Balkh

Balkh is now a small town in the Province of Balkh, Afghanistan, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 46 miles (74 km) south of the Amu Darya, the Oxus River of antiquity, of which a tributary formerly flowed past Balkh. The ancient city, the oldest in Afghanistan, is associated with the Vedic name Bhakri, which as Bactra gave its name to Bactria, and was known as Zainaspa. Balkh is now for the most part a mass of ruins, situated some 12 km from the right bank of the seasonally-flowing Balkh River, at an elevation of about 1,200 ft (366 m).

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Afghanistan: Afghanistan (Pashtu/Dari-Persian: ?????????, Af??nist?n) is a country in Asia. It is in Central Asia and fringes upon South Asia and is sometimes allocated to one of these regions and it is often considered part of the Middle East due to its location on the Iranian plateau. It is bordered by Iran in...

Mazar-e Sharif: Mazār-e Sharīf, also known as Mazar-e-Sharif, Mazar-i Sharif and Mazar-i-Sharif (in Persian مزار شریف), is a city in northern Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh province. The dominant language in the city is Dari. The city is of especial re...

Amu Darya: The Amu Darya (also Amudarya, Amudar'ya, in Persian آمودریا; Darya means "River" in Persian) is a river in Central Asia. It is navigable for over 1450 km (800 miles). Its total length is 2400 km (1500 miles)....