Khatlon Region (Tajik: Хатлон/Persian: ختلان‎‎, Xatlân), sometimes misspelt Khatlan, one of the three provinces of Tajikistan (Tajik: вилоят, viloyat) and is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor (Gissar) Range in the north and the Panj River in the south and borders on Afghanistan in the southeast and on Uzbekistan in the west. During Soviet times Khatlon was divided into Kurgan-Tyube (Qurghonteppa) Oblast (Western Khatlon) – with the Kofarnihon and Vakhsh river valleys – and Kulob Oblast (Eastern Khatlon) – with the Kyzylsu and Yakhsu river valleys. Both regions were merged in November 1992 into today's Khatlon Province (or viloyat). The capital is the city of Qurghonteppa, formerly known as Kur