Herat - History

34º20N 62º10E, pop (2001e) 161 700. Capital of Herat province, W Afghanistan, close to the Hari Rud; lies on the old trade route from Persia to India and caravan route from China to C Asia and Europe; birthplace of Ustad Kamal al-Din Bihzad; became part of a united Afghanistan (1881); Great Mosque (12th-c); textiles, carpets, weaving; market for dried fruits, nuts, wool.

Herat, Afghanistan
The Friday Mosque in Herāt
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Herat
Districts
Chief of Police
Area
- City	km²
Population
- City (2002)	249,000
Time zone	GMT+04:30 Kabul (UTC)

Herāt (Persian: هرات) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herāt.

Herat is an ancient city with many historic buildings, although these have suffered damage in various military conflicts during the last few decades.

History

Herat dates back to ancient times, but its exact age remains unknown. The name of the district and its main town is derived from that of the chief river of the region, the Hari Rud (Old Iranian Harayu "with velocity"), which traverses the district and passes just south (5 km) of modern Herat. (Compare the adjoining districts/rivers/towns of Arachosia and Bactria.)

The Persian Achaemenid district of Aria is mentioned in the provincial lists that are included in various royal inscriptions, for instance, in the Behistun inscription of Darius I (ca.

At the time of Alexander the Great, Aria was obviously an important district. It was part of the Seleucid Empire but was captured by others on various occasions and became part of the Parthian Empire in 167 BC.

In the Sasanian period (226-652), "Harev" is listed in an inscription on the Ka'ba-i Zartosht at Naqsh-e Rustam;

In the last two centuries of Sasanian rule, the area and town of Aria/Herat had great strategic importance in the endless wars between the Sasanian Iranians and the Chionites and Hephthalites, of Hunnish origin, who had been settled in modern northern Afghanistan since the late fourth century.. The city of Herat, however, became well known with the advent of the Arabs in the middle of the seventh century.

When the Arab armies appeared in Khorasan in the 650s, Herat was counted among the twelve capital towns of the Sasanian Empire.

Around 786-809 Herāt was part of the Abbasid caliphate.

After 867-869 the Saffarid dynasty took control.

Before 1040 it was ruled by the Ghaznavids.

In 1221 it was captured by the Mongols and later destroyed by Genghis Khan.

Around 1381 it was destroyed again by Timur.

The Black Sheep Turkomans (Qara Qoyunlu) at one point established their capital in Herat during the fifteenth century.

In 1506 it was captured by the Uzbeks and a few years later by Shah Ismail Safavi, to become part of a new Persian Empire.

From 1718 until 1863, there were various battles fought until the city became part of present-day Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah Durrani took possession of Herat in 1750, which became part of the Afghan Empire after almost a year of siege and bloody conflict. The city was taken by Dost Mohammed Khan in 1863, restoring it to its status as part of a broader Afghan country.

Most of the Musallah complex in Herat was destroyed in 1885 by the British army for a clear line of sight for their artillery against Russian invaders (who never came).

During the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Herat was used by the Soviets.

Ismail Khan became a Mujahedin commander and after the departure of the Soviets he became governor of Herāt. However, after the US invasion of Afghanistan, on November 12, 2001, it was captured by the Afghan Northern Alliance and Ismail Khan returned to power (see Battle of Herat). In 2004, Mirwais Sadeq Khan, who was Aviation Minister of Afghanistan and the son of Ismail Khan, was ambushed and killed in Herat.

Herat is presently in full control of the new Afghan government, which is led by US backed President Hamid Karzai.