Historically, the site of present-day Balkh was held in considerably high regard due to its religious and political significance inAriana. A hub ofZoroastrianism andBuddhism, the ancient city was also known to thePersians asZariaspa and to theGreeks asBactra, giving its name toBactria.[5] As such, it was famously known as the capital of Bactria orTokharistan. The Italian explorer and writerMarco Polo described Balkh as "a noble city and a great seat of learning" prior to theMongol conquests.[6] Most of the town now consists of ruined buildings, situated some 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the right bank of the seasonally flowingBalkh River, at an elevation of about 365 metres (1,198 ft).
While it is one of Afghanistan's ethnically diverse settlements,Tajiks account for the majority of Balkh's populace[7][8] and have continuously inhabited the site for millennia.[9] The main language of the town isDari, which is spoken by a significant majority.[10] Balkh's surrounding region is particularly known for its archeological sites, which attest the presence of many different civilizations that influenced the town's society in various eras. The Belgian-French explorer and spiritualistAlexandra David-Néel associated Balkh withShambhala, a mythical kingdom that features prominently in ancientTibetan Buddhism, and also offered the PersianSham-i-Bala (lit.'elevated candle') as an etymology of its name.[11] In a similar vein, the British authorJohn G. Bennett, whose academic focus was on the teachings of the Armenian-Greek mysticGeorge Gurdjieff, speculated in his works that Shambhala may have been a BactrianSun temple calledShams-i-Balkh, taking note of the Afghan author and mysticIdries Shah as the source of this suggestion.[12]
The origin of the name Balkh is unknown.Wilhelm Eilers proposed that the region was named after theBalkh River (in Greek transliteration Βάκτρος, i.e.Baktros) from underlyingBāxtri-, itself meaning 'she who divides', etymologically from theProto-Indo-European root *bhag- 'to divide' (whence alsoAvestanbag- andOld Indicbháj-).[13]
TheBactrian language name of the city was βαχλο, i.e.Bakhlo. InMiddle Persian texts, it was namedBaxl, i.e.Bakhl(Middle Persian:𐭡𐭠𐭧𐭫). The name of the province or country also appears in theOld Persian inscriptions (B.h.i 16; Dar Pers e.16; Nr. a.23) asBāxtri, i.e.Bakhtri (Old Persian:𐎲𐎠𐎧𐎫𐎼𐎡𐏁). It is written in the Avesta asBāxδi (Avestan:𐬠𐬁𐬑𐬜𐬌) . From this came the intermediate formBāxli,SanskritBahlīka (alsoBalhika) for "Bactrian", and by transposition the modern PersianBalx, i.e.Balkh, and ArmenianBahl.[14] This same root entered the Greek language asBaktra (Ancient Greek: Βάκτρα), often written in the formBactra.[3]
An earlier name for Balkh or a term for part of the city wasZariaspa (Ancient Greek: Ζαρίασπα), which may derive from the important Zoroastrian fire temple Azar-i-Asp[15] or from aMedian name*Ζaryāspa- meaning "having gold-coloured horses".[16]
The nickname of Balkh is "the Mother of All Cities".[17]
The first historical reference for Balkh is found in theMahabharata, where it is called 'Valhika' through which an important trade route passed. The same source mentions that the place is famous for good breed of mules. Also the place was found with people who traded in Chinese silk,pashmina, jewels and perfumes.[18][full citation needed]
Map showing Balkh (here indicated asBactres), the capital ofBactria during theHellenistic Age
Balkh was earlier considered to be the first city to which the ancientIranic peoples moved from north of theAmu Darya (also known as the Oxus in Greek), between 2000 and 1500 BC.[19] However it was only recently that archaeological remains before 500 BC were found by French archaeologists led by Johanna Lhullier and Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento in the section called Bala Hissar, which is the citadel of the site. They dated this first settlement to the Early Iron Age (Yaz I period,c. 1500-1000 BC) continuing until pre-Achaemenid times (Yaz II period, c. 1000–540 BC).[20] Bala Hissar is located at the north of the site and is oval in shape, having an area of around 1,500 by 1,000 m2 (c. 150 hectares) and to the south is the lower town.[21] Another mound of the site, known as Tepe Zargaran, and the Northern Fortification Wall of Balkh, were occupied at a large extension inAchaemenid times (Yaz III period, c. 540-330 BC).[20]
Since the Iranic people built one of their first kingdoms in Balkh,[22] some scholars believe that it was from this area that different waves of Iranic tribes spread to north-eastIran andSeistan region. The changing climate has led todesertification since antiquity, when the region was very fertile. Its foundation is mythically ascribed toKeyumars, the first king of the world inPersian legend; and it is at least certain that, at a very early date, it was the rival ofEcbatana,Nineveh andBabylon.
