View source for Balkh

{{Short description|Town in northern Afghanistan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{About|the town in Afghanistan}}
{{Redirect|Bactra|the moth genus|Bactra (moth){{!}}''Bactra'' (moth)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Balkh
| native_name        = {{nobold|{{lang|prs|{{Nastaliq|بلخ}}|rtl=yes}}}}
| native_name_lang   = prs
| other_name         = Bactra
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities in Afghanistan|Town]]
| image_skyline      = Green_Mosque,_Balkh.jpg
| imagesize          = 240px
| image_caption      = Ruins of the [[Green Mosque, Balkh|Green Mosque of Balkh]], 2001
| pushpin_map        = Afghanistan
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize    = 300
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in ancient Persia, today's Afghanistan
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Afghanistan}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Provinces of Afghanistan|Province]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Balkh Province]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Afghanistan|District]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Balkh District]]
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_footnotes = <ref name="NSIA">{{cite web |url=https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A2%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%DB%B1%DB%B3%DB%B9%DB%B9-%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AE%DB%80-%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84.pdf |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2020-21 |publisher=National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) |page=31 |access-date=2021-03-24 |archive-date=2020-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703171906/https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A2%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%DB%B1%DB%B3%DB%B9%DB%B9-%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AE%DB%80-%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_blank1_title = Town
| population_blank1  = 138,594<ref name="nsia" />
| population_blank2_title = Religions
| timezone           = + 4.30
| coordinates        = {{Coord|36|45|29|N|66|53|53|E|region:AF_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| blank_name         = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info         = [[Semi-arid climate#Cold semi-arid climates|BSk]]
}}

'''Balkh'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|b|æ|l|x|,_|b|æ|l|k}}; [[Pashto]] and {{langx|prs|{{nq|بلخ}}}}; {{langx|xbc|Βάχλο|Bákhlo}}; {{langx|grc|Βάκτρα|Báctra}}}} is a town in the [[Balkh Province]] of [[Afghanistan]]. It is located approximately {{Convert|20|km|mi}} to the northwest of the provincial capital city [[Mazar-i-Sharif]] and approximately {{Convert|74|km|mi}} to the south of the [[Amu Darya]] and the [[Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border]]. In 2021–2022, the [[National Statistics and Information Authority]] reported that the town had 138,594 residents.<ref name="nsia">{{cite web |url=https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2021-22 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=April 2021 |website= |publisher=National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA) |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204559/https://www.nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Estimated-Population-of-Afghanistan1-1400.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=June 21, 2021 |quote=}}</ref> Listed as the [[List of cities in Afghanistan|eighth largest settlement in the country]], unofficial 2024 estimates set its population at around 114,883 people.<ref name="Worldometer">{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan Population (2024) |website=Worldometer |url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/afghanistan-population/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Population of Cities in Afghanistan 2024 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cities/afghanistan |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref>

Historically, the site of present-day Balkh was held in considerably high regard due to its religious and political significance in [[Ariana]]. A hub of [[Zoroastrianism]] and [[Buddhism]], the ancient city was also known to the [[Ancient Iran|Persians]] as '''Zariaspa''' and to the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] as '''Bactra''', giving its name to [[Bactria]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://topostext.org/work/241#Z294.15 |title=Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, Z294.15 |access-date=2021-09-20 |archive-date=2019-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221053054/https://topostext.org/work/241#Z294.15 |url-status=live}}</ref> As such, it was famously known as the capital of Bactria or [[Tokharistan]]. The Italian explorer and writer [[Marco Polo]] described Balkh as "a noble city and a great seat of learning" prior to the [[Mongol invasions and conquests|Mongol conquests]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1928/ |title=City of Balkh (antique Bactria) |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=2019-12-26 |archive-date=2020-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623080659/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1928/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the town now consists of ruined buildings, situated some {{Convert|12|km|mi}} from the right bank of the seasonally flowing [[Balkh River]], at an elevation of about {{Convert|365|m|ft}}.

While it is one of Afghanistan's ethnically diverse settlements, [[Tajiks]] account for the majority of Balkh's populace<ref name="nsia2">{{cite web |url=http://eafghanag.ucdavis.edu/country-info/Province-agriculture-profiles/balkh/Balkh.pdf |title=Provincial Profile - Balkh |publisher=Regional Rural Economic Regeneration Strategies (RRERS) |access-date=13 July 2024 |archive-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019073723/http://eafghanag.ucdavis.edu/country-info/Province-agriculture-profiles/balkh/Balkh.pdf}}</ref><ref name="nps">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.edu/Programs/CCS/Balkh/Balkh.html |title=Balkh Province |work=Program for Culture & Conflict Studies |publisher=[[Naval Postgraduate School]] |access-date=13 July 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529232454/http://www.nps.edu/Programs/CCS/Balkh/Balkh.html |archive-date=May 29, 2012}}</ref> and have continuously inhabited the site for millennia.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Tajikistan/Cultural-life#ref214553] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021112841/https://www.britannica.com/place/Tajikistan/Cultural-life#ref214553|date=21 October 2020}} ''Britannica Online Encyclopedia''</ref> The main language of the town is [[Dari]], which is spoken by a significant majority.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-09-05 |title=Balkh — Afghanistan |url=http://www.foodsecurityatlas.org/afg/country/provincial-Profile/Balkh |access-date=2024-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905125716/http://www.foodsecurityatlas.org/afg/country/provincial-Profile/Balkh |archive-date=2013-09-05}}</ref> 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 spiritualist [[Alexandra David-Néel]] associated Balkh with [[Shambhala]], a mythical kingdom that features prominently in ancient [[Tibetan Buddhism]], and also offered the Persian ''Sham-i-Bala'' ({{Literal translation|elevated candle}}) as an etymology of its name.<ref>David-Néel, A. ''[[Les Nouvelles littéraires]]'';1954, p.1</ref> In a similar vein, the British author [[John G. Bennett]], whose academic focus was on the teachings of the Armenian-Greek mystic [[George Gurdjieff]], speculated in his works that Shambhala may have been a Bactrian [[Sun temple]] called ''Shams-i-Balkh'', taking note of the Afghan author and mystic [[Idries Shah]] as the source of this suggestion.<ref>{{citation |last=Bennett |first=J. G. |title=Gurdjieff: Making a New World}} Bennett notes [[Idries Shah]] as the source of the suggestion.</ref>

