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Herāt (;
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province
Herat ( Persian: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north-western part of the country. Together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of Afghanistan. Its primary city a ...
, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains
The Paropamisus Mountains
on www.ezilon.com (locally known as Selseleh-ye Safīd KūhHari River in the western part of the country. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between the Middle East, Central and South Asia, it serves as a regional hub in the country's west. Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its
Ahmad Shah Durrani, father of modern Afghanistan
''. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. (PDF versio
66 MB
) In 1716, the Abdali Afghans inhabiting the city revolted and formed their own Sultanate, the
Herat is first recorded in ancient times, but its precise date of foundation is unknown. Under the Persian Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), the surrounding district was known by the Old Persian name of ''Haraiva'' (𐏃𐎼𐎡𐎺), and in classical sources, the region was correspondingly known as Areia (
However, most sources suggest that Herat was predominantly
At the time of the
Herat was a great trading center strategically located on trade routes from Mediterranean to India or to China. The city was noted for its textiles during the Abbasid Caliphate, according to many references by geographers. Herāt also had many learned sons such as Khwajah Abdullah Ansari, Ansārī. The city is described by Estakhri and Ibn Hawqal in the 10th century as a prosperous town surrounded by strong walls with plenty of water sources, extensive suburbs, an inner citadel, a congregational mosque, and four gates, each gate opening to a thriving market place. The government building was outside the city at a distance of about a mile in a place called Khorāsānābād. A church was still visible in the countryside northeast of the town on the road to Balkh, and farther away on a hilltop stood a flourishing fire temple, called Sereshk, or Arshak according to Hamdallah Mustawfi, Mustawfi.
Herat was a part of the Tahirid dynasty, Taherid dominion in Khorāsān until the rise of the Saffarid dynasty, Saffarids in Sistan, Sistān under Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, Ya'qub-i Laith in 861, who, in 862, started launching raids on Herat before besieging and capturing it on 16 August 867, and again in 872. The Saffarids succeeded in expelling the Taherids from Khorasan in 873.
The Samanids, Sāmānid dynasty was established in Transoxiana by three brothers, Nuh I, Nuh, Yahya ibn Asad, Yahyā, and Ahmad Samani, Ahmad. Ahmad Sāmāni opened the way for the Samanid dynasty to the conquest of Khorāsān, including Herāt, which they were to rule for one century. The centralized Samanid administration served as a model for later dynasties. The Samanid power was destroyed in 999 by the Qarakhanids, who were advancing on Transoxiana from the northeast, and by the Ghaznavids, former Samanid retainers, attacking from the southeast.
Mahmud of Ghazni, Sultan Maḥmud of Ghazni officially took control of Khorāsān in 998. Herat was one of the six Ghaznavid mints in the region. In 1040, Herat was captured by the Seljuk Empire. During this change of power in Herat, there was supposedly a power vacuum which was filled by Qutb Shah, Abdullah Awn, who established a city-state and made an alliance with Mahmud of Ghazni. Yet, in 1175, it was captured by the Ghurid dynasty, Ghurids of Ghor and then came under the Khwarazmian dynasty, Khawarazm Empire in 1214. According to the account of Mustawfi, Herat flourished especially under the Ghurid dynasty in the 12th century. Mustawfi reported that there were "359 colleges in Herat, 12,000 shops all fully occupied, 6,000 bath-houses; besides caravanserais and mills, also a darwish convent and a fire temple". There were about 444,000 houses occupied by a settled population. The men were described as "warlike and carry arms", and they were Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims. The Friday Mosque of Herat, great mosque of Herāt was built by Ghiyasuddin Ghori in 1201. In this period Herāt became an important center for the production of metal goods, especially in bronze, often decorated with elaborate inlays in precious metals.
The Mongol Empire, Mongols laid siege to Herat twice. The first siege resulted in the surrender of the city, the slaughter of the local sultan's army of 12,000, and the appointment of two governors, one Mongol and one Muslim. The second, prompted by a rebellion against Mongol rule, lasted seven months and ended in June 1222 with, according to one account, the beheading of the entire population of 1,600,000 people by the victorious Mongols, such that "no head was left on a body, nor body with a head."
The city remained in ruins from 1222 to about 1236. In 1244 a local prince Shams al-Din Kart was named ruler of Herāt by the Mongol governor of Khorāsān and in 1255 he was confirmed in his rule by the founder of the Ilkhanate, Il-Khan dynasty Hulagu Khan, Hulagu. Shamsuddin Kart founded a new dynasty and his successors, especially Fakhruddin Kart and Ghiyasuddin Kart, built many mosques and other buildings. The members of this dynasty were great patrons of literature and the arts. By this time Herāt became known as the ''pearl of Khorasan''.
