Samangan

Samangan preserves layers of civilizational sediment spanning 32,000 years. Excavations at Qara Kamar, 23 kilometers north of the capital Aybak, reveal Paleolithic occupation with flint implements and bone tools from hunter-gatherer societies. The Takht-e Rostam complex—a dome-shaped Buddhist stupa and cave monastery carved from bedrock in the 4th-5th centuries CE—reflects the province's role in Central Asian Buddhist networks. Aybak itself was a major Silk Road caravan stop, known in ancient times as Eukratidia.

The succession of powers that controlled Samangan reads like a Central Asian history textbook: Kushan rulers, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Mongols, Timurids, the Khanate of Bukhara, and finally Ahmad Shah Durrani who received it through treaty in 1750. On August 9, 2021, Aybak became the sixth provincial capital to fall in the Taliban's weekend offensive. The pattern of conquest and reconquest has shaped an ethnically diverse population—Uzbeks, Tajiks, Pashtuns, Hazara, Tatars, Turkomen, even a minority of Arabs—each wave of settlement leaving genetic and cultural traces.

Modern Samangan's economy reflects both ancient advantages and isolation. The province ranks second nationally in pistachio production after Badghis. Horse breeding sustains the economy, particularly for buzkashi—the traditional equestrian sport. Rain-fed agriculture produces wheat, barley, potatoes, and flax; orchards yield grapes and pomegranates. Unlike Zaranj in Nimruz, Aybak never became a major trading center. The province's advantage lies in the remote Dar-e-Suf area, away from main routes. Recent infrastructure—solar power at district hospitals installed in 2025—addresses basic needs in a province where 90% of 572,000 residents live rurally.