Khulm

Khulm lay east of Balkh, where an irrigated oasis met routes through the Hindu Kush. Its older settlement and the nearby town of Tashqurghan belonged to the same local political world, but their histories were not identical. During the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Mir Qilich Ali Beg made Tashqurghan his capital. By 1824 the older Khulm settlement was largely abandoned as activity shifted to the newer centre.

From Tashqurghan, Qilich Ali exercised power over neighbouring territories including Aibak, Ghori, Saighan and Kahmard. His position depended on troops, local chiefs and relationships extending across northern Afghanistan. After his death, his sons Mir Baba and Mir Wali competed for control, while the rulers of Kunduz sought influence in the same country. The movement of the capital therefore joined local urban change to struggles among regional powers. Khulm's historical name survived even as settlement, commerce and political authority became concentrated at Tashqurghan.