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{{hatnote|For other mountains, see [[Sulayman Mountain]] in Kyrgyzstan, and [[Takht-e-Soleiman (disambiguation)]].}}
{{short description|Mountain range in Afghanistan and Pakistan}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Sulaiman Range
| other_name = '''د كسې غرونه / کوه سليمان'''
| photo = NEO sulaiman big.jpg
| photo_caption = Satellite image of a part of the Sulaiman Range
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ref =
| prominence_m =
| prominence_ref =
| map = Pakistan Balochistan#Pakistan
| map_caption = Location
| label_position = left
| listing =
| location = [[Zabul Province|Zabul]], [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]] and [[Loya Paktia]], [[Afghanistan]]<br> [[Balochistan]], and [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]]
| range = [[Hindu Kush]]
| coordinates = {{coord|30|30|N|70|10|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref =
| topo =
| type =
| easiest_route =
| embedded =
| area_km2 = 6475
| area_ref = https://dgkhan.punjab.gov.pk/tribal_area
}}
The '''Sulaiman Mountains''', also known as '''Kōh-e Sulaymān''' ([[Dari]]:{{nq|کوهِ سليمان}}; "Mountains of [[Prophet]] [[Solomon]]") or Da Kasē Ghrūna ({{lang-ps|د كسې غرونه}}; "Mountains of Kasi"), are a north–south extension of the southern [[Hindu Kush]] mountain system in [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]]. They rise to form the eastern edge of the [[Iranian plateau]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Akroyd|first=Clarissa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SH-QBQAAQBAJ&q=sulaiman+mountains&pg=PT24|title=Pakistan|date=2014-11-17|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-63355-947-9|language=en}}</ref> They are located in the [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]], [[Zabul Province|Zabul]] and [[Paktia Province|Paktia]] provinces of Afghanistan, and in Pakistan they extend over the northern part of [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] and [[Waziristan]] as well as [[Kurram District|Kurram]] of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]. In southwestern [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], the mountains extend into the two districts of [[Dera Ghazi Khan District|Dera Ghazi Khan]] and [[Rajanpur District|Rajanpur]], which are located west of the [[Indus River]] on the boundary with Balochistan. Bordering the mountains to the east are the plains of the Indus River valley, and to the north are the arid highlands of the Central Hindu Kush whose heights extend up to {{convert|3383|m|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Fazle Karim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_xtAAAAMAAJ&q=sulaiman+mountains|title=A Geography of Pakistan: Environment, People and Economy|date=1991|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-577411-5|language=en}}</ref> The total area on which this range spans around 6475 sq. km (2500 sq mi)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Koh-e-Suleman {{!}} District Dera Ghazi Khan |url=https://dgkhan.punjab.gov.pk/tribal_area |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=dgkhan.punjab.gov.pk}}</ref>.Together with the [[Kirthar Mountains]] on the border between Balochistan and [[Sindh Province|Sindh]], the Sulaiman Mountains form what is known as the Sulaiman-Kirthar geologic province.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/2208/C/|title=USGS Bulletin 2208-C: Sembar Goru/Ghazij Composite Total Petroleum System, Indus and Sulaiman-Kirthar Geologic Provinces, Pakistan and India|website=pubs.usgs.gov|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref>

The most well-known peak of the Sulaimans is the twin-peaked [[Takht-e-Sulaiman]] or "Throne of '''Prophet Solomon'''" at {{convert|3487|m|ft|abbr=}},<ref>{{Cite book|last=Park|first=Graham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1xwDwAAQBAJ&q=takht-e-sulaiman+height&pg=PT226|title=Mountains: The origins of the Earth's mountain systems|date=2017-11-09|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press Ltd|isbn=978-1-78046-579-1|language=en}}</ref> located near [[Darazinda]] in [[Dera Ismail Khan Subdivision]], close to the border with both [[South Waziristan]] and the [[Zhob District]] of neighboring Balochistan province. The highest peak, however, is [[Zarghun Ghar]] at {{convert|3578|m|ft}} near [[Quetta]], Pakistan. The next highest peak in Balochistan province is Khilafat Hill at {{convert|3475|m|ft}}, which is located in the [[Ziarat District]] of Pakistan and is famous for the [[Ziarat Juniper Forest]], where ''[[Juniperus macropoda]]'' trees grow.<ref>{{cite news |title=In Balochistan, an ancient forest battles for survival |first=Syed Ali |last=Shah |url=http://dawn.com/news/1024187/in-balochistan-an-ancient-forest-battles-for-survival |newspaper=Dawn |date=10 July 2013 |access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref>

==Geography==
The eastern edge of the Sulaiman range runs {{Convert|280|mi|km|abbr=}} from the [[Gomal Pass]] in Pakistan's [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] province to near the city of [[Jacobabad]] in [[Sindh]] province,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sulaiman Range {{!}} mountains, Pakistan|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sulaiman-Range|access-date=2020-08-16|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> and further stretches into south-west [[Punjab,Pakistan|Punjab]].

In Afghanistan, the western edge of the range starts just beyond the northern [[Loya Paktia]] province where they meet the [[Koh-i-Baba]] range. South from there, they meet the [[Spin Ghar]] range northeast of [[Gardez]] in [[Paktia province]], but towards west, the mountain range drops gradually in [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]] southwest into [[Helmand Province|Helmand]] and the [[Sistan Basin]].{{Cn|date=November 2022}}

The Sulaiman Range, and the high plateaus to the west of it, helps form a natural barrier against the humid winds that blow from the [[Indian Ocean]], creating arid conditions across southern and central Afghanistan to the west and north. In contrast, the relatively flat and low-lying [[Indus]] [[river delta|delta]] is situated due east and south of the Sulaimans.

