Zaranj

{{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{Short description|Provincial capital city of Nimruz, Afghanistan}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox settlement   | official_name = Zaranj | native_name = {{nq|زرنج}} | settlement_type = Provincial capital  | image_skyline = Afghanistan-Iran border in Zaranj, Afghanistan, 2011.jpg | image_caption = The Afghanistan side of Pul-i-Abresham border crossing in 2011 | image_size = 280 | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Afghanistan  | pushpin_relief = yes | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Afghanistan | coordinates = {{coord|30|57|36|N|61|51|36|E|region:AF|display=inline,title}}  | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Afghanistan}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Nimruz | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Zaranj | established_title =  | established_date =  | government_footnotes = <ref name=":0" /> | government_type = Municipality | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Maulvi Salahuddin Mumtaz  | area_footnotes = <ref name="Volume-I" /> | area_total_km2 =  | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_km2 = 48 | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_ha = | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="Volume-II" /> | elevation_m = 476  | population_footnotes = <ref name="population" /> | population_total = 72272 | population_as_of = 2025 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_urban = 34190 | population_rural = 38082  | timezone = Afghanistan Time | utc_offset = +04:30 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST =  | area_code = | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = | geocode = | iso_code = AF-ZAJ | website = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-wikidata = yes }} '''Zaranj''' (Balochi,{{efn|{{IPA|bal|zəˈɾaŋʒ}}}} Pashto{{efn|{{IPA|ps|za.rand͡ʒ}}}}; Dari{{efn|{{IPA|prs|zä.ɾǽnd͡ʒ}}}}: زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, serving as the capital of Nimruz Province.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-195774 |title=Nimroz Provincial Center to Relocate from Zaranj to Ghurghuri |agency=TOLOnews |date=14 September 2025 |access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> It is within the jurisdiction of Zaranj District and has an estimated population of 72,272 people.<ref name="population" /> Maulvi Salahuddin Mumtaz is the current mayor of the city.<ref name=":0" /> His predecessor was Maulvi Nooruddin Hamza.<ref name=":1" />

Zaranj is home to Nimruz University, which is located in the eastern part of the city. The new Zaranj Airport is about {{cvt|20|km}} further to the east, next to the Delaram-Zaranj Highway. The city has a number of factories, bazaars, business centers, public parks, banks, hotels, restaurants, mosques, hospitals, universities, and places to play sports or just relax.

Zaranj is at an elevation of approximately {{cvt|476|m}} above sea level and has a land area of {{cvt|48|km2}}.<ref name="Volume-II" /><ref name="Volume-I" /> The city is connected by highways with Ghurghuri and Lashkargah to the east, Farah to the north, and the Afghanistan–Iran border to the west. The Pul-i-Abresham border crossing is located in the western part of Zaranj.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-178802 |title=Closure of Abrisham Crossing With Iran Creates Obstacles for Afghans |work=TOLOnews |date=July 5, 2022 |access-date=2023-01-31}}</ref> It is one of three important trade-routes that connect Central Asia, East Asia and South Asia with the Middle East. It is also used by the Afghans in Iran to enter Afghanistan.<ref name="New well-equipped camp set up for returnees in Nimroz" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2025/12/13/over-10000-afghans-return-from-iran-pakistan-in-past-two-days/ |title=Over 10,000 Afghans return from Iran, Pakistan in past two days |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=December 13, 2025 |access-date=2025-12-14}}</ref>

The history of Zaranj dates back over 2,500 years and Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar, founder of the Saffarid dynasty, was born in this old civilization.