Silver coin of the Greco-Bactrian kingEuthydemus I, one of the rulers of ancient Balkh, 3rd-2nd century BC.
The city was traditionally a center ofZoroastrianism.[15] For a long time the city and country was the central seat of the dualisticZoroastrian religion, the founder of which, Zoroaster, died within the walls according to the Persian poetFirdowsi. Armenian sources state that the Arsacid dynasty of theParthian Empire established its capital in Balkh. There is a long-standing tradition that an ancient shrine ofAnahita was to be found here, a temple so rich it invited plunder.
Bactrian documents – in theBactrian language, written from the fourth to eighth centuries – consistently evoke the name of local deities, such as Kamird and Wakhsh, for example, as witnesses to contracts. The documents come from an area between Balkh andBamiyan, which is part of Bactria.[24]
Balkh is well known to Buddhists as the hometown ofTrapusa and Bahalika, two merchants who, according to scripture, becameBuddha's first disciples. They were the first to offer Buddha food after he attained enlightenment, and in return Buddha gave them eight of his hairs to remember him by. According to some accounts, Trapusa and Bahalika returned to Balkh, and built twostupas in the way Buddha instructed. Balkh is therefore named after Bahalika, who is credited with introducing Buddhism to the city. This is reflected in literature, where the town has been calledBalhika,Bahlika orValhika. The first Buddhist monastery (vihara) at Balkh was built for Bahalika when he returned home after becoming a Buddhist monk.
The Chinese pilgrimFaxian (337-422 CE) traveled to the region in the early 5th century, and foundHinayana Buddhism prevalent in Shan Shan,Kucha,Kashgar, Osh,Udayana andGandhara. Later, the Chinese monkXuanzang (602–664 CE) visited Balkh in 630 CE, when it was a flourishing centre of Hinayana Buddhism. According to his memoirs, there were about a hundred Buddhist convents in the city or its vicinity at the time of his visit. There were 3,000 monks and a large number of stupas and other religious monuments. Xuanzang also remarked that Buddhism was widely practiced by the Hunnish rulers of Balkh, who were descended from Indian royal stock.[25]
An ambassador from Balkh (白題國 Baitiguo) to the Tang dynasty, Wanghuitu (王會圖), circa 650 CE.
During the 8th century, the Korean monk and travelerHyecho (704–787 CE) recorded that even after the Arab invasion, the residents of Balkh continued to practice Buddhism and followed a Buddhist king. He noted that the king of Balkh at the time had fled to nearbyBadakshan.[26]
The most remarkable Buddhist monastery was theNava Vihara ("New Temple"), which possessed a gigantic statue ofGautama Buddha. Located near the city of Balkh, it served as a pilgrimage centre for political leaders who came from far and wide to pay homage to it.[27] Shortly before theArab conquest, the monastery became aZoroastrian fire-temple.[citation needed] A curious reference to this building is found in the writings of the geographerIbn Hawqal, an Arab traveler of the 10th century, who describes Balkh as built of clay, with ramparts and six gates, and extending for half aparasang. He also mentions a castle and a mosque.
A large number ofSanskrit medical, pharmacological, and toxicological texts were translated into Arabic under the patronage of Khalid, the vizier of Al-Mansur. Khalid was the son of a chief priest of a Buddhist monastery. Some of the family were killed when the Arabs captured Balkh; others including Khalid survived by converting to Islam. They would later come to be known as theBarmakids of Baghdad.[28]
There was still a substantial Jewish community in Balkh as late as 1885, as attested by the British administratorCharles Yate following theSecond Anglo-Afghan War: "a considerable colony of Jews, who have a separate quarter of the village to themselves, and appeared, so far as we could judge, to be fair-looking men with most unmistakablyJewish features."[32][33]
At the time of theIslamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century, however, Balkh had provided an outpost of resistance and a safe haven for the Persian emperorYazdegerd III who fled there from the armies ofUmar. Later, in the 9th century, during the reign ofYa'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, Islam became firmly rooted in the local population.
A silver dirham of the Umayyad Caliphate, minted at Balkh al-Baida in AH 111 (=729/30 AD).
