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Zahedan

(Encyclopedia)Zahedan zähādänˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 361,623), capital of Sistan and Baluchistan prov., SE Iran, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of Iran's poorer cities, Zahedan is a road j...

Sistan

(Encyclopedia)Sistan sā– [key], border lowland region of SW Afghanistan and E Iran, c.6,000 sq mi (15,540 sq km), fed mainly by the spring flood of the Helmand River and other streams. At low water, the region i...

Holbrooke, Richard Charles

(Encyclopedia)Holbrooke, Richard Charles hōlˈbro͝ok [key], 1941–2010, American diplomat, b. New York City, grad. Brown (B.A., 1962). Holbrooke joined the foreign service, worked on Vietnamese affairs for six y...

Kandahar

(Encyclopedia)Kandahar or Qandahar both: kănˌdəhärˈ [key], city (1989 est. pop. 203,000), capital of Kandahar prov., S Afghanistan. The country's second largest city and chief trade center, Kandahar is a marke...

Karshi

(Encyclopedia)Karshi kərshēˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 168,000), S Uzbekistan, on the Kashka-Darya River. It is the center of a fertile oasis that produces wheat, cotton, and silk. Karshi was founded in the 9th cen...

Bolan Pass

(Encyclopedia)Bolan Pass or Bholan Pass both: bōlänˈ [key], gap in the central Brahui Range, W Pakistan; c.60 mi (100 km) long, alt. 5,880 ft (1,792 m). A railroad and highway cross the pass en route to the Afgh...

Khyber Pass

(Encyclopedia)Khyber Pass kīˈbər [key], narrow, steep-sided pass, 28 mi (45 km) long, winding through the Safed Koh Mts., on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; highest point is 3,500 ft (1,067 m). The routes throu...

Paropamisus

(Encyclopedia)Paropamisus pârˌəpămˈĭsəs, –pəmīˈsəs [key], mountain range, NW Afghanistan, stretching c.300 mi (480 km) W from the Hindu Kush toward the Elburz Mts. in Iran; rises to c.11,000 ft (3,350 ...

Drangiana

(Encyclopedia)Drangiana drănˌjēāˈnə, –ănˈə [key], ancient country, part of the Persian Empire, between Aria on the north and Gedrosia on the south. It was conquered (330 b.c.) by Alexander the Great and ...

Shevardnadze, Eduard Amvrosiyevich

(Encyclopedia)Shevardnadze, Eduard Amvrosiyevich ĕdˈwärd shəvˈärdnädˈzyə [key], 1928–2014, Georgian politician and diplomat. Known for pragmatism rather than polemicism, Shevardnadze served as the head o...