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).

Balkh in 1911

Because of malaria during flood season at Balkh, the regional capital was shifted in the 1870s to Mazar-e Sharif.

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In 1911, the Encyclopedia Britannica described a settlement of about 500 Afghan settlers, a colony of Jews and a small bazaar 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 former Friday Mosque (Jama Masjid). The outer walls, mostly in utter disrepair, were estimated about 6½-7 miles (10.5 to 11.3 km) in perimeter. In the south-east, they were set high on a mound or rampart, which indicated a Mongol origin to the compilers.

Related Topics:
Jew - Bazaar - Mongol

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The fort and citadel to the north-east are built well above the town on a barren mound and are walled and moated. There was, however, little left but the remains of a few pillars. The Green Mosque Masjid Sabz, named for its green-tiled dome (illustration, right), is said to be the tomb of the khwaja Abul Narsi Parsar. Nothing but the arched entrance remained of the former madrasa.

Related Topics:
Khwaja - Abul Narsi Parsar - Madrasa

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The town was garrisoned in 1911 by a few hundred irregulars (kasidars), the regular troops of Afghan Turkestan being cantoned at Takhtapul, near Mazar-i-Sharif. The gardens to the north-east contained a caravanserai that formed one side of a courtyard, which was shaded by a group of magnificent chenar trees Platanus orientalis.

Related Topics:
Afghan Turkestan - Takhtapul - Caravanserai - Platanus orientalis

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