Feyẕābād

Feyẕābād, city, northeastern Afghanistan and the capital of Badakhshan Province. It lies along the Kowkcheh River, at 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level. Feyẕābād was destroyed by Morād Beg of Qondūz in 1821 and its inhabitants removed to Qondūz, but, after Badakhshan was annexed by ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān, ruler of Afghanistan (1880–1901), the town recovered some of its former importance. In 1955 it was leveled by an earthquake. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Afghan guerrillas seized the town. After intermittent fighting, a Soviet military command was based in Feyẕābād until the late 1980s. The town has rice and flour mills. Pop. (2006 est.) 27,200.