Kulob (Tajik: Кӯлоб, کولاﺏ, romanized: Kûlob/Kūlob), formerly also Kulyab (Russian: Куляб, romanized: Kuljab), is a city in Khatlon Region, southern Tajikistan. Located 203 km (126 mi) southeast of the capital Dushanbe on the river Yakhsu (a right tributary of Panj), it is one of the largest cities in the country. Its population is estimated at 106,300 for the city proper and 214,700 for the city with the outlying communities (2020).[1] The city is served by Kulob Airport.
In the Hellenistic period, Kulob was part of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. An inscription has been found in Kulob (Kuliab), dating to 200-195 BCE,[3] in which a Greek by the name of Heliodotos, dedicates a fire altar to Hestia for the sake of the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus I and his son Demetrius I.[4][3]
Kuliab inscription, 200–195 BC: "Heliodotos dedicated this fragrant altar for Hestia, venerable goddess, illustrious amongst all, in the grove of Zeus, with beautiful trees; he made libations and sacrifices so that the greatest of all kings Euthydemos, as well as his son, the glorious, victorious and remarkable Demetrios, be preserved of all pains, with the help of Tyche with divine thoughts."[5][6]
The historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari refers to the city as early as 737AD, although its founding is said to have been much earlier. Throughout its history, Kulob was known by the name KhatlānorKhatlon in modern Tajik, with its modern name only about 250 years old.[7]
The Sufi mystic Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani died while travelling through Central Asia in 1384 and was buried in Kulob in a tomb which still stands.[8]
Part of the Khanate of Bukhara since the 16th century (the Emirate of Bukhara since the 18th century), the city changed its name from Khatlon to Kulob in 1750. Following the Russian conquest of Central Asia and the creation of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR in 1929, Kulob became one of the largest cities in the republic.[9]
In September 2006, Kulob celebrated its 2700th anniversary.[10]
After Tajikistan's independence in 1991, Kulob was one of the three cities in the country where the Russian 201st Motor Rifle Division was deployed (the others are Dushanbe and Qurghonteppa). Following a number of scandals with local residents, Russia unexpectedly pulled its troops from Kulob in November 2015, effectively abandoning the base there.[11]
Kulob has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The average annual temperature is 15.8 °C (60.4 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 28.3 °C (82.9 °F) and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of 2.2 °C (36.0 °F). The average annual precipitation is 468.4 mm (18.44 in) and has an average of 72.8 days with precipitation. The wettest month is March with an average of 94.2 mm (3.71 in) of precipitation and the driest month is August with an average of 0 mm of precipitation.[12]
Before ca. 2018, Kulob was the seat of Kulob District, which covered Kulob's outlying rural areas.[13] The city of Kulob covers Kulob proper and four jamoats. These are as follows:[14]
