Balkh, also called Vazīrābād, the name of the province is derived from the ancient city ofBalkh,[8] near the modern town. The city of Mazar-e-Sharif has been an important stop on the trade routes from theFar East to theMiddle East, theMediterranean andEurope. Home to the famousblue mosque, it was once destroyed byGenghis Khan but later rebuilt byTimur. The city of Balkh and the area of Balkh Province were considered a part of various historical regions in history includingAriana andGreater Khorasan.[9]
Balkh Province is situated in the northern part of Afghanistan, borderingTurkmenistan in the north-west, borderingUzbekistan in the north,Tajikistan in the north-east,Kunduz Province in the east,Samangan Province in the south-east,Sar-e Pol Province in the south-west andJowzjan Province in the west. The province covers an area of 16,840 km2. Nearly half of the province ismountainous or semi-mountainous terrain (48.7%) while half of the area (50.2%) is made up of flat land.[10]
The early Greek historianCtesias c. 400 BCE (followed byDiodorus Siculus) alleged that the legendary Assyrian kingNinus had defeated a Bactrian king named Oxyartes in ca. 2140 BC, or some 1000 years before theTrojan War. Ever since the discovery ofcuneiform enabled actual Assyrian records to be deciphered in the 19th century, however, historians have ascribed little value to the Greek account.
According to some writers, Bactria was the homeland ofIndo-European tribes who moved south-west into what is todayIran and into the north-westernIndian subcontinent (modern dayPakistan andIndia) around 2500–2000 BCE. Later, it became the northern province of theAchaemenid Empire.[11] It was in these regions, where the fertile soil of the mountainous country is surrounded by theTuranian desert, that the prophetZoroaster (Zarathushtra) was said to have been born and gained his first adherents.Avestan, the language of the oldest portions of theZoroastrianAvesta, was one of theold Iranian languages, and is the oldest attested member of theEastern Iranian branch of theIranian language family.
It is suggested byE. Herzfeld that Bactria once belonged to theMedian empire.[12] It was annexed by the Achaemenid Persians in the 6th century BCE and together withMargiana it formed the twelfth satrapy of the Achaemenids.[13] AfterDarius III of Persia was defeated byAlexander the Great and killed in the ensuing chaos, his murdererBessus, the satrap of Bactria, tried to organize a national resistance based on his satrapie but was captured by other warlords and delivered to Alexander. He was then tortured and killed.[14]
Alexander the Great conqueredSogdiana and Persia. However, in the south, beyond the Oxus, he met strong resistance. After two years of war Bactria was occupied by the Macedonians, but Alexander never successfully subdued the people. After Alexander's death, the Macedonian Empire was eventually divided up between several generals in Alexander's army. Bactria became part ofSeleucus I, the founder of theSeleucid Empire.
Gold20-stater of the Greco-Bactrian kingEucratides, the largest gold coin of antiquity.
"The famed Bactrian Empire of a thousand cities, wallowing in wealth (opulentissimum illud mille urbium Bactrianum imperium)"[15]
The many difficulties against which the Seleucid kings had to fight and the attacks ofPtolemy II of Egypt gaveDiodotus, satrap of Bactria, the opportunity to declare independence (about 255 BCE) and conquerSogdiana. He was the founder of theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom. Diodotus and his successors were able to maintain themselves against the attacks of the Seleucids—particularly fromAntiochus III the Great, who was ultimately defeated by theRomans (190 BCE).
The Greco-Bactrians were so powerful that they were able to expand their territory as far as India:
"As for Bactria, a part of it lies alongside Aria towards the north, though most of it lies above Aria and to the east of it. And much of it produces everything except oil. The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Bactria and beyond, but also of India, asApollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander...."[16]
The Greco-Bactrians usedGreek language for administrative purposes, and the localBactrian language was also Hellenized, as suggested by its adoption of the Greek alphabet and Greek loanwords. In turn, some of these words were also borrowed by modernPashto, the language of Afghanistan.[17]
The treasure of the royal burialTillia tepe is attributed to 1st century BCE Sakas in Bactria.