==Etymology==
The origin of the name Balkh is unknown. [[Wilhelm Eilers]] proposed that the region was named after the [[Balkh River]] (in Greek transliteration Βάκτρος, i.e. ''Baktros'') from underlying ''Bāxtri-'', itself meaning 'she who divides', etymologically from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root *''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰeh₂g-|bhag-]]'' 'to divide' (whence also [[Avestan]] {{lang|ae|bag-}} and [[Vedic Sanskrit|Old Indic]] {{lang|vsn|bháj-}}).<ref>{{cite book|last= Tavernier|first= Jan|year= 2007|title= Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550–330 B.C.): Lexicon of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords, Attested in Non-Iranian Texts|publisher= Peeters |isbn= 978-90-429-1833-7|page= 25|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ6zTASmo6kC&pg=PA25}}</ref>

The [[Bactrian language]] name of the city was βαχλο, i.e. ''Bakhlo''. In [[Middle Persian literature|Middle Persian texts]], it was named ''Baxl,'' i.e. ''Bakhl'' ''(''{{Langx|pal|𐭡𐭠𐭧𐭫}}). The name of the province or country also appears in the [[Old Persian]] inscriptions (B.h.i 16; Dar Pers e.16; Nr. a.23) as ''Bāxtri'', i.e. ''Bakhtri (''{{Langx|peo|𐎲𐎠𐎧𐎫𐎼𐎡𐏁}}). It is written in the Avesta as ''Bāxδi'' ({{Langx|ae|𐬠𐬁𐬑𐬜𐬌{{lrm}}}}) . From this came the intermediate form ''Bāxli'', [[Sanskrit]] ''Bahlīka'' (also ''[[Bahlikas|Balhika]]'') for "Bactrian", and by transposition the modern Persian ''Balx'', i.e. ''Balkh'', and Armenian ''Bahl''.<ref>{{citation |author1=Daniel Coit Gilman |author2=Harry Thurston Peck |author3=Frank Moore Colby |title=The New International Encyclopædia |volume=2 |publisher=[[Dodd, Mead & Co.]] |year=1902 |page=341}}</ref> This same root entered the Greek language as ''Baktra'' ([[Ancient Greek]]: Βάκτρα), often written in the form ''Bactra''.<ref name="Worldometer" />

An earlier name for Balkh or a term for part of the city was ''Zariaspa'' ([[Ancient Greek]]: Ζαρίασπα), which may derive from the important Zoroastrian fire temple Azar-i-Asp<ref name="Tarn" /> or from a [[Median language|Median]] name {{lang|xme|*Ζaryāspa-}} meaning "having gold-coloured horses".<ref>{{citation |last=Tavernier |first=Jan |title=Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550–330 B.C.): Linguistic Study of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords, Attested in Non-Iranian Texts |publisher=Peeters |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-429-1833-7 |page=370 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ6zTASmo6kC&pg=PA370}}.</ref>

The nickname of Balkh is "the Mother of All Cities".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/balkh|title=Balkh &#124; Silk Roads Programme|access-date=2018-05-15|archive-date=2019-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422105731/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/balkh|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
The first historical reference for Balkh is found in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', 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 (material)|pashmina]], jewels and perfumes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mahabharata}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=July 2025}}
[[File:BactriaMap.jpg|thumb|Map showing Balkh (here indicated as ''Bactres''), the capital of [[Bactria]] during the [[Hellenistic Age]]|275x275px]]
Balkh was earlier considered to be the first city to which the ancient [[Iranian peoples|Iranic]] peoples moved from north of the [[Amu Darya]] (also known as the Oxus in Greek), between 2000 and 1500 BC.<ref>Nancy Hatch Dupree, ''An Historical Guide to Afghanistan'', 1977, Kabul, Afghanistan</ref> 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 culture|Yaz I]] period, {{Circa|1500}}-1000 BC) continuing until pre-Achaemenid times ([[Yaz culture|Yaz II]] period, c. 1000–540 BC).<ref name="Lhuillier">Lhuillier, Johanna, Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento, & Philippe Marquis, (2021). [https://www.austriaca.at/?arp=0x003d19bc "Ancient Bactra: New Data on the Iron Age Occupation of the Bactra Oasis" ], in ''Archaeology of Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC, from the beginning of the Iron Age to the Hellenistic period: Proceedings from the Workshop held at 10th ICAANE''.</ref> 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.<ref>Young, Rodney S., (1955). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/500794 "The South Wall of Balkh-Bactra"], ''American Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 59, No. 4 (October 1955), The University of Chicago Press, p. 267.</ref> Another mound of the site, known as Tepe Zargaran, and the Northern Fortification Wall of Balkh, were occupied at a large extension in [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] times ([[Yaz culture|Yaz III]] period, c. 540-330 BC).<ref name="Lhuillier" />