Arabs occupied Persia in 642 (during the Caliphate ofUthman, 644–656 AD). Attracted by the grandeur and wealth of Balkh, they attacked it in 645 AD. It was only in 653 when Arab commander al-Ahnaf raided the town again and compelled it to pay tribute. The Arab hold over the town, however, remained tenuous. The area was brought under Arab control only after it was reconquered byMuawiya in 663 AD. Prof. Upasak describes the effect of this conquest in these words: "The Arabs plundered the town and killed the people indiscriminately. It is said that they raided the famous Buddhist shrine ofNava-Vihara, which the Arab historians call 'Nava Bahara' and describe it as one of the magnificent places, which comprised a range of 360 cells around the high stupas'. They plundered the gems and jewels that were studded on many images and stupas and took away the wealth accumulated in the Vihara but probably did no considerable harm to other monastic buildings or to the monks residing there".
The Arab attacks had little effect on the normal ecclesiastical life in the monasteries or Balkh Buddhist population outside. Buddhism continued to flourish with their monasteries as the centres of Buddhist learning and training. Scholars, monks and pilgrims from China, India and Korea continued to visit this place. Several revolts were made against the Arab rule in Balkh.
The Arabs' control over Balkh did not last long as it soon came under the rule of a local prince, a zealous Buddhist called Nazak (or Nizak) Tarkhan. He expelled the Arabs from his territories in 670 or 671. He is said to have not only reprimanded the Chief Priest (Barmak) of Nava-Vihara but beheaded him for embracing Islam. As per another account, when Balkh was conquered by the Arabs, the head priest of the Nava-Vihara had gone to the capital and became a Muslim. This displeased the people of the Balkh. He was deposed and his son was placed in his position.
Nazak Tarkhan is also said to have murdered not only the Chief Priest but also his sons. Only a young son was saved. He was taken by his mother to Kashmir where he was given training in medicine, astronomy and other sciences. Later they returned to Balkh. Prof. Maqbool Ahmed observes "One is tempted to think that the family originated from Kashmir, for in time of distress, they took refuge in the Valley. Whatever it be, their Kashmiri origin is undoubted and this also explains the deep interest of the Barmaks, in later years, in Kashmir, for we know they were responsible for inviting several scholars and physicians from Kashmir to the Court of Abbasids." Prof. Maqbool also refers to the descriptions of Kashmir contained in the report prepared by the envoy of Yahya bin Barmak. He surmises that the envoy could have possibly visited Kashmir during the reign of Samgramapida II (797–801). Reference has been made to sages and arts.[clarification needed]
The Arabs managed to bring Balkh under their control only in 715 AD, in spite of strong resistance offered by the Balkh people during theUmayyad period.Qutayba ibn Muslim al-Bahili, an Arab General was Governor ofKhurasan and the east from 705 to 715. He established a firm hold over lands beyond theOxus for the Arabs. He fought and killed Tarkhan Nizak inTokharistan (Bactria) in 715. In the wake of Arab conquest, the resident monks of the Vihara were either killed or forced to abandon their faith. The Viharas were razed to the ground. Priceless treasures in the form of manuscripts in the libraries of monasteries were consigned to ashes. Presently, only the ancient wall of the town, which once encircled it, stands partially. Nava-Vihara stands in ruins, near Takhta-i-Rustam.[34] In 726, the Umayyad governorAsad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri rebuilt Balkh and installed in it an Arab garrison,[35] while in his second governorship, a decade later, he transferred the provincial capital there.[36]
The Umayyad period lasted until 747, whenAbu Muslim captured it for theAbbasids (next Sunni Caliphate dynasty) during theAbbasid Revolution. The city remained in Abbasid handsuntil 861, when it was taken in 870 by theSaffarids captured it.
In 870,Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar rebelled against Abbasid rule and founded theSaffarid dynasty atSistan. He captured present Afghanistan and most of presentIran. His successorAmr ibn al-Layth, tried to captureTransoxiana from theSamanids, who were nominally vassals of Abbasids, but he was defeated and captured byIsmail Samani atBattle of Balkh in 900. He was sent to the Abbasid Caliph as a prisoner and was executed in 902. The power of Saffarids was diminished and they became vassals of the Samanids. Thus Balkh now passed to them.
