Editing Badakhshan (section)

=== Early history ===
{{original research|date=April 2022}}
Badakhshan was an important trading center during [[ancient history|antiquity]]. The only then-known deposits of [[lapis lazuli]] were mined there as early as the second half of the [[4th millennium BC]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Lapis Lazuli: The Early Phases of Its Trade |author= Georgina Herrmann |journal=Iraq |volume= 30 |number= 1 |year = 1968 |pages= 21–57 | publisher= British Institute for the Study of Iraq |doi=10.2307/4199836 |jstor= 4199836 |s2cid= 130955760 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4199836 }}</ref> Badakhshan was an important region,  crossed by the [[Silk Road]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20160930-an-ancient-route-through-the-clouds- An ancient route through the clouds: Once part of the legendary Silk Road, Central Asia’s Pamir Mountains might be the world’s last true adventure.], Pascal Mannaerts, BBC, 3 October 2016</ref> Its significance was its geo-economic role in the [[silk]] trade and ancient commodities transactions between the East and West.<ref>[https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382993.locale=en The Migration of Silk Production from China to Europe and its Subsequent Development], Claudio Zannier,  Chapter 17, p. 289 in ''Textiles and Clothing along the Silk Roads: Thematic Collection of Cultural Exchanges along the Silk Roads'', 2022, by UNESCO and China National Silk Museum. Zhao Feng, Marie Louise Nosch, eds. {{ISBN|978-92-3-100539-8}}, 413 pages</ref>

[[File:Badakshan patera Triumph of Bacchus.jpg|thumb|Badakshan [[patera]], "Triumph of [[Bacchus]]", [[British Museum]]. (1st–4th century CE).<ref>The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 96</ref>]]
[[Marco Polo]] wrote that [[Balas ruby]] could be found under the  "Syghinan" ([[Shighnan]]) mountain in Badashan/Badakshan.<ref>
[https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo/Book_1/Chapter_29 The Travels of Marco Polo] via Wikisource</ref>  "Balas" is derived from ''Balascia'', the ancient name for Badakhshan, a region in [[Central Asia]] in the upper valley of the [[Panj River]], one of the principal tributaries of the [[Oxus River]]. However, "Balascia" itself may be derived from the [[Sanskrit]] ''bālasūryaka'', which translates as "crimson-coloured morning sun".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Biswas |first1=A.K. |editor1-last=Ramachandra Rao |editor1-first=P. |editor2-last=Goswami |editor2-first=N.G. |title=Metallurgy in India : a retrospective |date=2001 |publisher=India International Publisher |location=New Delhi |asin=B002A9M6QU |pages=1–22 |chapter=Minerals and their Exploitation in Ancient and Pre-modern India}}</ref> Mines in the [[Gorno Badakhshan]] region of [[Tajikistan]] constituted for centuries the main source for red and pink [[spinel]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pardieu |first1=V. |last2=Farkhodova |first2=T. |title=Spinel from Tajikistan |journal=InColor |date=Summer 2019 |pages=30–33 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339439345 |accessdate=28 April 2021}}</ref>

The excavations along the banks of the [[Amu Darya]] show evidence of trade with the early civilizations of the Ancient Near East in the 4th–3rd millennia BC.<ref>[https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000105703&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_76fde7f5-57b8-446a-969d-39a2a77ff7a6%3F_%3D105703engo.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000105703/PDF/105703engo.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A762%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C842%2Cnull%5D "Ancient Iranian Nomads in Western Central Asia"], A. Abetekov and H. Yusupov. {{ISBN|978-92-3-102846-5}}, pp. 33–34 in ''History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250'' Volume II. János Harmatta, B.N. Puri, G.F. Etemadi eds. UNESCO Publishing, 1996. {{ISBN|92-3-102846-4}}</ref>

Through the [[Khyber Pass]], precious stones and rubies were transported to all corners of the Middle East for sale. Jewelry and clothing decorated with rubies from the 3rd millennium BC have been discovered in Southeast Asia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran, Indo-China, and even in Western countries. At that time, the presence of Badakhshan laurel{{what|this is later referred to as a gem(?)|date=December 2022}} in India ([[Mohenjo-Daro]]), Egypt ([[Necropolis of Thebes]]), and other places was proven. There was a special [[trade route|caravan route]] from Badakhshan to these civilizations, which introduced Badakhshan to the world in ancient times through these precious stones. 

There is also evidence in Badakhshan from the [[Stone Age]]. In the Stone Age, construction of new clay huts in Badakhshan began. Later, in the Neolithic period, the tribes of the Middle East, including the Badakhshans, used wooden gates with their heels running over stone holes.{{what|likely translation problem|date=December 2022}} Scientists also attribute the appearance of a window for smoke and light to the [[Neolithic]] period. Archaeologists call the Neolithic artifacts in Takharistan (Badakhshan) in the historical literature "Mountain Neolithic of Hissar culture". This civilization lasted from the 6th to the 3rd millennium BC.

The [[Bronze Age]] in Badakhshan, from the 3rd millennium BC to the 9th-8th centuries BC, was the most important historical stage of development and evolution. The development of productive forces and significant changes in the social system took place during this period. People learned the production and use of minerals, learned how to melt metals to make iron stronger, and began to produce weapons and household items. On this basis, handicrafts developed, and new and large camps were built. Other production activities, such as agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, the emergence of horses and carts, road construction, etc., accelerated the division of society into classes. The construction of shields, sickles, axes, pickaxes, and shovels flourished during this period of bronze.

The great ruby road appeared on the maps of merchants during this period and became known as the [[Silk Road]], which later became a major trade route and served the peoples of different nations until the 17–18th century. Badakhshan was at that time a land called [[Airyanem Vaejah]], and "Varena" in the [[Avesta]] refers to a part of Badakhshan in the [[Khatlon]] conflict. Badakhshan gained its status among the world civilizations with these two types of precious stones, both in the time of the [[Elam]]ites, in the time of the Maud, and in the time of the [[Achaemenids]] when the roads of communication were so long that the "Road of the King" was 2400&nbsp;km long, and was used to transport rubies from Badakhshan, turquoise from [[Xorazm Region|Khorezm]], and [[jade]] from [[Lake Baikal]]. The mineralogist [[Alexander Fersman|A. E. Fersman]] wrote that one stone was known throughout the long history of culture – the bright blue [[lapis lazuli]] of Afghanistan (Badakhshan), which was transported by caravan routes to Egypt, China, Rome, and Byzantium. Some scholars claim that the "[[Gates of Alexander|mountain valley]]" mentioned by the Greeks was Badakhshan.{{cn|date=December 2022}}