Since the Iranic people built one of their first kingdoms in Balkh,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vi1-earliest-evidence |title=IRAN vi. IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS (1) E – Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=2 June 2015 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613070855/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vi1-earliest-evidence |url-status=live}}</ref> some scholars believe that it was from this area that different waves of Iranic tribes spread to north-east [[Iran]] and [[Seistan]] region. The changing climate has led to [[desertification]] since antiquity, when the region was very fertile. Its foundation is mythically ascribed to [[Keyumars]], the first king of the world in [[Iranian folklore|Persian legend]]; and it is at least certain that, at a very early date, it was the rival of [[Ecbatana]], [[Nineveh]] and [[Babylon]].
[[File:Silver tetradrachm of Euthydemus I as a youth.jpg|thumb|275x275px|Silver coin of the Greco-Bactrian king [[Euthydemus I]], one of the rulers of ancient Balkh, 3rd-2nd century BC.]]
The city was traditionally a center of [[Zoroastrianism]].<ref name="Tarn">''The Greeks in Bactria and India''. William Woodthorpe Tarn. 1st Edition, 1938; 2nd Updated Edition, 1951. 3rd Edition, updated with a Preface and a new bibliography by Frank Lee Holt. Ares Publishers, Inc., Chicago. 1984. (1984), pp. 114–115 and n. 1.</ref> 
For a long time the city and country was the central seat of the dualistic [[Zoroastrian religion]], the founder of which, Zoroaster, died within the walls according to the Persian poet [[Firdowsi]]. Armenian sources state that the Arsacid dynasty of the [[Parthian Empire]] established its capital in Balkh. There is a long-standing tradition that an ancient shrine of [[Anahita]] was to be found here, a temple so rich it invited plunder.

[[Alexander the Great]] married [[Roxana]] of Bactria after killing the king of Balkh in the 4th century BC, and brought the Greek culture and religion to the region.<ref name="lynne">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24581093 |title=Silk Road jewel reveals more of its treasures |author=Lynne O'Donnell |work=BBC News Magazine |date=20 October 2013 |access-date=20 October 2013 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020002942/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24581093 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city was one of the capitals of the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]] and was [[Siege of Bactra|besieged for three years]] by the [[Seleucid Empire]] under king [[Antiochus III the Great]]. After the demise of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, it was ruled by [[Indo-Scythians]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], [[Indo-Parthians]], [[Kushan Empire]], [[Indo-Sassanids]], [[Kidarites]], [[Hephthalite Empire]] and [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid Persians]] before the arrival of the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Arabs]].

===Ancient Bactrian religion===
Bactrian documents – in the [[Bactrian 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 and [[Bamiyan]], which is part of Bactria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Azad |first1=A. |title=Sacred Landscape in Medieval Afghanistan: Revisiting the Faḍāʾil-i Balkh |date=2013 |publisher=OUP}}</ref>
===Zoroastrianism and Buddhism===
[[File:EpicIndia.jpg|thumb|[[Bahlikas|Bahlika Kingdom]] alongside other locations of kingdoms and republics mentioned in the Indian epics or [[Bharata Khanda]].]]
Balkh is well known to Buddhists as the hometown of [[Trapusa and Bahalika]], two merchants who, according to scripture, became [[Buddha]]'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 two [[stupa]]s 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 called ''Balhika'', ''Bahlika'' or ''Valhika''. The first Buddhist monastery (''vihara'') at Balkh was built for Bahalika when he returned home after becoming a Buddhist monk.

The Chinese pilgrim [[Faxian]] (337-422 CE) traveled to the region in the early 5th century, and found [[Hinayana Buddhism]] prevalent in Shan Shan, [[Kucha]], [[Kashgar]], Osh, [[Udayana]] and [[Gandhara]]. Later, the Chinese monk [[Xuanzang]] (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.<ref>''Buddhism in Central Asia'' by [[Baij Nath Puri]], Motilal Banarsi Dass Publishers, Page 130</ref>
[[File:王会图 白題國.jpg|thumb|330x330px|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 traveler [[Hyecho]] (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 nearby [[Badakshan]].<ref>{{cite book |last=van Bladel |first=Kevin |title=Islam and Tibet: Interactions along the Musk Routes |year=2011 |publisher=Ashgate |location=London |pages=43–88 |editor=A. Akasoy, C. Burnett and R. Yoeli-Tlalim |chapter=The Bactrian Background of the Barmakids}}</ref>

The most remarkable Buddhist monastery was the [[Nava Vihara]] ("New Temple"), which possessed a gigantic statue of [[Gautama 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.<ref>Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Hārūn al-Rashīd and the narrative of the ʻAbbāsid caliphate by Tayeb El-Hibri published by Cambridge University Press, 1999 Page 8 {{ISBN|0-521-65023-2}}, {{ISBN|978-0-521-65023-6}}</ref> Shortly before the [[Islamic conquest of Afghanistan|Arab conquest]], the monastery became a [[Fire temple|Zoroastrian fire-temple]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} A curious reference to this building is found in the writings of the geographer [[Ibn Hawqal]], an Arab traveler of the 10th century, who describes Balkh as built of clay, with ramparts and six gates, and extending for half a ''[[parasang]]''. He also mentions a castle and a mosque.

