principality · Central Asia and the Steppe

Principality of Badakhshan

1657 CE – 1881 CE (approx.) · capital Faizabad

A mountain principality of the Pamirs and upper Amu Darya, ruled by mirs from Faizabad until the Afghan Emirate absorbed it.

Origins

Badakhshan, famed since antiquity for its lapis lazuli and rubies, was ruled in the 16th and early 17th centuries by Timurid and Uzbek governors. Around 1657 a local dynasty of mirs of the Yarid family, claiming saintly descent, established independent rule from Faizabad on the Kokcha River.

Rule and society

The mirs ruled a mountainous land of Tajik farmers and herders, including Ismaili communities in the Pamirs and Sunni Muslims in the lowlands. Revenue came from mines, trade routes to Kashgar and Chitral, and tribute from vassal valleys such as Shughnan and Wakhan. The state was frequently raided by the Kataghan Khanate and the Durrani Empire.

Decline and legacy

In 1859 the Emirate of Afghanistan made Badakhshan a vassal, and around 1881 Abdur Rahman Khan annexed it fully. The Anglo-Russian boundary settlements of the 1890s divided the region along the Panj River between Afghanistan and the Russian protectorate of Bukhara.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Badakhshan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-badakhshan
MLA
“Principality of Badakhshan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-badakhshan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Badakhshan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-badakhshan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Badakhshan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-badakhshan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