Editing Rasht Valley

{{short description|Valley in Tajikistan}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
[[File:Vakhsh River - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Vakhsh (river)|Vakhsh River]]]]

The '''Rasht Valley''' ({{langx|ru|Раштская долина}}; {{langx|tg|Водии Рашт}}) is located in [[Tajikistan]] and composes a significant portion of the [[Region of Republican Subordination]], including the five districts of [[Lakhsh District|Lakhsh]], [[Rasht District|Rasht]],  [[Tavildara now Sangvor]], [[Tojikobod District|Tajikobod]] and [[Nurobod District, Tajikistan|Nurabad]]. Historically the Rasht Valley has been called Karotegin or Karategin. During the 1992-1997 [[Tajikistan Civil War]], the region was a stronghold for forces opposed to the government of [[Emomalii Rahmon]] and became the site of numerous battles. Notably, four members of the [[United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan]] were murdered in the Garm district in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/threat/terror_98/eurasia.htm|title=1998 Global Terrorism: Eurasia Overview}}</ref>

From the 1920s until 1955 the Rasht Valley was within the [[Gharm Oblast]].

==History==
Karotegin is the historic name of the Rasht Valley and a historic political region in pre-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Central Asia]] that is today part of [[Tajikistan]]. The Karotegin region was also named [[Garm, Tajikistan|Garm]], though Garm is also the name of a city and a regional group of [[Gharmi people|Garmi Tajiks]]. Karotegin frequently appears in its alternative spellings, Qaratagin, Qarategin, Qaratigin, Karategin, Karatigin and Karateghin,<ref name=brit/> in literature from the 1990s and earlier. Karategin was an independent region in [[Central Asia]] for many centuries. The native princes, who claimed to be descended from [[Alexander the Great]], were independent until 1868, although their allegiance was claimed in an ineffective way by [[Kokand]]. The [[Emirate of Bukhara]] took advantage of internal political feuds and conquered the region, along with [[Darvaz (region)|Darvaz]], in 1877.<ref name=brit>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Karateghin|volume=15|page=677}}</ref>

The Karotegin consisted of a highland district bounded on the north by [[Samarkand]] and [[Kokand]], on the east by [[Ferghana]], on the south by [[Darvaz (region)|Darvaz]] and on the west by [[Hisor|Hissar]] and other Bokharian provinces. Traditionally rough woolen cloth and mohair were woven by the natives, who also made excellent firearms and other weapons. Gold was mined in various places and there were salt-pits in the mountains. The chief town, [[Garm, Tajikistan|Garm]], situated on a hill on the right bank of the [[Vakhsh River]], was a place of some 2,000 inhabitants, {{as of|1911|lc=on}}. The population was about 60,000 in 1911; five-sixths were composed of [[Tajik people|Tajiks]] while the remainder were [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]], who reside in what is today the [[Jirgatol district]] of Tajikistan. Historically it was difficult for the people of the Karotegin to communicate with neighboring lands except between the months of May and September.<ref name=brit/>

The [[1949 Khait earthquake]] resulted in the [[Khait landslide]], which killed over 30,000 people.<ref name="yablokov">{{cite journal|last=Yablokov|first=Alexander|date=February 2001|title=The Tragedy of Khait: A Natural Disaster in Tajikistan|journal=Mountain Research and Development|publisher=International Mountain Society|location=Berne, Switzerland|volume=21|issue=1|pages=91&ndash;93|jstor=3674137|doi=10.1659/0276-4741(2000)021[0091:TTOKAN]2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Karategin-Kyrgyz Confederation===
The [[:ky:Каратегин-кыргыз конфедерациясы|Karategin-Kyrgyz Confederation]] is a Kyrgyz-led tribal alliance established in the Karategin province of Tajikistan. Twelve thousand Kyrgyz families previously living in the [[Karakorum|Karakurum]] and [[Kherlen River|Kerulen]] regions of [[Mongolia]] had come to the Karategin region in the 16th century.

====Background====
On January 12, 1636, a group of twelve Kyrgyz [[Tengrism|pagan members]] of the Karategin biy tribe tried to settle in [[Balkh]], in north [[Afghanistan]]. Shortly after, they attempted to return to their lands because the city was shaped deeply [[Islam]]ic. The [[Khan (title)|Khan]] of the [[Khanate of Bukhara]], [[Nadr Muhammad Khan]], sent the governor of [[Fergana Valley|Fergana]] ([[Haji Atalik]]) to the region to seize Karategin. In this way, Karategin became an integral part of the Bukhara Khanate and the Kyrgyz pilgrims were allowed to settle. These Kyrgyz later accepted Islam as their faith. Later on, the Kyrgyz tribal members attacked the city of [[Kulab|Kulob]]. During that time [[Karategin Uzbeks|Dormon Uzbeks]] lived in the city, but they lost the war and fled to [[Balkh Province|Balkh]], Afghanistan. The Kyrgyzs have expanded their territory far into the northern boundaries of Afghanistan.<ref>Кыргыздардын жана Кыргызстандын тарыхый булактары. II т. Бишкек [Historical sources of the Kyrgyz and Kyrgyzstan. Vol. 2, Bishkek], 2003. – 229-231-б.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Valleys of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:Pamir Mountains]]