Timur took Herat in 1380 and he brought the Kartids, Kartid dynasty to an end a few years later. The city reached its greatest glory under the Timurid dynasty, Timurid princes, especially Husayn Bayqarah, Sultan Husayn Bayqara who ruled Herat from 1469 until May 4, 1506. His chief minister, the poet and author in Persian and Turkish, Ali-Shir Nava'i, Mir Ali-Shir Nava'i was a great builder and patron of the arts. Under the Timurids, Herat assumed the role of the main capital of an empire that extended in the West as far as central Persia. As the capital of the Timurid empire, it boasted many fine religious buildings and was famous for its sumptuous court life and musical performance and its tradition of miniature paintings. On the whole, the period was one of relative stability, prosperity, and development of economy and cultural activities. It began with the nomination of Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty), Shahrokh, the youngest son of Timur, as governor of Herat in 1397. The reign of Shahrokh in Herat was marked by intense royal patronage, building activities, and the promotion of manufacturing and trade, especially through the restoration and enlargement of the Herat's bāzār. The present Musallah Complex, and many buildings such as the madrasa of Gawhar Shad, Ali Shir mahāl, many gardens, and others, date from this time. The village of Gazar Gah, over two km northeast of Herat, contained a shrine that was enlarged and embellished under the Timurids. The tomb of the poet and mystic Khwajah Abdullah Ansari, Khwājah Abdullāh Ansārī (d. 1088), was first rebuilt by Shahrokh about 1425, and other famous men were buried in the shrine area. Herat was shortly captured by Kara Koyunlu between 1458 and 1459.
In 1507 Herat was occupied by the Shaybanid Dynasty, Uzbeks but after much fighting the city was taken by Ismail I, Shah Isma'il, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, in 1510 and the Shamlu Qizilbash assumed the governorship of the area. Under the Safavids, Herat was again relegated to the position of a provincial capital, albeit one of particular importance. At the death of Shah Isma'il the Uzbeks again took Herat and held it until Tahmasp I, Shah Tahmasp retook it in 1528. The Persian king, Abbas I of Persia, Abbas was born in Herat, and in Safavid texts, Herat is referred to as ''a'zam-i bilād-i īrān'', meaning "the greatest of the cities of Iran". In the 16th century, all future Safavid rulers, from Tahmasp I to Abbas I, were governors of Herat in their youth.
In 1793, Herat (1793-1863), Herat became independent for several years when
File:Herat Remains of Musallah complex.jpg, Traffic passing on the road near the Herat minarets, 2005.
File:Gawhar shad-1417-2.jpg, The two mausoleums with the minarets, July 2001.
The famous Musalla Complex, Musalla of Gawhar Shah of Herat, a large Islamic religious complex consisting of five minarets, several mausoleums along with mosques and madrasas was dynamited during the Panjdeh incident to prevent their usage by the advancing Russian Armed Forces, Russian forces. Some emergency preservation work was carried out at the site in 2001 which included building protective walls around the Gawhar Shad Mausoleum and Sultan Husain Madrasa, repairing the remaining minaret of Gawhar Shad's Madrasa, and replanting the mausoleum garden.
In the 1960s, engineers from the United States built Herat International Airport, Herat Airport, which was used by the Soviet Union, Soviet forces during the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Even before the Soviet–Afghan War, Soviet invasion at the end of 1979, there was a substantial presence of Soviet advisors in the city with their families.
Between March 10 and March 20, 1979, the Afghan National Army, Afghan Army in Herāt under the control of commander Ismail Khan mutinied. Thousands of protesters took to the streets against the Khalq communist regime's oppression led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. The new rebels led by Khan managed to oust the communists and take control of the city for 3 days, with some protesters murdering any Soviet advisers. This shocked the government, who blamed the new administration of Iran following the Iranian Revolution for influencing the uprising. Reprisals by the government followed, and between 3,000 and 24,000 people (according to different sources) were killed, in what is called the 1979 Herat uprising, or in Persian as the ''Qiam-e Herat''. The city itself was recaptured with tanks and airborne forces, but at the cost of thousands of civilians killed. This massacre was the first of its kind since the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, and was the bloodiest event preceding the Soviet–Afghan War.
Herat received damage during the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, especially its western side. The province as a whole was one of the worst-hit. In April 1983, a series of Soviet bombings damaged half of the city and killed around 3,000 civilians, described as "extremely heavy, brutal and prolonged". Ismail Khan was the leading mujahideen commander in Herāt fighting against the Soviet-backed government.
