Laghman Province

Laghman (Dari/Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It has a population of about 502,148, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. Laghman hosts a large number of historical landmarks, minarets, monuments, and other cultural relics that are manifestation of its old history and culture. The city of Mihtarlam serves as the capital of the province. In some historical texts the name is written as "Lamghan" or as "Lamghanat". In 2021, the Taliban gained control of the province during the 2021 Taliban offensive. Laghman or Lamghan is originally named after Lamech (Mether Lam Baba), the father of Noah. Located currently at the Kabul Museum are Aramaic inscriptions that were found in Laghman which indicated an ancient trade route from India to Palmyra. Aramaic was the bureaucratic script language of the Achaemenids whose influence had extended toward Laghman. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka. Inscriptions in Aramaic dating from the Mauryan Dynasty were found in Laghman which discussed the conversion of Ashoka to Buddhism. The inscription mentions that the distance to Palmyra is 300 dhanusha or yojana. The Mahamayuri Tantra dated to between the 1-3rd century mentions several popular Yaksha shrines. It mentions Yaksha Kalahapriya being worshipped in Lampaka. In the seventh century, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Laghman, which he called "Lan-pro" and considered part of India. He indicated the presence of Mahayana Buddhists and numerous Hindus: "For several centuries the native dynasty had ceased to exist, great families fought for preeminence, and the state had recently become a dependency of Kapis. The country produced upland rice and sugar cane, and it had much wood but little fruit; the climate was mild with little frost and no snow. [...] There were above ten Buddhist monasteries and a few Brethren the most of whom were Mahayanists. The non-Buddhists had a score or two of temples and they were very numerous.