Jalalabad

Jalalabad (julä"läbäd', julăl'ubăd) [key], city (1979 pop. 53,915), capital of Nangarhar prov., E Afghanistan, near the Khyber Pass. The city dominates the entrances to the Laghman and Kunar valleys and is a leading trading center with India and Pakistan. Oranges, rice, and sugarcane grow in the fertile surrounding area, and the city has cane-processing and sugar-refining as well as papermaking industries. Jalalabad is a military center and a winter resort. Present-day Jalalabad was the major city of the ancient Greco-Buddhist center of Gandhara. Babur, founder of the Mughal empire of India, chose the site for the modern city, which was built c.1570 by his grandson, Akbar. During the First Afghan War, British troops held (1842) Jalalabad against an Afghan siege. The Pashtus constitute most of the population. The city has a university and medical school.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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