After the communist government's collapse in 1992, Khan joined the Islamic State of Afghanistan, new government and he became governor of
*Parks
**Park-e Taraki
**Park-e Millat
**Khane-ye Jihad Park
*Monuments
** Herat Citadel (Qala Ikhtyaruddin or Arg)
**Musalla Complex, Musallah Complex
**Musalla Minarets of Herat
Of the more than dozen minarets that once stood in Herāt, many have been toppled from war and neglect over the past century. Recently, however, everyday traffic threatens many of the remaining unique towers by shaking the very foundations they stand on. Cars and trucks that drive on a road encircling the ancient city rumble the ground every time they pass these historic structures. UNESCO personnel and Afghan authorities have been working to stabilize the Fifth Minaret.
*Museums
**Herat Museum, located inside the Herat Citadel
**Jihad Museum
*Mausoleums and tombs
**Gawhar Shad Mausoleum
**Khwaja 'Abd Allah Ansari shrine, Mausoleum of Khwajah Abdullah Ansari
**Tomb of Jami
**Tomb of khaje Qaltan
**Mausoleum of Mirwais Sadiq
**Jewish cemetery – there once existed an ancient Jewish community in the city. Its remnants are a cemetery and a ruined shrine.
*Mosques
**Jumu'ah Mosque (Friday Mosque of Herat)
**Gazargah Sharif
**Khalghe Sharif
**Shah Zahdahe
*Hotels
**Serena Hotel (coming soon)
**Diamond Hotel
**Marcopolo Hotel
*Stadiums
**Herat Stadium
*Universities
**Herat University
The population of Herat numbered approximately 592,902 in 2021. The city houses a multi-ethnic society and speakers of the Persian language are in the majority. There is no current data on the precise ethnic composition of the city's population, but according to a 2003 map found in the National Geographic (magazine), National Geographic Magazine, Persian language, Persian-speaking Tajik people, Tajik and Farsiwan peoples form the majority of the city, comprising around 85% of the population. The remaining population comprises Pashtun people, Pashtuns (10%), Hazara people, Hazaras (2%), Uzbek people, Uzbeks (2%) and Turkmen people, Turkmens (1%).
Herat International Airport was built by engineers from the United States in the 1960s and was used by the Soviet Armed Forces during the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s. It was bombed in late 2001 during Operation Enduring Freedom but had been rebuilt within the next decade. The runway of the airport has been extended and upgraded and as of August 2014 there were regularly scheduled direct flights to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Dubai International Airport, Dubai, Mashhad International Airport, Mashad, and various airports in Afghanistan. At least five airlines operated regularly scheduled direct flights to Kabul International Airport, Kabul.
File:CH-NB - Afghanistan, Herat- Schrein von Gazar Gah - Annemarie Schwarzenbach - SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-19-193.jpg, Outside the Shrine of Khwaja Abd Allah, Shrine of Gazar Gah, c. 1939
File:US consulate in Herat.jpg, List of diplomatic missions of the United States, U.S. Consulate in Herat
File:Mausoleum of Mirwais Sadiq Khan in 2009.jpg, Mausoleum of Mirwais Sadiq, Mirwais Sadiq Khan, son of Ismail Khan, who was killed in 2004 in clashes with the Afghan National Army
File:Development Bank of Afghanistan.JPG, Shopping center
File:PoleMalanHerat.jpg, Pol-e Mālān, a historical bridge
File:Herat 6918a.jpg, Pillar of Musalla Complex, Musallah Complex
File:Herat Ansari tomb.jpg, Khwaja 'Abd Allah Ansari shrine, Khwājah Abdullāh Ansārī shrine, a Sufi of the 11th century
File:Gazar Gah cemetery 1.jpg, Gazar Gah cemetery
File:Jami Tomb.JPG, Tomb of Jāmi, a poet of the 15th century
File:Herat Jews Cemetery.jpg, The History of the Jews in Afghanistan, Jewish cemetery
File:View of Herat in 2009.jpg, View of Herat from a hill
Detailed map of Herāt cityMap of Herāt and surroundings in 1942
Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin {{Iranian Architecture Herat, Cities in Afghanistan Cities in Central Asia Populated places along the Silk Road Populated places in Herat Province Provincial capitals in Afghanistan Cities founded by Alexander the Great
on www.ezilon.com (locally known as Selseleh-ye Safīd KūhHari River in the western part of the country. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between the Middle East, Central and South Asia, it serves as a regional hub in the country's west. Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
. The city has a number of historic sites, including the Herat Citadel and the Musalla Complex. During the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan, as it was known as the ''Pearl of Khorasan''. After the conquest of Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, the city became an important center of intellectual and artistic life in the Islamic world. Under the rule of Shah Rukh
Shah Rukh or Shahrukh ( fa, شاهرخ, ''Šāhrokh'') (20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447.