Samanid rule in Balkh lasted until 997, when their former subordinates, theGhaznavids, captured it. In 1006, Balkh was captured byKarakhanids, but Ghaznavids recaptured it 1008. Finally, theSeljuks conquered Balkh in 1059. In 1115, it was occupied and looted by irregularOghuz Turks. Between 1141 and 1142, Balkh was captured byAtsiz, Shah ofKhwarezm, after the Seljuks were defeated by theKara-Khitan Khanate at theBattle of Qatwan.Ahmad Sanjar decisively defeated aGhurid army, commanded by Ala al-Din Husayn and he took him prisoner for two years before releasing him as a vassal of the Seljuks. The next year, he marched against rebellious Oghuz Turks fromKhuttal andTukharistan. But he was defeated twice and was captured after a second battle in Merv. The Oghuzs looted Khorasan after their victory.
Balkh was nominally ruled by Mahmud Khan, the former khan of Western Karakhanids, but the real power was held by Muayyid al-Din Ay Aba, amir ofNishabur for three years. Sanjar finally escaped from captivity and returned toMerv throughTermez. He died in 1157 and control of Balkh passed to Mahmud Khan until his death in 1162. It was captured byKhwarezmshahs in 1162, by theKara Khitans in 1165, by theGhurids in 1198 and again byKhwarezmshahs in 1206.
Muhammad al-Idrisi, in the 12th century, speaks of its possessing a variety of educational establishments, and carrying on an active trade. There were several important commercial routes from the city, stretching as far east asIndia andChina. The late 12th-century local chronicleThe Merits of Balkh (Fada'il-i-Balkh), byAbu Bakr Abdullah al-Wa'iz al-Balkhi, states that a woman known only as thekhatun (lady) of Davud, from 848 appointed governor of Balkh, had taken over from him with "particular responsibility for the city and people" while he was busy building himself an elaborate pleasure palace called Nawshǎd (New Joy).[37]
In 1220 during theMongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, the rulerGenghis Khan sacked Balkh, butchered its inhabitants and levelled all the buildings capable of defence – treatment to which it was again subjected in the 14th century byTimur. Notwithstanding this, however,Marco Polo (probably referring to its past) could still describe it as "a noble city and a great seat of learning." For whenIbn Battuta visited Balkh around 1333 during the rule of theKartids, who wereTadjik vassals of the Persia-based MongolIlkhanate until 1335, he described it as a city still in ruins: "It is completely dilapidated and uninhabited, but anyone seeing it would think it to be inhabited because of the solidity of its construction (for it was a vast and important city), and its mosques and colleges preserve their outward appearance even now, with the inscriptions on their buildings incised with lapis-blue paints."[38]
It was not reconstructed until 1338. It was captured byTamerlane in 1389 and its citadel was destroyed, butShah Rukh, his successor, rebuilt the citadel in 1407.
In 1506Uzbeks entered Balkh under the command ofMuhammad Shaybani. They were briefly expelled by theSafavids in 1510.Babur ruled Balkh between 1511 and 1512 as a vassal of the PersianSafavids. But he was defeated twice by theKhanate of Bukhara and was forced to retire toKabul. Balkh was ruled by Bukhara except for Safavid rule between 1598 and 1601.
The Mughal EmperorShah Jahan fruitlessly fought them there for several years in the 1640s. Nevertheless, Balkh was ruled by theMughal Empire from 1641 and turned into asubah (imperial top-level province) in 1646 byShah Jahan, only to be lost in 1647, just like the neighboringBadakhshan Subah. Balkh was the government seat ofAurangzeb in his youth. In 1736 it was conquered byNader Shah. After his assassination, local Uzbek Hadji Khan declared the independence of Balkh in 1747, under theMaimana Khanate.
