Badakhshān (also archaically referred to as Badhakhshān and Balakhshān), is a mountain region on the Pāmīr plateau and divided between Tajikstan and Afghanistan. Situated astride the legendary Silk Road, the historic region of Badakhshān is a unique geographic and cultural area also known as Pāmīr—the name of the mountain chain which connects to the Hindu Kush range and the Himalayas (Koen, 38). The Āmū Daryā (river Oxus)…