He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynas ...
the city served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance
The Timurid Renaissance was a historical period in Asian and Islamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the gradual downturn of the Islamic Golden Age, the Timurid Empire, based in Central Asia rul ...
, whose glory matched Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
of the Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
as the center of a cultural rebirth. After the fall of the Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani (Chagatai language, Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Tu ...
, Herat has been governed by various Afghan rulers since the early 18th century.Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani, father of modern Afghanistan
''. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. (PDF versio
66 MB
) In 1716, the Abdali Afghans inhabiting the city revolted and formed their own Sultanate, the
Sadozai Sultanate of Herat
The Sadozai Sultanate of Herat ( fa, سلطنت سدوزایی هرات) was a state in Herat founded in 1716 when Abdali Afghans expelled Safavid forces from the province. They were conquered in 1732 by the Afsharids
Afsharid Iran ( fa, ا ...
. They were conquered by the Afsharids
Afsharid Iran ( fa, ایران افشاری), also referred as the Afsharid Empire was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia). The state was ruled by the Af ...
in 1732. After Nader Shah's death and Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power in 1747, Herat became part of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. It became an independent city-state in the first half of the 19th century, facing several Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
invasions until being incorporated into Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in 1863. The roads from Herat to Iran (through the border town of Islam Qala
Islām Qala ( Persian/Pashto: اسلام قلعه, also ''Eslām Qalʿeh''), known historically as Kafir Qala, is a border town in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, near the Afghanistan–Iran border. It is the official entry by land fro ...
) and Turkmenistan (through the border town of Torghundi
Torghundi, also spelled Turghundi or Towrgondi ( ps, تورغونډۍ, translit=Tōrghūnḍəi, tk, Torghundi), is a border town in northern Herat Province of Afghanistan. The town's main attraction is the Torghundi custom house and border che ...
) are still strategically important. As the gateway to Iran, it collects high amount of customs revenue for Afghanistan. It also has an international airport. Following the 2001 war the city had been relatively safe from Taliban insurgent attacks. In 2021, it was announced that Herat would be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. On 12 August 2021, the city was seized by Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
fighters as part of the Taliban's summer offensive.
History
Herat is first recorded in ancient times, but its precise date of foundation is unknown. Under the Persian Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), the surrounding district was known by the Old Persian name of ''Haraiva'' (𐏃𐎼𐎡𐎺), and in classical sources, the region was correspondingly known as Areia (Aria
In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
). In the Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
collection of Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.
The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...
, the district is referred as ''Haroiva''. The name of the district and its principal town is a derivative from that of the local river, the Herey River (from Old Iranian
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are grouped ...
''Harayu'', meaning "with velocity"), which goes through the district and ends south of Herat. Herey is mentioned in Sanskrit as a yellow or golden color equivalent to Persian "Zard" meaning Gold (yellow). The naming of a region and its principal town after the main river is a common feature in this part of the world— compare the adjoining districts/rivers/towns of Arachosia
Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the ...
and Bactria.
The district ''Aria'' of the Achaemenid Empire is mentioned in the provincial lists that are included in various royal inscriptions, for instance, in the Behistun inscription of Darius I (ca. 520 BC). Representatives from the district are depicted in reliefs, e.g., at the royal Achaemenid tombs of Naqsh-e Rustam
Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into t ...
and Persepolis
, native_name_lang =
, alternate_name =
, image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.
, map =
, map_type ...
. They are wearing Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
-style dress (with a tunic
A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...
and trousers
Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...
tucked into high boots) and a twisted Bashlyk
A bashlyk, also spelled bashlik ( krc, Başlıq, Adyghe: ''Shkharkhon,'' Abkhaz: ''qtarpá'', Chechen: ''Ċukkuiy,'' Ossetic: ''Kaskæ'' crh, Başlıq, Tatar: Başlıq, Turkish: Başlık; "baş" - head, "-lıq" (''Tatar'') / "-lık" (''Turki ...
that covers their head, chin and neck.
Hamdallah Mustawfi
Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini ( fa, حمدالله مستوفى قزوینی, Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and ...
