Ragh

Ragh lies in the mountain country between Darvaz and Badakhshan, west of the upper Panj. Its valleys contain deposits of gold-bearing quartz, among the mineral resources of northeastern Afghanistan. In the seventeenth century the shahs of Darvaz and the rulers of Badakhshan emerged as rival powers. The country of Ragh, lying between their centres on the Panj and at Fayzabad, was repeatedly contested in the fighting between them.