A large number of [[Sanskrit]] 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 the [[Barmakids]] of Baghdad.<ref>India, the Ancient Past: a history of the Indian sub-continent from c. 7000 BC to AD 1200 by Burjor Avari Edition: illustrated Published by Taylor & Francis. {{ISBN|0-415-35616-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-35616-9}} Page 220.</ref>

===Judaism===
[[Sennacherib]], who reigned over the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] from 705 to 681 BCE, is said to have forcibly transferred some [[Israelites]] to Balkh after dispossessing them from the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] during the [[Assyrian captivity]]. This account is discussed in the works of the Egyptian historian [[Al-Maqrizi]], who wrote that the arrival and establishment of the [[Jews]] in Balkh had occurred in light of [[Sennacherib's campaign in the Levant]]. Additionally, a number of geographers from the [[Arab world]] attested the existence of a monument called Bāb al-Yahūd ({{Literal translation|Gate of the Jews}}) and a settlement called al-[[List of Jewish ethnonyms|Yahūdiyya]] at the site of Balkh.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Ben Zion Yehoshua-Raz |author-link1=Balkh |editor1-last=Stillman |editor1-first=Norman |title=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |date=2010 |publisher=Brill Publishing |url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/balkh-SIM_0003060?s.num=21&s.rows=50&s.start=10#d17527332e82 |access-date=2017-11-28 |archive-date=2017-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201062944/http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/balkh-SIM_0003060?s.num=21&s.rows=50&s.start=10#d17527332e82 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some [[Muslims]] believe that the Israelite prophet [[Jeremiah]] fled to Balkh during the [[Babylonian captivity]] and that the Israelite prophet [[Ezekiel]] was buried there, though Jews revere [[Ezekiel's Tomb]] in modern-day [[Iraq]] as the site of his final resting place.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fischel |author-link1=Balkh |title=Encyclopedia Judaica |date=1971 |pages=147 |edition=4}}</ref>

Balkh's Jewish community was further noted in the [[Ghaznavids|Ghaznavid Empire]] during the 11th century, when Jews were forced to maintain a garden for [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] and pay a [[Dhimmi|minority tax]] of 500 [[Dirham|dirhams]]. According to [[History of the Jews in Afghanistan|Jewish oral history]], under [[Timur]] of the [[Timurid Empire]], the Jews of Balkh were given a gated city quarter of their own to live in.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shterenshis |first1=Michael |title=Tamerlane and the Jews |date=2013 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=Hoboken |isbn=978-1136873669 |page=58}}</ref>

There was still a substantial Jewish community in Balkh as late as 1885, as attested by the British administrator [[Sir_Charles_Yate,_1st_Baronet |Charles Yate]] following the [[Second 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 unmistakably [[Genetic studies of Jews|Jewish features]]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yate |first1=Major Charles Edward |title=Northern Afghanistan, or, Letters from the Afghan Boundary Commission |date=1888 |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons |location=Edinburgh & London |pages=256}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vladimirovich Barthold |first1=Vasilii |last2=Soucek |first2=Sivat |title=An Historical Geography of Iran |date=2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691612072 |pages=13–14}}</ref>

[[Hiwi al-Balkhi]], a 9th-century [[Exegesis|exegete]] and [[Criticism of the Bible|Bible critic]], was born in Balkh and is widely believed to have been a [[Bukharan Jews|Bukharan Jew]], at least [[Ethnic Jew|by ethnicity]], as some scholars have asserted that he was a practicing [[Gnosticism|gnostic Christian]].

=== Arab conquests and Islamization ===

At the time of the [[Islamic conquest of Persia]] in the 7th century, however, Balkh had provided an outpost of resistance and a safe haven for the Persian emperor [[Yazdegerd III of Persia|Yazdegerd III]] who fled there from the armies of [[Umar]]. Later, in the 9th century, during the reign of [[Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar]], Islam became firmly rooted in the local population.[[File:Silver Dirham.png|thumb|upright|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 of [[Uthman]], 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 by [[Muawiya]] 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 of [[Nava Vihara|Nava-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.{{Clarify|date=November 2018}}

The Arabs managed to bring Balkh under their control only in 715 AD, in spite of strong resistance offered by the Balkh people during the [[Umayyad]] period. [[Qutayba ibn Muslim al-Bahili]], an Arab General was Governor of [[Khurasan]] and the east from 705 to 715. He established a firm hold over lands beyond the [[Oxus]] for the Arabs. He fought and killed Tarkhan Nizak in [[Tokharistan]] (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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ikashmir.net/rktamiri/barmarks.html |title=The Rise Of Barmarks |publisher=Kashmir News Network |first=Ramesh |last=Kumar |access-date=2010-11-30 |archive-date=2011-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001054042/http://ikashmir.net/rktamiri/barmarks.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 726, the Umayyad governor [[Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri]] rebuilt Balkh and installed in it an Arab garrison,<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari|volume=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mzz3raVuGg0C|pages=26–27}}</ref> while in his second governorship, a decade later, he transferred the provincial capital there.<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari|volume=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mzz3raVuGg0C|page=128}}</ref>
[[File:Silver dirham of Abbasids minted in Balh.jpg|200px|thumb|A [[dirham]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] minted in Balkh]]
The Umayyad period lasted until 747, when [[Abu Muslim]] captured it for the [[Abbasids]] (next Sunni Caliphate dynasty) during the [[Abbasid Revolution]]. The city remained in Abbasid hands [[Anarchy at Samarra|until 861]], when it was taken in 870 by the [[Saffarids]] captured it.

