It is thought that the name is an Arabicized version of the Persian word gowzgān "(Land of) Walnuts".

Following a series of changing allegiances and falling out with Uzbek warlord Abdul Malik Pahlawan in 1997, the Taliban withdrew from the area, but in 1998 a contingent of 8,000 Taliban fighters pressed through neighboring Faryab, seizing Abdul Rashid Dostum's headquarters in Sheberghan.

A new Turkish PRT was also established in the province in the summer of 2010, providing security to the area which also covered Sar-e Pol.

Although it was regarded as a relatively secured place compared to some other provinces of Afghanistan, there was an increasing number of incidents particularly in Darzab, Qosh Tepa and Fayzabad districts.

The Mazar-e-Sharif-Sheberghan highway (called Aqyol) had turned into a dangerous traveling route because of militants carrying out attacks, mainly against government forces.

Turkmenistan began installing power pylons over a distance of 374 kilometres on its soil toward the Afghanistan border.

[6] The network supplies electricity to many areas in Jowzjan, Balkh, Sar-e Pol, Faryab and Kabul provinces.