Map of Balkan
Balkan is a first-level division of Turkmenistan. Its largest mapped city is Balkanabat, with about 110,827 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Balkan, and the tables list its 4 mapped cities along with the mountains nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 4
- Largest City
- Balkanabat
- Country
- Turkmenistan
- Highest Point Mapped
- 1,880 m
Interactive Map of Balkan
About Balkan
Balkan Region (Turkmen: Balkan welaýaty, Балкан велаяты) is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. The region's boundaries are identical to those of the former Krasnovodsk Oblast', a Soviet-era province of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic with its capital in the city of Krasnovodsk. This oblast was liquidated and restored repeatedly in the 20th century, concluding with its abolition in 1988. However, the administrative boundaries of the region were restored in 1991 when Balkan Region was established with its capital being moved to Nebit Dag which was later renamed Balkanabat.
The province covers 139,270 square kilometers and counts 529,895 residents (2022 estimate). A large minority of these are nomadic herding families. Its population density of 3.8 persons per square kilometer is the lowest in Turkmenistan.
Other cities include: Bereket, Türkmenbaşy, Gumdag, Gyzylarbat, Hazar, Etrek, and Esenguly.
Balkan Region has significant hydrocarbon reserves, which in 2019 accounted for 13.9% of Turkmenistan's natural gas production and 93.1% of its petroleum production. It also generated 15.4% of the country's electric power. Due to the very low water supply, agriculture is negligible, and only 4.5% of Turkmenistan's arable lands are within the province.
Off its Caspian shores, the Balkan Region includes the island of Ogurja Ada, the largest in the Caspian Sea.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Balkan Region (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Balkan in Depth
History
It seems that in the plain between the two ranges of the Balkan Mountains there was a small settlement area and an old town called Balkhan. The exact location of this town is not known. According to Yakut, the city of Balkhan was situated along the old road near Amu Darya, in the Balkan region, east of the Gulf of Krasnovodsk, and close to the small town of Khwarezm, which later became known as Abivard. Muqaddasi mentions a ruined town called Balkhan, saying it had been destroyed, and notes that people of Nisa and Abivard would go there in search of pasture for their cattle and for commerce. Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur also refers to this mountain under the name Balkhan. Barthold believed that the name Balkhan derives from the Persian word bālākhāna (upper house).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Balkan Region (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Balkan: Key Facts
| Population | 529,895 (2022) |
|---|---|
| Area | 139,270 km² |
| Capital | Balkanabat |
| Established | 18 May 1992 |
Facts from Wikidata Q486073 (CC0).
History of Balkan: Empires and States
The atlas records 27 polities whose mapped territory included part of Balkan, from Achaemenid Persian Empire in 550 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| Achaemenid Persian Empire | 550–330 BCE |
| Achaemenid Empire | 550–327 BCE |
| Parthian Empire | 239 BCE – 237 CE |
| The Sasanian Empire | 238–643 CE |
| White Huns | 490–522 CE |
| The Umayyad Caliphate | 718–749 CE |
| The Abbasid Caliphate | 750–910 CE |
| Samanid Empire | 911–999 CE |
| Ghaznavid Empire | 1000–1033 CE |
| Seljuk Dynasty | 1034–1039 CE |
| Great Seljuk Empire | 1040–1151 CE |
| Khwarezmid Dynasty | 1094–1201 CE |
| Khwarezmid Empire | 1202–1226 CE |
| The Mongol Empire | 1227–1343 CE |
| Ilkhanate | 1294–1343 CE |
| Golden Horde | 1294–1401 CE |
| Sarbadars | 1344–1394 CE |
| White Horde | 1363–1384 CE |
| Vassalage of Kingdom of Georgia to Timurid Empire | 1395–1406 CE |
| Timurid Empire | 1395–1506 CE |
| Vassalage of Qara Qoyunlu to Timurid Empire | 1407–1467 CE |
| Safavid Dynasty | 1512–1720 CE |
| Afsharid Iran | 1738–1747 CE |
| Khanate of Khiva | 1748–1919 CE |
| The Russian Empire | 1864–1916 CE |
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 1922–1991 CE |
| Turkmenistan | 1992–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Balkan
Balkan on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Largest Cities in Balkan
4 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Balkanabat | 110,827 | Balkan | Populated place |
| 2 | Türkmenbaşy | 68,292 | Balkan | Admin-1 capital |
| 3 | Gyzlarbat | 48,458 | Balkan | Populated place |
| 4 | Celeken | 1,206 | Balkan | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Balkan
1 mountain mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gora Arlan | 1,880 m | 6,168 ft | Asia |
Balkan: Quick Answers
- Where is Balkan?
- Balkan is a first-level division of Turkmenistan, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 39.4868° N, 54.1837° E.
- What is the largest city in Balkan?
- Balkanabat is the largest city mapped in Balkan, with a metropolitan population of about 110,827.
- How many cities are in Balkan?
- YearMaps maps 4 cities and towns in Balkan, with a combined metropolitan population of about 228,783. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
- What is the highest mountain in Balkan?
- The highest summit mapped in Balkan is Gora Arlan at 1,880 m.