== History == {{Further|History of Afghanistan}} Modern Zaranj bears the name of an ancient city whose name is also attested in Old Persian as ''Zranka''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=DRANGIANA or Zarangiana; territory around Lake Hāmūn and the Helmand or Hindmand river in modern Sīstān |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/drangiana |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger |date=15 December 1995 |quote=The name of the country and its inhabitants is first attested as Old Persian ''z-r-k'' (i.e., Zranka)in the great Bīsotūn (q.v. iii) inscription of Darius I (q.v.; col. I l. 16), apparently the original name. This form is reflected in the Elamite (Sir-ra-an-qa and variants), Babylonian (Za-ra-an-ga), and Egyptian (''srng'' or ''srnḳ'') versions of the Achaemenid royal inscriptions, as well as in Greek Zarángai, Zarangaîoi, Zarangianḗ (Arrian; Isidore of Charax), and Sarángai (Herodotus) and in Latin Zarangae (Pliny). Instead of this original form, characterized by non-Persian z (perhaps from proto-IE. palatal ''*γ'' or ''*γh''), in some Greek sources (chiefly those dependent upon the historians of Alexander the Great, q.v.) the perhaps hypercorrect Persianized variant (cf. Belardi, p. 183) with initial d-, *Dranka (or even *Dranga?), reflected in Greek Drángai, Drangḗ, Drangēnḗ, Drangi(a)nḗ (Ctesias; Polybius; Strabo; Diodorus; Ptolemy; Arrian; Stephanus Byzantius) and Latin Drangae, Drangiana, Drangiani (Curtius Rufus; Pliny; Ammianus Marcellinus; Justin) or Drancaeus (Valerius Flaccus, ''Argonautica'' 6.106, 6.507) occurs.}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&dq=hindmand+river&pg=PA3]</ref> In Greek, this word became Drangiana. Other historical names for Zaranj include Zirra,<ref>Ten Thousand Miles in Persia: Or, Eight Years in Irán By Percy Sykes, pg. 363</ref> Zarangia, Zarani etc.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Afghans |last1=Vogelsang|first1=Willem|year=2002|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=0-631-19841-5|page=162|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kfJ6MlMsJQC&pg=PA162 |access-date=2011-01-21}}</ref> Ultimately, the word Zaranj is derived from the ancient Old Persian word ''zaranka'' ("waterland").

Achaemenid Zranka, the capital of Drangiana, was almost certainly located at Dahan-e Gholaman, southeast of Zabol in Iran.<ref>Gnoli (1993).</ref> After the abandonment of that city, its name, Zarang or Zaranj in later Perso-Arabic orthography, was transferred to the subsequent administrative centers of the region, which itself came to be known as Sakastān, then Sijistan<ref>“….As for ibn-Samurah, he established his rule over everything between Zaranj and Kishsh of the land of al-Hind, and over that part of the region of the road of ar-Rukhkhaj which is between it and the province of ad-Dhawar”, The origins of the Islamic State, Part II (1924) page 143 by Murgotten, Francis Clark</ref> and finally Sistān. Medieval Zaranj is located at Nād-i `Alī, 4.4 km north of the modern city of Zaranj.<ref>Schmitt (1995).</ref> According to the Arab geographers, prior to medieval Zaranj, the capital of Sistan was located at Ram Shahristan (Abar shariyar). Ram Shahristan had been supplied with water by a canal from the Helmand River, but its dam broke, the area was deprived of water, and the populace moved three days' march to found Zaranj.<ref>Guy Le Strange. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA340 The lands of the eastern caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia, from the Moslem conquest to the time of Timur]. Cambridge geographical series. General editor: F. H. H. Guillemard. reprint Publisher CUP Archive, 1930. Originally published 1905.</ref> This Zaranj appears on the Peutinger Map of late Antiquity.

