Ishkashim was earlier a state of the Emir of Badakhshan on the Upper Oxus River. The lands of the state stretched some 16 miles north of the town of Ishkashim, on both sides of the river, to the border of Gharan. Together with Zebak, Eshkashem was under the direct rule of the naib of Zebak, thus also placing them indirectly under the governor of Badakhshan.[1]