Badakhshan Province (Persian , Badaxšān) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower and Upper Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan in the southeast. It also has a 91-kilometer (57-mile) border with China in the east. It is part of a broader historical Badakhshan region, parts of which now also lie in Tajikistan and China. The province contains 22 districts, over 1,200 villages and approximately 1 055 000 people. Fayzabad serves as the provincial capital. Resistance activity has been reported in the province since the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Etymology Badakhshan's name comes from the Middle Persian word "badaxš", which is an official title. The word "ān" is a suffix which demonstrates a place's name; therefore the word "badaxšān" means a place belonging to a person called "badaxš". During the Sassanids' reign it was called "bidix", and in Parthian times "bthšy". In Sassanid manuscripts found in Ka'ba-ye Zartosht it was called "Bałasakan". In Chinese sources from the 7th century onwards it was called "Po-to-chang-na". Geography Badakhshan is bordered by Takhar Province to the west, Panjshir Province to the south west, Nuristan Province to the south, Tajikistan to the north and east (that nation's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province and Khatlon Province), China through a long spur called the Wakhan Corridor to the east, and Pakistan to the south-east (Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan). The total area of Badakhshan is , most of which is occupied by the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Badakhshan contains temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, as well as Gissaro-Alai open woodlands along the Pamir River. Common plants found in these areas include pistachio, almond, walnut, apple, juniper, and sagebrush. Montane grasslands and shrublands are existent in the province, with the Hindu Kush alpine meadow in the high mountains in the northern and southwestern regions. The Wakhan corridor contains two montane grassland and shrubland regions: the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe and in the Pamir Mountains and Kuh-e Safed Khers in Darwaz region. South of Fayzabad the terrain becomes dominated by deserts and xeric shrublands. Common vegetation includes thorny bushes, zizyphus, acacia, and Amygdatus. Paropamisus xeric woodlands can be found in the province's northwestern and central areas. Common vegetation includes almond, pistachio, willows, and sea-buckthorn. History Badakhshan etymologically derives from the Middle Persian