 million people living in its urban area. Farah was part of the Greater Kandahar region until made into a separate province by the Afghan government.

Land use
Farah is located in western Afghanistan between Kandahar and Herat, close to the border with Iran, although it lacks a direct road connection with the latter. Farah has a very clear grid of roads distributed through the higher-density residential areas. However barren land (35%) and vacant plots (25%) are the largest land uses and combine for 60% of total land use.

Ancient history
The Citadel at Farah is probably one of a series of fortresses constructed by Alexander the Great, the city being an intermediate stop between Alexandria Arachosia (modern Kandahar) and Herat, the location of another of Alexander's fortresses. The "Alexandria" prefix was added to the city's name when Alexander came in 330 BC.

Under the Parthian Empire, Farah fell under the satrapy of Aria, and was one of its key cities. It is thought to be Phra, mentioned by Isidorus Characenus in the 1st century AD, or Alexandria Prophthasia mentioned by Pliny the Elder, Stephanus of Byzantium (Stephanus also called it Phrada (Φράδα)) and the 4th century Peutinger Map.

In the 5th century AD Farah was one of the major strongholds on the eastern frontier of the Sassanid Empire. It was of some strategic importance, commanding the approaches to India and Sistan from Herat.

Medieval and early modern
The region came under Muslim rule in 651 during the Muslim conquest of Persia. The region was historically part of Khurasan and was controlled by the Tahirids followed by the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khwarazmshahs, Ilkhanids, Kartids, Timurids, Khanate of Bukhara, and Safavids until the early-18th century when it became part of the Afghan Hotaki dynasty followed by the Durrani Empire.

Islam was introduced in the region during the 7th century and later the Saffarid dynasty took control of Farah. During the 10th century, Mahmud of Ghazni took possession of the city, followed by the Ghurids in the 12th century. Genghis Khan and his army passed through in the 13th century, and the city fell to the native Kartids who lost it to the Timurids. It was controlled by the Safavids until 1709, when they were defeated by the Hotaki Afghan forces of Mirwais Hotak. It became part of the Durrani Empire in the mid 18th century. Farah was seized by Sultan Jan, then ruler of Herat, but re-captured by Dost Mohammad Khan on July 8, 1862.

Soviet-Afghan War
At the start of the Soviet invasion in 1979, Farah was, along with Herat, Shindand, and Kandahar, occupied by the Soviet 357th and 66th Motorized Rifle Divisions (MRD).

The mujahideen established themselves in the Farah area in 1979. They maintained a presence in the city until they were forced out in 1982, and established a stronghold at the nearby mountain Lor Koh, which they renamed Sharafat Koh ("Honor Mountain"). Primary among the Farah mujahideen groups was the Sharafat Kuh Front.

Civil war to present
Following the collapse of the Soviet-backed government of Najibullah in 1992, Ismail Khan returned to power in Herat, and came to control Farah, as well as the other surrounding provinces of Ghor and Badghis, until Herat fell to the Taliban in 1995.

The roads in Farah Province have seen massive improvement since May 2005. The education system has been greatly improved and a great number of illegal weapons have been collected and destroyed in the province by the Provincial Reconstruction Team. The United States built a base at Farah Airport, which also houses the Afghan National Security Forces (ANFS).

On May 7, 2009, thousands of Afghan villagers shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government" protested in Farah over American bomber airstrikes on May 4 that killed 147 civilians. Clashes with police started when people from the three villages struck by US B1-bombers brought 15 newly discovered bodies in a truck to the house of the provincial governor. Four protesters were wounded when police opened fire. Going by the account of survivors, the air raid was not a brief attack by several aircraft acting on mistaken intelligence, but a sustained bombardment in which three villages were pounded to pieces. An Afghan government investigation concluded on May 16, 2009 with the Afghan Defense Ministry announcing an official death toll of 140 villagers. A copy of the government's list of the names and ages of each of the 140 dead showed that 93 of those killed were children, and only 22 were adult males.

On 20 November 2009 it was reported that a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated near a market in Farah Naz city, killing 17 people and wounding 29. Mullah Hayatullah was the Taliban commander for Farah province and was reported to be known to run suicide training camps. On 3 April 2013, the Taliban killed 34 civilians and 10 members of the security forces, using guns and bombs.

During late evening of 14 May 2018, Taliban fighters stormed the city from multiple directions. By 15 May 2018, the Taliban, during their annual spring offensive, captured Farah from the Afghan government, with only the provincial governor's compound remaining under the control of Afghan forces. However, by 16 May Afghan Armed Forces, along with elements of the US Armys 2-12th infantry regiment belonging to the 4th infantry division along with several interpreters backed by the United States Air Force recaptured the city, while fighting moved on to the outlying areas of it. National Directorate of Security headquarters have been razed during the fighting. Taliban fighters have claimed that they withdrew after achieving their objectives and capturing weapon and equipment stockpiles. On May 16, government security forces backed by US air support reasserted control over Farah after driving the Taliban out of the city center. The security forces then conducted a clearing operation. Abdul Basir Salangi, governor of Farah Province, said that the clashes left at least 25 members of the government security forces and five civilians dead, and at least 300 Taliban fighters were also killed.

On 28 May 2020, the Taliban killed seven policemen in Farah in an attack on a police post during which eight Taliban militants were also killed. The attack was conducted just after the end of the three-day Eid ceasefire announced by the Taliban in the country, which lasted from 24 to 26 May 2020.

On 10 August 2021, the Taliban captured the Police HQ and Governor's office of the city as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive.

Demographics
Recent statistics (2015) showed the city population of about 54,000. Pashtuns form the majority of the city's population, constituting 80%, with the Farsiwans at 10% and the remaining Balochis. More than 80% of the province consists of ethnic Durrani Pashtuns (excluding Kuchi “Ghilji“ nomads) followed by Farsiwans as the second group residing mainly in the city of Farah and Baluchis as third group. However, the Kuchi nomads, a Pashtun group, make up a sizeable population in winter.

The provincial dominant language is Pashto and Farsi (Dari).

Economy
The city is a major trading and farming center in this area.

Transport
The Farah Airport is located next to the city and as of May 2014 had regularly scheduled flights to Herat.

There are secondary roads in different directions from the city. As of 2010, Farah City had 30 km of paved roads, 136 km of gravel roads and 150 km of unpaved roads. The major road is Route 515 which connects Farah to the Ring Road. Both roads were improved in 2009 in coordination with several ISAF countries.

Healthcare
The city is served by Farah City Hospital.

Climate
Farah has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh). In winter there is more rainfall than in summer, and there is no almost rain from June to October. Snowfall has not been observed from 1960 to 1983.

The average annual temperature in Farah is 20.7 °C. About 95 mm of precipitation falls annually, and February is the wettest month, receiving 22.8 mm of rainfall on average. In August 2009, Farah recorded a temperature of 49.9 C, which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Afghanistan. July is the warmest month, with an average high of 42.6 C and an average low of 25.2 C, while January is the coldest, with an average low of 0.9 C.

Books relating to Farah
Little has been written about Farah; some fleeting references can be found in works related to Afghanistan or works that focus on the Great Game Politics of the UK and the Russian Empire during the 19th century. However, 2011 saw the publication of Words in the Dust by author Trent Reedy, who was one of the first American soldiers to enter Farah in 2004. His book, while fiction, is set in Farah City and the wider province. Also in 2021, Trent Reedy also published another book with a writer currently in Afghanistan named Jawad Arash. In the book Enduring Freedom, it was set in the province of Farah.