The weakness of the Greco-Bactrians was shown by its sudden and complete overthrow, first by theSakas, and then by theYuezhi (who later became known asKushans), who had conquered Bactria by the time of the visit of the Chinese envoyZhang Qian (circa 127 BCE), who had been sent by theHan emperor to investigate lands to the west of China.[18]
Under the Sassanids the province would become part of the area known asKhorasan.[9]
Kujula Kadphises, the Guishuangxihou (or prince) of the Da Yuezhi, united the region in the early 1st century and laid the foundations for the powerful, but short-lived,Kushan Empire (1st to 3rd century CE), which was then overcome by theSassanians from Persia. The name Daxia appears in Chinese from the 3rd century BCE to designate a mythical kingdom to the West, possibly a consequence of the first contacts with the expansion of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and then is used by the explorerZhang Qian in 126 BCE to designate Bactria.
The reports of Zhang Qian were put in writing in theShiji ("Records of the Grand Historian") bySima Qian in the 1st century BCE. They describe an important urban civilization of about one million people, living in walled cities under small city kings or magistrates. Daxia was an affluent country with rich markets, trading in an incredible variety of objects, coming as far as Southern China. By the time Zhang Qian visited Daxia, there was no longer a major king, and the Bactrian were suzerains to the nomadicYuezhi, who were settled to the north of their territory beyond the Oxus (Amu Darya). Overall Zhang Qian depicted a rather sophisticated but demoralized people who were afraid of war.
Following these reports, the Chinese EmperorWu Di was informed of the level of sophistication of the urban civilizations ofFerghana, Bactria andParthia, and became interested in developing commercial relationship with them:
"The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana (Dayuan) and the possessions of Bactria (Daxia) and Parthia (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China" (Hanshu, Former Han History).
These contacts immediately led to the dispatch of multiple embassies from the Chinese, which helped to develop theSilk Road.
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."[19]
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.
Like in other parts of Afghanistan, agriculture plays an important part of Balkh's economy.[22] It is known for producing some of the sweetestmelons andgrapes.[23] It is expected that the province will witness a major agriculture boost in the near future after theQush Tepa Canal is completed, which "will irrigate 500,000 hectares of land in Balkh, Jawzjan and Faryab provinces."[24] This will significantly increase Balkh's economy and population as many Afghans from other parts of the country will move to the province for employment purposes.
On October 5, 2018, inWashington, D.C., Afghan officials signed a 30-year contract involving a $56 million investment by investment group Centar and its operating company Afghan Gold and Minerals Co. for exploration of an area covering 500 square km for copper, with development of mining due to begin thereafter.[25]
The percentage of households with clean drinking water increased from 8% in 2005 to 15% in 2011.[26]The percentage of births attended by a skilled birth attendant increased from 0% in 2005 to 20% in 2011. In 2018 Dr. Khalilullah Hekmati was appointed the Public Health Director which was followed by positive changes in the Health sector.[26]
The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 12% in 2005 to 23% in 2011.[26] The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 22% in 2005 to 46% in 2011.[26]
As of 2020, the total population of the province is about 1,509,183,[7] which is amulti-ethnic and mostly Persian-Speaking (55% Tajik, 15% Pashtun, 18% Uzbek, 9% Hazaras, 3% Turkmen) society.
Around 66% of the population of Balkh lives in rural districts while 34% lives in urban areas. Around 51% of the population is male and 49% is female. The major ethnic groups living in Balkh province are Tajiks and Pashtuns followed by Uzbek, Hazaras, Turkman, Arab and Baluch. Dari is spoken by about 50% of the population and 58% of the villages. The second most frequent language is Pashto, spoken by the majorities in 266 villages representing 27% of the population, followed by Turkmani (11.9%) and Uzbeki (10.7%).
^Note: "Predominantely" or "dominated" is interpreted as 99%, "majority" as 70%, "mixed" as 1/(number of ethnicities), "minority" as 30% and "few" or "some" as 1%.
The locals of Balkh take great pride in their sporting history and culture. EveryNowruz (Persian New Year), Balkh is the site of many sporting events.Buzkashi is a traditional horse riding sport of the region and is very popular in this province.Kurash or traditional wrestling is also a popular sport in the province. However, the most popular presently and for the last 50 years has beenfootball, this was evident in theBalkh teamSimorgh Alborz F.C. finishing runners up in the inauguralAfghan Premier League[33] and in their contributions to the National Team.
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