[[File:Mahmud ibn Sebuktegin attacks the fortress of Zarang.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Mahmud of Ghazni attacking the fortress of Zarang in 1003 CE. ''Jami al-Tawarikh'', 1314]] The area came under Muslim rule in 652, when Zaranj surrendered to the governor of Khurāsān; it subsequently became a base for further caliphal expansion in the region. In 661, a small Arab garrison reestablished its authority in the region after having temporarily lost control due to skirmishes and revolts.<ref>Islamic History: A New Interpretation By Muhammad Abdulhavy Shaban</ref> A Nestorian Christian community is recorded in Zaranj in the sixth century, and by the end of the eighth century there was a Jacobite diocese of Zaranj.<ref>Fiey, ''Pour un Oriens Christianus'', 281</ref> In the 9th century Zaranj was the capital of the Saffarid dynasty, whose founder was the local coppersmith turned warlord, Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar.<ref>Ariana Antiqua: A Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan By Horace Hayman Wilson, pg. 154</ref> It became part of the Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Trimurids, Safavids and others. Defeated by the Samanids in 900, the Saffarids sank to a position of regional importance, until conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1003.<ref>Joel L. Kraemer, ''Philosophy in the Renaissance of Islam: Abū Sulaymān Al-Sijistānī and His Circle'', Vol. VIII, ed. Itamar Rabinovich, William M. Brinner, Martin Kramer, Joel L. Kraemer and Shimon Shamir, (Brill, 1986), 4.</ref> Subsequently, Zaranj served as the capital of the Nasrid (1029–1225) and Mihrabānid (1236–1537) ''maliks'' of Nīmrūz.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Zaranj|author=C.E. Bosworth|title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam|editor1=P. J. Bearman|editor2=T. Bianquis|editor3=C. E. Bosworth|editor4=E. Van Donzel|editor5= W. P. Heinrichs|publisher=Brill|year=2002|page=459}}</ref>

In the early 18th century, the city became part of the Afghan Hotak dynasty until they were removed from power in 1738 by Nader Shah of Khorasan. Zaranj came under Khanate of Kalat in the mid-18th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bruns |first1=Bettina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VlULn9od0HoC&pg=PA52 |title=Subverting Borders: Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-Scale Trade |last2=Miggelbrink |first2=Judith |date=2011-10-08 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-531-93273-6 |pages=52 |language=en}}</ref> Under the modern Afghan governments, the area was known as Farah-Chakansur Province until 1968, when it was separated to form the provinces of Nimruz and Farah.<ref>Frank Clements. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA181 Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia]. ABC-CLIO, 2003. {{ISBN|1-85109-402-4}}, {{ISBN|978-1-85109-402-8}}. Pg 181</ref> The city of Zaranj became the capital of Nimroz province.

=== Early 21st century === A new highway called Route 606 was built between Zaranj and Delaram in Farah province by the Indian Government's Border Roads Organization at a cost of about US$136 million to open up a link between the deep sea port at Chabahar in Iran to Afghanistan's main ring road highway system which connects Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz. The {{cvt|215|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}} highway, a symbol of India's developmental work, was handed over to Afghan authorities by then-Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in January 2009 in the presence of then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.

The province has been one of the 7 (Nimruz, Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Ghazni, Paktika and Zabul) where the Taliban have regrouped. On 14 August 2012 dozens of civilians were killed in Zaranj by several suicide-bombers in a major terrorist attack on the city.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19257090|title=Afghan blasts: Dozens killed in Nimroz and Kunduz|work=BBC News |date=14 August 2012}}</ref>

Due to Zaranj's close proximity to Iran, the city has been using mostly on Iranian products. With the increase of trade the Afghan Border Police has been dealing with a rise in smuggling, particularly illegal drugs and weapons. The overall economic situation became better for the local population of the city. Hundreds of trucks containing merchandise from the Middle East enter the city on a daily basis.

In the last decade, the U.S. Marines and others of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been visiting Zaranj. The United States was involved in economic development projects. This included improvement made to the irrigation network of the city, building of Afghan military and Afghan National Police barracks as well as a hospital and a school. The US Marines assigned to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing have been visiting Zaranj since the Forward Operating Base Delaram was built in Delaram. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing built two concrete helicopter landing zones on western side of the gravel runway of Zaranj Airport to ease the landing of USMC V-22 Osprey helicopters from 3rd Battalion 4th Marines.