The area of Balkh was governed by the Uzbek Qataghan dynasty, with its capital inKhulm, for the majority of the early nineteenth century, and only nominally acknowledged Kabul's suzerainty.[39] During this time, the Qataghan dynasty also competed with Bukhara in interdynastic conflicts throughout the area.[39] Only through the conquests of theEmirate of Kabul'sDost Mohammad Khanin the 1850s (see also;Afghan Conquest of Balkh), followed by those ofAbdur Rahman Khan in 1888, did the region of "little Turkestan" to the south of theAmu Darya (also known as Oxus River) become a permanent part of Afghanistan.[39][40][41] By 1885,Charles Yate reported that the city was "nothing but a vast ruin" and that there were no more than 500 houses, occupied mostly by "Afghan settlers" and with "very few Usbegs" (i.e. Uzbeks).[42]
In 1866, after amalaria outbreak during the flood season, Balkh lost its administrative status to the neighbouring city ofMazar-i-Sharif (Mazār-e Šarīf), about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Balkh.[43][44]
A street in Balkh with several horse carts, c. 1970s
In 1911 Balkh comprised a settlement of about 500 houses of Afghan settlers, a colony ofJews and a smallbazaar set in the midst of a waste of ruins and acres of debris. Entering by the west (Akcha) gate, one passed under three arches, in which the compilers recognized the remnants of the formerJama Masjid (Persian:جَامع مَسجد,romanized: Jama‘ Masjid, Friday Mosque).[45] The outer walls, mostly in utter disrepair, were estimated about 6.5–7 miles (10.5–11.3 km) in perimeter. In the south-east, they were set high on a mound or rampart, which indicated aMongol origin to the compilers.
The fort and citadel to the north-east were built well above the town on a barren mound and were walled and moated. There was, however, little left of them but the remains of a few pillars. TheGreen Mosque (Persian:مَسجد سَبز,romanized: Masjid Sabz),[46] named for its green-tiled dome (see photograph top right corner) and said to be the tomb of theKhwaja Abu Nasr Parsa, had nothing but the arched entrance remaining of the formermadrasah (Arabic:مَـدْرَسَـة, school).
The town was garrisoned as of 1911 by a few thousand irregulars (kasidars), the regular troops ofAfghan Turkestan being cantoned atTakhtapul, near Mazari Sharif. The gardens to the north-east contained acaravanserai that formed one side of a courtyard, which was shaded by a group of chenar treesPlatanus orientalis.[47]
A project of modernization was undertaken in 1934, in which eight streets were laid out, housing and bazaars built. Modern Balkh is a centre of the cotton industry, of the skins known commonly in the West as "Persian lamb" (Karakul), and for agricultural produce like almonds and melons.
The site and the museum have suffered from looting and uncontrolled digging during the1990s civil war. After theTaliban's fall in 2001 some poor residents dug in an attempt to sell ancient treasures. The provisional Afghan government said in January 2002 that it had stopped the looting.[48] On March 9, 2023, the Taliban-appointed Governor of Balkh, Mohammad Dawood, was killed in a bomb blast.[49]
The earlierBuddhist constructions have proved more durable than the Islamic buildings. The Top-Rustam is 46 m (50 yd) in diameter at the base and 27 m (30 yd) at the top, circular and about 15 m (49 ft) high. Four circular vaults are sunk in the interior and four passages have been pierced below from the outside, which probably lead to them. The base of the building is constructed ofsun-dried bricks about 60 cm (2.0 ft) square and 100 to 130 mm (3.9 to 5.1 in) thick. The Takht-e Rustam is wedge-shaped in plan with uneven sides. It is apparently built ofpisé mud (i.e. mud mixed with straw and puddled). It is possible that in these ruins we may recognize theNava Vihara described by the Chinese travellerXuanzang. There are the remains of many other topes (orstupas) in the neighbourhood.[50]
The mounds of ruins on the road to Mazar-e Sharif probably represent the site of a city yet older than those on which stands the modern Balkh.[citation needed]
The Nine Domes Mosque (Masjid-e Noh Gonbad). This exquisitely ornamented mosque, also referred to asHaji Piyada, is the earliest Islamic monument yet identified in Afghanistan.
The museum was formerly the second largest museum in the country, but its collection has suffered from looting in recent times.[51]
The museum is also known as the Museum of the Blue Mosque, from the building it shares with a religious library. As well as exhibits from the ancient ruins of Balkh, the collection includes works ofIslamic art including a 13th-centuryQuran, and examples of Afghan decorative andfolk art.
Balkh had a major role in the development of thePersian language andliterature. The early works of Persian literature were written by poets and writers who were originally from Balkh. Many famousPersian poets came from Balkh. Furthermore, the city was a cultural centre for science and had notable scientists working in or originating from that region.
Amir Khusraw (Dehlavi) – 13th-century Persian-writing poet of medieval India whose father, Amir Saifuddin, was from Balkh.
Fasihuddin Balkhi – 20th-century Indian author and historian with ancestral ties to Balkh.
Wasef Bakhtari – Contemporary Afghan poet, literary figure, and intellectual known for introducingShe'r-e Nimaa'i ("Nimaic poetry") to Afghan-Persian literature; born in Balkh.
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