Rivers that drain the Sulaimans include the [[Gomal River]] which flows eastward into the [[Indus River]], and the [[Dori River]] and other small tributaries of the [[Arghandab River]], which flow southwestward into the [[Helmand River]].{{Cn|date=November 2022}}

== Geology ==
The Sulaimans were formed as a [[fold and thrust belt]] as the [[Indian Plate]] collided into [[Eurasian Plate]] beginning about 30 million years ago.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2014-07-23|title=Forging Sulaiman Range|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/84060/forging-sulaiman-range|access-date=2020-08-16|website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov|language=en}}</ref> The Indian Plate's counter-clockwise rotation as it collided with the Eurasian Plate resulted in the Sulaiman's having some of the most complex tectonic structures in the world,<ref name=":0" /> including "stacking" of thrust faults.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maldonado|first=Florian|year=2011|title=Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1224/OF11-1224.pdf|website=USGS|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|location=Reston, Virginia}}</ref> The complex fault-system is capable of producing [[Doublet earthquake|doublet earthquakes]] that jump to other faults - such as the [[1997 Harnai earthquake]] in which a magnitude 7.1 earthquake triggered a 6.8 earthquake 19 seconds later on a second fault 50 kilometres away.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-06-29|title=Earthquakes can jump long distances|url=https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/earthquakes-can-jump-long-distances|access-date=2020-08-16|website=EARTH Magazine|language=en}}</ref>

Areas in the southern part of the range include an [[Imbrication (sedimentology)|Imbricate fan]] of slices of rocks in close parallel,<ref name=":0" /> bounded by faults on either side of each slice.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Science Source - Imbricate Fan, Sulaiman Range, Pakistan|url=https://www.sciencesource.com/archive/Imbricate-Fan--Sulaiman-Range--Pakistan-SS2658381.html|access-date=2020-08-16|website=www.sciencesource.com}}</ref> Along the Eastern edge of the Sulaimans is the Sulaiman Fold, an area within the Indian Plate consisting of sediment, alongside which runs the [[Chaman Fault|Ornach Nal-Ghazaband-Chaman Fault]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Park|first=Graham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1xwDwAAQBAJ&q=sulaiman+mountains&pg=PT225|title=Mountains: The origins of the Earth's mountain systems|date=2017-11-09|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press Ltd|isbn=978-1-78046-579-1|language=en}}</ref>

== Legends about Takht-e-Sulaiman ==
[[File:Kohe Sulaiman.jpg|thumb|A view of Takht-e-Sulaiman from [[Kulachi]] tehsil]]
One of the highest peaks of the Sulaimans, the ''[[Takht-i Sulaiman]]'' ("Throne of Solomon") at {{convert|3382|m|ft|0}} high, was recorded by [[Ibn Battuta]] as the ''Koh-i Sulaiman''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/newsroom|title=NASA Earth Observatory - Newsroom|date=6 February 2019|website=Earthobservatory.nasa.gov|access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>

In [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] legend, it is associated with Prophet [[Solomon]]. According to the legend, Prophet Solomon climbed this mountain and looked out over the land of [[South Asia]], which was then covered with darkness, and so turned back without descending into this new frontier, and left only the mountain which is named after him (as told by [[Ibn Battuta]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Battutah|first1=Ibn|title=The Travels of Ibn Battutah|date=2002|publisher=Picador|location=London|isbn=9780330418799|pages=147}}</ref>

According to another legend, [[Noah's Ark]] alighted in the ''Takht-i Sulaiman'' after the [[Great Flood|Deluge]].

Another legend says that [[Qais Abdur Rashid]], said to be the legendary ancestor of the Pashtun nation, is buried atop ''Takht-e-Sulaiman'', and so it is also locally known as ''Da Kasī Ghar'' (د کسي غر, "Mount of Qais").

According to this legend, his descendants migrated west, north, and south from here. Some people visit the place and make animal sacrifices, usually a sheep or a goat, at the tomb of Qais to help feed the poor.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} Trips to the mountain is undertaken mostly in summer, since from late November until March the snowfall makes it difficult to climb.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.themajlis.net/book/print/538|title=Shariat and Tasawwuf|website=Books.themajlis.net|access-date=6 February 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Loe Nekan]]
* [[Wadani]]
* [[Spin Ghar]]
* [[Hindu Kush]]
* [[List of mountain ranges]] of the world
* [[Fort Munro]]
*[[Sheikh Badin]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080924214646/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=10780 NASA Earth Observatory page]
*[http://www.caab.20m.com Chiltan Adventures Association Balochistan]

{{Ranges of Iranian Plateau}}
{{GeoSouthAsia}}
{{PunjabGeography}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Sulaiman Mountains| ]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Balochistan (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Punjab (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:Iranian Plateau]]
[[Category:Landforms of Kandahar Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Zabul Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Khost Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Paktia Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Paktika Province]]

Sulaiman Mountains - Revision history

DnyanjyotiEducationNagpur: fix intro as per guidelines and cleaned formatting for consistency

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article