=== Taliban capture === {{Main|Capture of Zaranj}}

On 6 August 2021, Zaranj became the first provincial capital to be captured by the Taliban during their offensive.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ariananews.af/taliban-flashpoints-across-afghanistan/ |title=Taliban flashpoints across Afghanistan |work=Ariana News |date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=2026-01-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Taliban capture regional capital - Afghan officials|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58119886|access-date=2021-08-06|website=BBC News|date=6 August 2021}}</ref> Afghan officials said the Taliban faced "little resistance" in capturing the city with the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army focusing instead on the Battle of Lashkargah.<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite news|title=Taliban Capture Afghan Provincial Capital in a Symbolic Victory|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/world/asia/taliban-afghanistan-capital-zaranj.html|author1=Nossiter, Adam|author2=Taimoor Shah|author3=Fahim Abed|website=The New York Times|date=August 6, 2021|access-date=August 6, 2021}}</ref> Shortly after entering the city, the Taliban broke into the city's prison, releasing a large number of prisoners into Zaranj.<ref name=NYTimes />

On March 8, 2022, the New York Times reported a boom in the business of smugglers helping - for payment - the escape of hundreds of thousands of Afghans seeking to cross into Iran, to escape the Taliban rule and/or the harsh economic conditions. According to the report, "nearly everyone in Zaranj is involved, in one way or another, in the smuggling business".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/briefing/biden-russia-oil-south-korea-election.html |title=A boom for Afghan smugglers |publisher=The New York Times |date=March 8, 2022}}</ref> Millions are now returning to Afghanistan.<ref name="New well-equipped camp set up for returnees in Nimroz">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2025/10/16/new-well-equipped-camp-set-up-for-returnees-in-nimroz/ |title=New well-equipped camp set up for returnees in Nimroz |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=October 16, 2025 |access-date=2025-12-16}}</ref>

== Geography == {{Further|Geography of Afghanistan}} Zaranj is located to the east of the Afghanistan border Iranian province sistan Baluchistan, in Nimruz Province of Afghanistan, an important trade route that connects Central Asia, East Asia and South Asia with the Middle East. Zaranj is at an elevation of approximately {{cvt|476|m}} above sea level and has a land area of {{cvt|48|km2}} or {{cvt|4823|ha}}.<ref name="Volume-I">{{cite web |url=https://unhabitat.org/soac2015 |title=State of Afghan Cities report 2015 (Volume-I English) |pages=8, 132 |publisher=UN-Habitat |access-date=2026-01-27}}</ref><ref name="Volume-II" /> Its main source of water is from both the Khash River and the Helmand River.

The Delaram-Zaranj Highway is a two-lane road connecting Zaranj with Delaram in neighboring Farah Province. It was built by India and connects with the Kandahar–Herat Highway in Delaram,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/23/stories/2009012355311200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203072429/http://hindu.com/2009/01/23/stories/2009012355311200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-02-03|title=India hands over strategic highway to Afghanistan|date=2009-01-23|work=The Hindu|access-date=2011-08-10}}</ref> which provides connectivity to other major Afghan cities via A01. Route 606 reduces travel time between Zaranj and Delaram from the earlier 12–14 hours to just 2 hours.

