BAGHLAN

city, northeastern Afghanistan, near the Qonduz River, at an elevation of 1,650 feet (500 m). Baghlan is the centre of beet-sugar production and has a sugar refinery. Cotton textiles are also manufactured. The city's industrial development has led to rapid population growth. Recently built major highways link Baghlan with Kabul, the nation's capital, 130 miles (210 km) south, and with other commercial, industrial, and administrative centres of Afghanistan. About 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Baghlan is Ateshkadeh-ye Sorkh Kowtal, site of the ruins of a Zoroastrian fire temple, believed to have been built in the 1st century AD by the Kushan emperor Kaniska I. The population of Baghlan is predominantly Tadzhik. Pop. (1982 est.) 41,240.