Balkh

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Balkh is a city in northern Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 148,972 people. It is the second largest city of Balkh Province and is within the jurisdiction of Balkh District. Balkh is located approximately 24 km (15 mi) to the northwest of Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately 74 km (46 mi) to the south of the Amu Darya or the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. Historically a hub of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, the ancient city was also known to the ancient Persians as Zariaspa and to the ancient Greeks as Bactra, giving its name to the wider region of Bactria. Balkh was renowned as the capital of Bactria and later Tokharistan. Prior to the Mongol conquest, Balkh was one of the richest cities in Khorasan. It suffered severely due to the Mongol invasion in the 13th century and never recovered its former status, with nearby Mazar-i-Sharif slowly becoming the more important town in the locality. By the 14th century Balkh had become a part of Timurid Empire, and after the conquest by Shaybani...

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