=== Climate === Zaranj has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification ''BWh'') with very hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is very low and mostly falls in winter. Temperatures in summer may approach {{cvt|50|°C|°F}}. Snowfall happens in Zaranj infrequently.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181658 |title=At Least 70 People Died as Cold Sweeps Afghanistan |work=TOLOnews |date=18 January 2023 |access-date=2026-01-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=رامین |date=2016-11-27 |script-title=fa:دهاقین، بارش برف در ولایت نیمروز را نوید خوب برای زراعت می دانند |url=https://pajhwok.com/fa/2016/11/27/%d8%af%d9%87%d8%a7%d9%82%db%8c%d9%86%d8%8c-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b4-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d9%81-%d8%af%d8%b1-%d9%88%d9%84%d8%a7%db%8c%d8%aa-%d9%86%db%8c%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%b2-%d8%b1%d8%a7-%d9%86%d9%88%db%8c/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |language=fa-IR}}</ref> {{Weather box | width = auto | location = Zaranj | metric first = Y | single line = Y | Jan record high C = 24.1 | Feb record high C = 30.6 | Mar record high C = 37.0 | Apr record high C = 45.0 | May record high C = 51.0 | Jun record high C = 49.7 | Jul record high C = 49.3 | Aug record high C = 50.0 | Sep record high C = 49.7 | Oct record high C = 42.0 | Nov record high C = 36.0 | Dec record high C = 27.8 | Jan high C = 14.3 | Feb high C = 18.7 | Mar high C = 25.0 | Apr high C = 32.6 | May high C = 37.3 | Jun high C = 42.8 | Jul high C = 42.5 | Aug high C = 41.3 | Sep high C = 37.0 | Oct high C = 31.2 | Nov high C = 23.1 | Dec high C = 17.7 | Jan mean C = 6.5 | Feb mean C = 10.0 | Mar mean C = 15.7 | Apr mean C = 23.3 | May mean C = 29.1 | Jun mean C = 33.4 | Jul mean C = 35.0 | Aug mean C = 32.3 | Sep mean C = 27.2 | Oct mean C = 21.9 | Nov mean C = 13.1 | Dec mean C = 8.7 | Jan low C = 0.1 | Feb low C = 2.9 | Mar low C = 7.7 | Apr low C = 14.7 | May low C = 20.0 | Jun low C = 25.2 | Jul low C = 27.3 | Aug low C = 24.9 | Sep low C = 18.5 | Oct low C = 12.3 | Nov low C = 4.8 | Dec low C = 0.7 | Jan record low C = −13.2 | Feb record low C = -8.2 | Mar record low C = −5.2 | Apr record low C = 1.0 | May record low C = 5.0 | Jun record low C = 16.0 | Jul record low C = 18.4 | Aug record low C = 13.2 | Sep record low C = 3.9 | Oct record low C = -2.7 | Nov record low C = −7.1 | Dec record low C = −8.8 | Jan precipitation mm = 19.7 | Feb precipitation mm = 9.9 | Mar precipitation mm = 11.2 | Apr precipitation mm = 2.4 | May precipitation mm = 0.6 | Jun precipitation mm = 0.0 | Jul precipitation mm = 0.0 | Aug precipitation mm = 0.0 | Sep precipitation mm = 0.0 | Oct precipitation mm = 1.2 | Nov precipitation mm = 1.4 | Dec precipitation mm = 5.1 | Jan rain days = 3 | Feb rain days = 2 | Mar rain days = 2 | Apr rain days = 2 | May rain days = 0 | Jun rain days = 0 | Jul rain days = 0 | Aug rain days = 0 | Sep rain days = 0 | Oct rain days = 0 | Nov rain days = 1 | Dec rain days = 1 | Jan humidity = 55 | Feb humidity = 50 | Mar humidity = 44 | Apr humidity = 40 | May humidity = 35 | Jun humidity = 29 | Jul humidity = 28 | Aug humidity = 29 | Sep humidity = 33 | Oct humidity = 41 | Nov humidity = 49 | Dec humidity = 54 | source 1 = NOAA (1969-1983)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40986.TXT |title = Zaranj Climate Normals 1969-1983 |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = December 26, 2012 |archive-date = 8 May 2024 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240508112658/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40986.TXT |url-status = dead }}</ref> }}

== Demographics == {{Further|Demographics of Afghanistan}} According to Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority, Zaranj has an estimated population of 72,272 residents.<ref name="population">{{cite web |url=https://nsia.gov.af:8443/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-1404.pdf#page=138 |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26 |page=115 |work=National Statistics and Information Authority |date=September 2025 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref> It was around 49,851 in 2004.<ref name="MRRD" /> The ethnic groups have been estimated and reported in 2007 as follows: Baloch 44%, Pashtun 34% and Tajik 22%.<ref name="MRRD">{{cite web |url=http://www.mrrd-nabdp.org/attachments/article/141/Nimroz_Zaranj_Summary_Finalized.pdf |title=Zaranj |publisher=Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development |date=April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306022449/http://mrrd-nabdp.org/attachments/article/141/nimroz_zaranj_summary_finalized.pdf |access-date=2011-01-21 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref> In 2015 there were 17,878 dwelling units in the city.<ref name="Volume-II">{{cite web |url=https://unhabitat.org/soac2015_volume2 |title=State of Afghan Cities report 2015 (Volume-II) |pages=134-37 |publisher=UN-Habitat |access-date=2015-10-20}}</ref><ref name="Volume-I" />

