Šugnan

Shughnan is a mountain country of the western Pamirs, centred on the valleys of the Gunt and Shakhdara and the banks of the Panj. Its people speak Shughni, one of the Eastern Iranian languages of the Pamirs. Narrow inhabited valleys lie between formidable ranges, while the Panj links the region with neighbouring Ishkashim and Rushan.

Shughnan was ruled by local princes whose fortunes shifted between independence and the influence of its larger neighbours. Rushan was often governed by relatives of its rulers, and in the eighteenth century became its vassal. Shughnan and Wakhan also struggled over Ishkashim, a district known for its ruby deposits. These small mountain realms maintained their own rulers amid the rivalries of Badakhshan, Darvaz and Bukhara.