==== Iranic and Turkic dynasties ====
{{See|Anarchy at Samarra}}
In 870, [[Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar]] rebelled against Abbasid rule and founded the [[Saffarid]] dynasty at [[Sistan]]. He captured present Afghanistan and most of present [[Iran]]. His successor [[Amr ibn al-Layth]], tried to capture [[Transoxiana]] from the [[Samanids]], who were nominally vassals of Abbasids, but he was defeated and captured by [[Ismail Samani]] at [[Battle 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, the [[Ghaznavids]], captured it. In 1006, Balkh was captured by [[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Karakhanids]], but Ghaznavids recaptured it 1008. Finally, the [[Seljuks]] conquered Balkh in 1059. In 1115, it was occupied and looted by irregular [[Oghuz Turks]]. Between 1141 and 1142, Balkh was captured by [[Atsiz]], Shah of [[Khwarezmian Empire|Khwarezm]], after the Seljuks were defeated by the [[Kara-Khitan|Kara-Khitan Khanate]] at the [[Battle of Qatwan]]. [[Ahmad Sanjar]] decisively defeated a [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid]] 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 from [[Khuttal]] and [[Tukharistan]]. 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 of [[Nishabur]] for three years. Sanjar finally escaped from captivity and returned to [[Merv]] through [[Termez]]. He died in 1157 and control of Balkh passed to Mahmud Khan until his death in 1162. It was captured by [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarezmshahs]] in 1162, by the [[Kara-Khitan Khanate|Kara Khitans]] in 1165, by the [[Ghurids]] in 1198 and again by [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarezmshahs]] 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 as [[India]] and [[China]]. The late 12th-century local chronicle ''The Merits of Balkh (Fada'il-i-Balkh)'', by [[Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi|Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Wa'iz al-Balkhi]], states that a woman known only as the ''khatun'' (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).<ref>Arezou Azad: "Islam's forgotten scholars", ''History Today'', Vol. 66, No. 10 (October 2016), p. 27.</ref>

===Mongol conquest and destruction===
In 1220 during the [[Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire]], the ruler [[Genghis 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 by [[Timur]]. 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 when [[Ibn Battuta]] visited Balkh around 1333 during the rule of the [[Kartids]], who were [[Tajiks|Tadjik]] vassals of the Persia-based Mongol [[Ilkhanate]] 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."<ref>{{cite book |last=Gibb |first=H.A.R. <!-- trans. and ed. --> |year=1971 |title=The Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, A.D. 1325–1354 (Volume 3) |place=London |publisher=Hakluyt Society |page=571}}</ref>

It was not reconstructed until 1338. It was captured by [[Tamerlane]] in 1389 and its citadel was destroyed, but [[Shahrukh Mirza|Shah Rukh]], his successor, rebuilt the citadel in 1407.

===16th to 19th centuries===
[[File:Balkh mosque from afar.jpg|thumb|The Green Mosque of Balkh]]
In 1506 [[Uzbeks]] entered Balkh under the command of [[Muhammad Shaybani]]. They were briefly expelled by the [[Safavids]] in 1510. [[Babur]] ruled Balkh between 1511 and 1512 as a vassal of the Persian [[Safavids]]. But he was defeated twice by the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] and was forced to retire to [[Kabul]]. Balkh was ruled by Bukhara except for Safavid rule between 1598 and 1601.

The Mughal Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] fruitlessly fought them there for several years in the 1640s. Nevertheless, Balkh was ruled by the [[Mughal Empire]] from 1641 and turned into a [[subah]] (imperial top-level province) in 1646 by [[Shah Jahan]], only to be lost in 1647, just like the neighboring [[Badakhshan Subah]]. Balkh was the government seat of [[Aurangzeb]] in his youth. In 1736 it was conquered by [[Nader Shah]]. After his assassination, local Uzbek Hadji Khan declared the independence of Balkh in 1747, under the [[Maimana Khanate]].

In 1751, Balkh was captured by [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] of the [[Durrani Empire]].

The area of Balkh was governed by the Uzbek Qataghan dynasty, with its capital in [[Kholm, Afghanistan|Khulm]], for the majority of the early nineteenth century, and only nominally acknowledged Kabul's suzerainty.<ref name="Pickett">Pickett, J.  (2023, June 21). Central Asia between Empires: New Research on the 18th and 19th Centuries. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History. Retrieved 19 Jul. 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.713</ref> During this time, the Qataghan dynasty also competed with Bukhara in interdynastic conflicts throughout the area.<ref name="Pickett" /> Only through the conquests of the [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Emirate of Kabul]]'s [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] [[Afghan Conquest of Kunduz|in the 1850s]] (see also; [[Afghan Conquest of Balkh]]), followed by those of [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] in 1888, did the region of "little Turkestan" to the south of the [[Amu Darya]] (also known as Oxus River) become a permanent part of Afghanistan.<ref name="Pickett" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Noelle |first=Christine |title=State and Tribe in Nineteenth Century Afghanistan The Reign of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan (1826-1863)|publisher=Psychology Press |year=1997 |isbn=9781138982871 |pages=15 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781789140101 |pages=188 |language=English}}</ref> By 1885, [[Sir_Charles_Yate,_1st_Baronet |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).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yate |first1=Major Charles Edward |title=Northern Afghanistan, or, Letters from the Afghan Boundary Commission |date=1888 |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons |location=Edinburgh & London |pages=255}}</ref>
 
In 1866, after a [[malaria]] outbreak during the flood season, Balkh lost its administrative status to the neighbouring city of [[Mazar-i-Sharif]] (''Mazār-e Šarīf''), about {{convert|20|km|mi}} southeast of Balkh.<ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Grenet |first=F. |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |title=BALḴ |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/balk-town-and-province |access-date=2019-02-25 |edition=Online |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |location=United States |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117023140/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/balk-town-and-province |archive-date=2018-11-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=History of Human Parasitology |pmc=126866 |pmid=12364371 |volume=15 |date=October 2002 |journal=Clin. Microbiol. Rev. |pages=595–612 |author=Cox, F. E. |issue=4 |doi=10.1128/cmr.15.4.595-612.2002}}</ref>