==Law and government== {{Further|Law of Afghanistan|Government of Afghanistan}} [[File:Building in Zaranj.jpg|thumb|upright|Governor's Complex]] The city of Zaranj is within the jurisdiction of Zaranj District and administratively divided into several nahias (city districts).<ref name="Volume-II" /> Every nahia has a police station and a number of neighborhoods. Maulvi Salahuddin Mumtaz serves as the current mayor of the city.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2025/11/16/zaranj-municipality-records-55pc-surge-in-revenue-this-year/ |title=Zaranj municipality records 55pc surge in revenue this year |agency=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=16 November 2025 |access-date=2025-12-14}}</ref> His predecessor was Maulvi Nooruddin Hamza.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/02/28/onion-prices-go-through-the-roof-nimroz-residents/ |title=Onion prices go through the roof: Nimroz residents |agency=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=28 February 2023 |access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>

The Zaranj Municipality's structure consists of several departments under the mayor. Like other provincial municipalities in Afghanistan, the Zaranj Municipality deals with city affairs such as infrastructure developments. The city districts collect certain taxes and issue building licenses. Each city district has a district head appointed by the mayor.

The Governor's Complex is also located in Zaranj, which is in charge of governing all the districts of Nimruz Province.

== Education == {{Further|Education in Afghanistan}} Zaranj has a number of public and private schools.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/provincial-191595 |title=New School in Nimruz Will Provide Modern Facilities for 950 Students |work=TOLOnews |date=10 November 2024 |access-date=2026-01-20}}</ref> There are also a number of universities. The largest is Nimruz University.

== Healthcare == {{Further|Healthcare in Afghanistan}} There are a limited number of hospitals and clinics in Zaranj. Those seeking advanced medical care travel to faraway cities such as Kandahar, Herat or Kabul.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/health-197693 |title=Herat Sees Major Healthcare Gains as Fewer Patients Travel Abroad |work=TOLOnews |date=27 January 2026 |access-date=2026-01-28}}</ref> Some apply for medical visa to visit hospitals in foreign countries.

== Sports == {{Further|Sport in Afghanistan}} Cricket, football, futsal and volleyball are the most popular sports in Afghanistan.

== Notable people == *Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan, born in Karnin near Zaranj *Amr ibn al-Layth second ruler of the Saffarid dynasty, born in Karnin near Zaranj *Al-Layth ibn Ali ibn al-Layth, amir of the Saffarid amirate in Zaranj from 909 until 910 *Al-Mu'addal ibn al-Layth, Saffarid ruler of Zaranj for a part of 911

== See also == * List of cities in Afghanistan * Islam Qala * Drangiana

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Bibliography == * Bosworth, C. E., "[https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sistan-ii-islamic-period/ SISTĀN ii. Sistān ii. In the Islamic period]," in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'' (2011). * Gnoli, G., "[https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dahan-e-golaman-or-according-to-walther-hinz-p/ Dahan-e Ḡolāmān]," in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', vol. 6 (1993), 582–585. * {{Lands of the Eastern Caliphate}} * Schmitt, R., "[https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/drangiana/ Drangiana]," in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', vol. 7 (1995) 534–537.

== External links == {{Commons category|Zaranj}} * {{YouTube|sC7p3RCvoLs| زندگی در حاشیه شهر زرنج - سرنوشت تلخ رد مرزی‌ها در ولایت نیمروز }} * {{YouTube|-2w_V9bigSw|Driving through the streets of Zaranj}} (May 10, 2022) * [https://www.marines.mil/unit/iimef/iimef-fwd/Pages/ZaranjshowspromiseforfutureofNimrozprovince.aspx Zaranj shows promise for future of Nimroz province] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921181843/http://www.marines.mil/unit/iimef/iimef-fwd/Pages/ZaranjshowspromiseforfutureofNimrozprovince.aspx |date=21 September 2012 }}

Category:Nimruz Province Category:Populated places in Nimruz Province Category:Afghanistan–Iran border crossings Category:Saffarid dynasty Category:Sistan Category:Provincial capitals in Afghanistan