The Yaghnob ( tg, Яғноб) is a river in
Ayni District tg, Ноҳияи Айнӣ
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, motto =
, image_skyline = Anzob mountains.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Ayni District Landscape
, image_flag =
, flag_siz ...
of
Sughd Region,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
. Together with the
Iskander Darya, it forms the
Fan Darya, a major left tributary of the
Zeravshan.
The source of the Yaghnob is in the Matcha Mountains, where the
Zarafshan
Zarafshon ( uz, Zarafshon / Зарафшон, fa, زرافشان) is a city in the center of Uzbekistan's Navoiy Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muruntau. It has an area of and it h ...
and the
Gissar Ranges merge. The Yaghnob is mainly fed by glaciers and snow fields.
The river flows from the east to the west, south of and parallel to the upper Zeravshan River, through the
Yaghnob Valley
The Yaghnob Valley is a valley in north-west Tajikistan, between the southern slope of the Zarafshan Range and the northern slope of the Gissar Range.
The valley is formed by the Yaghnob River and belongs to the Zarafshan basin. It lies betwe ...
, a remote location populated by the
Yaghnobi people
The Yaghnobi people ( Yaghnobi: yaγnōbī́t or suγdī́t; tg, яғнобиҳо, yağnobiho/jaƣnoʙiho) are an Iranian ethnic minority in Tajikistan. They inhabit Tajikistan's Sughd province in the valleys of the Yaghnob, Qul and Varzob riv ...
speaking the
Yaghnobi language
Yaghnobi is an Eastern Iranian language spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people. It is considered to be a direct descendant of Sogdian and has sometimes been called Neo-Sog ...
. The main village in the valley is
Anzob
Anzob ( Tajik: Анзоб) is a village and jamoat in north-west Tajikistan. It is located in Ayni District in Sughd Region, in the Zarafshan Range, about north of Dushanbe. The jamoat has a total population of 8,238 (2015). . It joins the east-flowing Iskander Darya to form the Fan Darya which flows north to join the Zeravshan at
Ayni
Ayni (Quechua and Aymara also spelled ''Ayniy'' or ''Aini'') can refer to either the concept of reciprocity or mutualism among people of the Andean mountain communities or the practice of this concept. As a noun, the law of ayni states that every ...
. The main road north from Dushanbe follows the lower Yaghnob and the Fan Darya. Before the Soviets blasted a road through, the upper valley was protected by an almost impenetrable gorge, which accounts for the historical isolation of its population.
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Tajikistan
Yaghnob