===20th to 21st centuries===
[[File:Balkh street.jpg|thumb|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 of [[Jew]]s 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 ''[[Jama Masjid]]'' ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|جَامع مَسجد}}|Jama‘ Masjid}}, Friday Mosque).<ref name="UnescoBalkh">{{citation |work=The [[UNESCO]] |title=Balkh |url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/balkh |access-date=2018-05-15 |archive-date=2019-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422105731/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/balkh |url-status=live}}</ref> The outer walls, mostly in utter disrepair, were estimated about {{cvt|6.5|–|7|mile|km}} in perimeter. In the south-east, they were set high on a mound or rampart, which indicated a [[Mongol]] 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. The [[Green Mosque (Balkh)|Green Mosque]] ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|مَسجد سَبز}}|Masjid Sabz}}),<ref name="MM1">{{cite web |work=Muslim Mosques |title=Green Mosque, Balkh, Afghanistan |date=13 December 2014 |url=https://muslimmosques1.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/green-mosque-balkh-afghanistan-2/ |access-date=2018-05-15 |archive-date=2017-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118224729/https://muslimmosques1.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/green-mosque-balkh-afghanistan-2/ |url-status=live}}</ref> named for its green-tiled dome (see photograph top right corner) and said to be the tomb of the [[Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa]], had nothing but the arched entrance remaining of the former ''[[madrasa]]h'' ({{langx|ar|مَـدْرَسَـة}}, school).

The town was garrisoned as of 1911 by a few thousand irregulars (''kasidars''), the regular troops of [[Afghan Turkestan]] being cantoned at [[Takhtapul]], near Mazari Sharif. The gardens to the north-east contained a [[caravanserai]] that formed one side of a courtyard, which was shaded by a group of chenar trees ''[[Platanus|Platanus orientalis]]''.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Balkh}}</ref>

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 (sheep)|Karakul]]), and for agricultural produce like almonds and melons.

The site and the museum have suffered from looting and uncontrolled digging during the [[Afghan Civil War (1992-1996)|1990s civil war]]. After the [[Taliban]]'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.<ref>{{citation |work=The Art Newspaper |title=Ancient Afghan City Looted Anew |url=http://www.museum-security.org/02/012.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321051938/http://www.museum-security.org/02/012.html |date=January 17, 2002 |archive-date=2005-03-21 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 9, 2023, the Taliban-appointed Governor of Balkh, Mohammad Dawood, was killed in a bomb blast.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/9/taliban-governor-of-afghanistan-province-killed-in-suicide-attack|title=Taliban governor of Afghanistan's Balkh province killed in blast|publisher=Al Jazeera English|date=March 9, 2023|accessdate=March 9, 2023}}</ref>

==Archaeological sites==
===Ancient Buddhist===
[[File:BhalkCapital.jpg|thumb|Remains of a [[Hellenistic]] [[Corinthian order|Corinthian capital]] found in Balkh.]]

The earlier [[Buddhist]] constructions have proved more durable than the Islamic buildings. The Top-Rustam is {{cvt|46|m|yd}} in diameter at the base and {{cvt|27|m|yd}} at the top, circular and about {{cvt|15|m|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 of [[mudbrick|sun-dried bricks]] about {{cvt|60|cm|ft}} square and {{cvt|100|to|130|mm|in}} thick. The Takht-e Rustam is wedge-shaped in plan with uneven sides. It is apparently built of ''[[pisé]]'' mud (i.e. mud mixed with straw and puddled). It is possible that in these ruins we may recognize the ''[[Nava Vihara]]'' described by the Chinese traveller [[Xuanzang]]. There are the remains of many other topes (or [[stupa]]s) in the neighbourhood.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Azad |first1=Arezou |title=Sacred Landscape in Medieval Afghanistan Revisiting the Faḍāʾil-i Balkh |date=12 December 2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-968705-3}}</ref>

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|date=December 2014}}

===Medieval Islamic===
Numerous places of interest are to be seen today aside from the ancient ruins and fortifications:
*The ''[[madrasa]]'' of Sayed Subhan Quli Khan.
*[[Bala-Hesar]], the shrine and mosque of Khwaja Nasr Parsa.
*The tomb of the poet [[Rabi'a Balkhi]].
*[[Haji Piyada|The Nine Domes Mosque]] (''Masjid-e Noh Gonbad''). This exquisitely ornamented mosque, also referred to as ''Haji Piyada'', is the earliest Islamic monument yet identified in Afghanistan.
*Tepe Rustam and Takht-e Rustam

=== Displays at the Balkh Museum ===
The museum was formerly the second largest museum in the country, but its collection has suffered from looting in recent times.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-ecentre.net/news/bulletin/printable_version.cfm?id=287 |title=UNHCR eCentre |access-date=2 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218064621/http://www.the-ecentre.net/news/bulletin/printable_version.cfm?id=287 |archive-date=18 December 2014}}</ref>

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 of [[Islamic art]] including a 13th-century [[Quran]], and examples of Afghan decorative and [[folk art]].

==Notable people==
Balkh had a major role in the development of the [[Persian language]] and [[Persian literature|literature]]. The early works of Persian literature were written by poets and writers who were originally from Balkh. Many famous [[List of Persian poets and authors|Persian poets]] came from Balkh. Furthermore, the city was a cultural centre for science and had notable scientists working in or originating from that region.

