BĀḎḠĪS, also BĀDḠĪS, region in eastern Khorasan, between Herat
and the middle course of the Harīrūd in the south, and Marv al-
Rūḏ and the headwaters of the Morḡāb in the north; the southern
part now falls administratively into the Herat and Bādḡīsāt
provinces of northwestern Afghanistan, and the northern part
into the southernmost part of Turkmenistan. The region of Bāḏḡīs
is bisected in an east-west direction by the Paropamisus
mountains, which rise towards the east to 11,791 ft/5,535 m; the
southern slopes drain towards the Harīrūd, and the rather
gentler northern ones into the Morḡāb basin via such streams as
the Kūšk and Kāšān. The medieval geographers describe Bāḏḡīs as
being considerably wooded and a noted source for pistachios
(see, e.g., Nozhat al-qolūb, ed. p. 153, tr. p. 151); some of
the woodland still survives, with extensive pistachio, juniper,
and mulberry trees. It also comprised much pasture land, where
sheep in particular were raised (see below). The present
population of the region includes