=== Poets ===
* [[Abu-Shakur Balkhi]] – 10th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet.
* Abul Moayyad Balkhi<ref>{{Cite encyclopaedia|url=https://iranicaonline.org/|title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica|encyclopaedia=[[Iranica Online]]|accessdate=May 1, 2023}}</ref> – 10th-century Persian poet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABU'L-MOʾAYYAD BALḴĪ |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abul-moayyad-balki |url-status=live |access-date=2021-06-30 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181202/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abul-moayyad-balki}}</ref>
* Abu Ali Balkhi<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iranicaonline.org/|title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica|website=iranicaonline.org|accessdate=May 1, 2023}}</ref> – Author of a ''[[Shahnameh|Shah-nama]]'', according to [[Al-Biruni|Biruni]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABŪ ʿALĪ BALḴĪ |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abu-ali-mohammad-b-1 |url-status=live |access-date=2021-07-01 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182738/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abu-ali-mohammad-b-1}}</ref>
* [[Rabi'a Balkhi]] – 10th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet and the first woman poet in Persian literature.
* [[Daqiqi|Abu Mansur Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Daqiqi]] – 10th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet; Balkh is one of his suggested birthplaces.
* [[Ma'ruf Balkhi]] – 10th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet, one of the earliest to compose poems in [[New Persian]].
* Sani Balkhi – 10th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] [[Rubaʿi]] poet.<ref>{{Citation |last=Elwell-Sutton |first=L. P. |title=THE "RUBĀ'Ī" IN EARLY PERSIAN LITERATURE |date=1975 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-iran/rubai-in-early-persian-literature/EC4BCE7888BCCD7D9D402A3CAD9EBB3D |work=The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs |volume=4 |pages=633–657 |editor-last=Frye |editor-first=R. N. |series=The Cambridge History of Iran |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-20093-6 |access-date=2021-06-30 |archive-date=2021-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709193008/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-iran/rubai-in-early-persian-literature/EC4BCE7888BCCD7D9D402A3CAD9EBB3D |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Unsuri|Unsuri Balkhi]] – 10th/11th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet at the court of the [[Ghaznavids]].
* [[Manuchehri Damghani|Manuchihri Damghani]] – 11th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] royal poet at the Ghaznavid court, possibly born in Balkh according to [[Dawlatshah Samarqandi|Dawlat Shah Samarkandi]].
* [[Rashid al-Din Vatvat]] – 11th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] secretary, poet, and philologist.
* [[Anvari]] – 12th-century Persian poet and scientist, regarded as one of the most significant figures in Persian literature; lived and died in Balkh.
* [[Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi|Mawlānā Jalal ad-Din Rūmī Balkhi]] – 13th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet, one of the most famous and influential Persian writers, born in Balkh.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 23, 2021 |title=Afghanistan to start restoration of Rumi's birthplace |publisher=TRT World |url=https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/afghanistan-to-start-restoration-of-rumi-s-birthplace-45226 |access-date=2021-03-24 |archive-date=2021-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324043255/https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/afghanistan-to-start-restoration-of-rumi-s-birthplace-45226 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://mevlana-rumi-quotes.blogspot.com/2014/03/maulana-jalal-ud-din-muhammad-rumi.html|title = Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi Balkhi Biography - Mevlana Celaludin Rumi Biografisi|date = 28 March 2014|access-date = 16 June 2020|archive-date = 16 June 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200616194911/https://mevlana-rumi-quotes.blogspot.com/2014/03/maulana-jalal-ud-din-muhammad-rumi.html|url-status = live}}</ref>
* [[Amir Khusro|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 introducing ''[[She'r-e Nimaa'i]]'' ("Nimaic poetry") to Afghan-Persian literature; born in Balkh.

=== Scientists ===
* [[Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi]] – 8th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] astrologer, astronomer, and philosopher, considered a major astrologer of the [[Abbasid]] court in Baghdad.
* [[Abu Zayd al-Balkhi]] – 9th-century Persian polymath: geographer, mathematician, physician, and psychologist; pioneer in mental health concepts.
* [[Avicenna|Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah ibn Sina al-Balkhi al-Bukhari]] or Avicenna – 10th/11th-century philosopher and scientist, regarded as the father of early modern medicine; his father, Abdullah, was from Balkh.
* [[Ali ibn Yusuf al-Ilaqi]] – 11th-century Persian physician and student of Avicenna, practiced in Balkh.
* [[Al-Isfizari]] – 12th-century Khorasani mathematician who worked in Balkh.
* [[Ibn Balkhi]] – 12th-century Iranian historian and author of ''Fārs-Nāma''.

=== Politicians ===
* [[Khalid ibn Barmak]] – 8th-century wazir of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and member of the prominent [[Barmakid]] family.
* [[Harthama ibn A'yan]] – 8th-century [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] military commander and governor of Khurasan.

==== Monarchs ====
* [[Vishtaspa]] – Ancient king of Balkh and early supporter of [[Zoroaster]].
* [[Diodotus I]] – Greek king who ruled in Balkh in the 3rd century BC.
* [[Saman Khuda]] – Founder of the [[Samanid Empire|Samanid dynasty]], born near Balkh.
* [[Sabuktigin]] – Founder of the [[Ghaznavid dynasty]], who died in Balkh.
* [[Timur]] – 14th-century conqueror who founded the [[Timurid Empire]]; crowned in Balkh.

=== Religious figures ===
* [[Zoroaster]], ancient prophet traditionally associated with Balkh by some scholars<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Young |first=Rodney S. |date=1955-10-01 |title=The South Wall of Balkh-Bactra |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/500794 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=267–276 |doi=10.2307/500794 |jstor=500794 |issn=0002-9114|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
*[[Muqatil ibn Sulayman|Muqatil ibn Sulayman Al-Balkhi]], 8th-century story teller of the [[Quran]], wrote one of the earliest, if not first, commentaries (tafsir) of the Qur'an
* [[Ibrahim ibn Adham|Ibrahim ibn Adham Balkhi]], 8th century [[Sufi]] [[saint]] and reputedly ruler of Balkh, one of the most prominent of the early [[ascetic]] [[Sufi]] [[saint]]s.
*[[Hiwi al-Balkhi]], 9th century [[Bukharan Jew]]ish [[exegete]] and [[Biblical critic]]
* Abu l-Jaysh al-Balkhi,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wikishia.net/view/Abu_l-Jaysh_al-Balkhi |title=Abu l-Jaysh al-Balkhi |website=wikishia}}{{RS|date=July 2025}}</ref> 10th century  [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shiite]] theologian and [[Muhaddith]]
*[[Shahid Balkhi]] 10th century [[Persians|Persian]] [[theologian]], [[Iranian philosophy|philosopher]], [[Persian literature|poet]] and [[sufi]]
*Abdullah, father of [[Avicenna]] and respected [[Ismaili]] scholar<ref name="Corbin1993">{{cite book |last=Corbin |first=Henry |title=History of Islamic Philosophy, Translated by Liadain Sherrard, Philip Sherrard |publisher=London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies |year=1993 |isbn=0-7103-0416-1 |pages=167–175 |oclc=22109949 |author-link=Henry Corbin|orig-year=First published French 1964)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Adamson |first1=Peter |title=Philosophy in the Islamic World: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199577491 |page=113}}</ref>
*{{ill|Muhammad ibn Husayn al Khatibi al Balkhi|ru|Баха ад-Дин Валад|vertical-align=sup}} also known as Baha al-Din Walad, father of [[Rumi|Rumi (Balkhi)]] and respected theologian, jurist and [[Mysticism|mystic]] from Balkh
* [[Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi|Mawlānā Jalal ad-Din Rūmī Balkhi]] – 13th-century [[Persian language|Persian]] poet, one of the most famous and influential Persian writers, born in Balkh.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 23, 2021 |title=Afghanistan to start restoration of Rumi's birthplace |publisher=TRT World |url=https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/afghanistan-to-start-restoration-of-rumi-s-birthplace-45226 |access-date=2021-03-24 |archive-date=2021-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324043255/https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/afghanistan-to-start-restoration-of-rumi-s-birthplace-45226 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://mevlana-rumi-quotes.blogspot.com/2014/03/maulana-jalal-ud-din-muhammad-rumi.html|title = Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi Balkhi Biography - Mevlana Celaludin Rumi Biografisi|date = 28 March 2014|access-date = 16 June 2020|archive-date = 16 June 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200616194911/https://mevlana-rumi-quotes.blogspot.com/2014/03/maulana-jalal-ud-din-muhammad-rumi.html|url-status = live}}</ref>
*[[Sultan Balkhi]], a 16th-century Muslim saint, associated with the spread of Islam in [[Bengal]]

==See also==
{{columns-list|
*[[Nava Vihara]]
*[[Kumargah]]
*[[Mount Imeon]]
*[[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism]]}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
;Published in the 19th century
*{{Citation |publisher=B. Quaritch|publication-place=London |author=Edward Balfour |author-link=Edward Balfour |title=Cyclopaedia of India |edition=3rd|publication-date=1885|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cyclopaediaofind01balfuoft#page/248/mode/2up |chapter=Balkh|year=1885}}

;Published in the 21st century
*{{cite book |chapter=Balkh |title=Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
*{{cite book |last1=Azad |first1=Arezou |title=Sacred Landscape in Medieval Afghanistan: Revisiting the Faḍāʾil-i Balkh |date=November 2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-968705-3}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Balkh}}
{{Commons category|Balkh}}
*[http://www.balkhheritage.org The Balkh Art and Cultural Heritage Project] housed at the [[Oriental Institute, Oxford|Oriental Institute]] at the [[University of Oxford]]
*[http://www.mazar-i-sharif.de Mazar-i-Sharif (Balkh)] {{in lang|de}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110817054329/http://ghn.globalheritagefund.org/?id=16 Explore Balkh with Google Earth] on [[Global Heritage Network]]
*[http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/20010105/iin05014.html Indigenous Indian civilization prevailed in Balkh, Afghanistan till the second half of tenth century AD] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920034518/http://www.expressindia.com/news/ie/daily/20010105/iin05014.html |date=2010-09-20}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.islamicarchitecturedatabase.org/ircica/index2.php?page=Country&id=1 |title=Balkh |work=Islamic Cultural Heritage Database |publisher=Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture |location=Istanbul |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615060946/http://www.islamicarchitecturedatabase.org/ircica/index2.php?page=Country&id=1 |archive-date=2013-06-15}}
*{{cite web |author=ArchNet.org |publisher=MIT School of Architecture and Planning |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |url=http://archnet.org/library/places/one-place.jsp?place_id=6769 |title=Balkh |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926185621/http://archnet.org/library/places/one-place.jsp?place_id=6769 |archive-date=2011-09-26}}

{{Balkh Province}}
{{Districts of Balkh}}
{{Zoroastrianism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Balkh]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC]]
[[Category:Populated places in Balkh Province]]
[[Category:Populated places along the Silk Road]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Ancient Iranian cities]]
[[Category:Districts of Balkh Province]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Places in Shahnameh]]