, composer of the 14th-century geographical work ''Nuzhat al-Qulub
The ''Nuzhat al-Qulub'' (also spelled ''Nozhat al-Qolub''; fa, نزهةالقلوب, "Hearts' Bliss") is a Persian geographical treatise written in the 1340s by Hamdallah Mustawfi. It is the earliest surviving work to have a map focused on Iran. ...
'' writes that:
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
described Herat as ''the bread-basket of Central Asia''. At the time of Alexander the Great in 330 BC, Aria was obviously an important district. It was administered by a satrap called Satibarzanes
Satibarzanes ( Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; died 330 BC), a Persian, was satrap of Aria under Darius III, king of Persia.
In 330 BC, Alexander the Great, marching through the borders of Aria on his way from Hyrcania against the Parthians, w ...
, who was one of the three main Persian officials in the East of the Empire, together with the satrap Bessus of Bactria and Barsaentes of Arachosia. In late 330 BC, Alexander captured the Arian capital that was called Artacoana. The town was rebuilt and the citadel was constructed. Afghanistan became part of the Seleucid Empire.
However, most sources suggest that Herat was predominantly Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
. It became part of the Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...
in 167 BC. In the Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
period (226-652), 𐭧𐭥𐭩𐭥 ''Harēv'' is listed in an inscription on the Ka'ba-i Zartosht
The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht ( fa, کعبه زرتشت), or the Cube of Zarathustra, is a stone quadrangular stepped structure in the Naqsh-e Rustam compound beside Zangiabad village in Marvdasht county in Fars, Iran. The Naqsh-e Rustam compound also ...
at Naqsh-e Rustam
Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into t ...
; and ''Hariy'' is mentioned in the Pahlavi catalogue of the provincial capitals of the empire. In around 430, the town is also listed as having a Christian community, with a Nestorian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
bishop.
In the last two centuries of Sasanian rule, Aria (Herat) had great strategic importance in the endless wars between the Sasanians, the Chionites
Xionites, Chionites, or Chionitae (Middle Persian: ''Xiyōn'' or ''Hiyōn''; Avestan: ''Xiiaona''; Sogdian ''xwn''; Pahlavi ''Xyon'') were a nomadic people in the Central Asian regions of Transoxiana and Bactria.
The Xionites appear to be syno ...
and the Hephthalites
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
who had been settled in the northern section of Afghanistan since the late 4th century.
Islamization
At the time of the Arab invasion
The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territories ...
in the middle of the 7th century, the Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
central power seemed already largely nominal in the province in contrast with the role of the Hephthalites
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
tribal lords, who were settled in the Herat region and in the neighboring districts, mainly in pastoral Bādghis and in Qohestān. It must be underlined, however, that Herat remained one of the three Sasanian mint centers in the east, the other two beings Balkh and Marv. The Hephthalites from Herat and some unidentified Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
opposed the Arab forces in a battle of Qohestān in 651-52 AD, trying to block their advance on Nishāpur, but they were defeated
When the Arab armies appeared in Greater Khorasan, Khorāsān in the 650s AD, Herāt was counted among the twelve capital towns of the Sasanian Empire. The Arab army under the general command of Ahnaf ibn Qais in its conquest of Khorāsān in 652 seems to have avoided Herāt, but it can be assumed that the city eventually submitted to the Arabs, since shortly afterward an Arab governor is mentioned there. A treaty was drawn in which the regions of Bādghis and Bushanj were included. As did many other places in Khorāsān, Herāt rebelled and had to be re-conquered several times.
Another power that was active in the area in the 650s was Tang dynasty China which had embarked on a campaign that culminated in the Conquest of the Western Turks. By 659–661, the Tang claimed a tenuous suzerainty over Herat, the westernmost point of Chinese power in its long history. This hold however would be ephemeral with local Turkish tribes rising in rebellion in 665 and driving out the Tang.
In 702 AD Yazid ibn al-Muhallab defeated certain Arab rebels, followers of Ibn al-Ash'ath, and forced them out of Herat. The city was the scene of conflicts between different groups of Muslims and Arab tribes in the disorders leading to the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate. Herat was also a center of the followers of Ustadh Sis.
In 870 AD, Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, a local ruler of the Saffarids, Saffarid dynasty conquered Herat and the rest of the nearby regions in the name of Islam.
Pearl of Khorasan
The region of Herāt was under the rule of King Nuh II, Nuh III, the seventh of the Samanids, Samanid line—at the time of Sebük Tigin and his older son, Mahmud of Ghazni. The governor of Herāt was a noble by the name of ''Faik'', who was appointed by Nuh III. It is said that Faik was a powerful, but insubordinate governor of Nuh III, and had been punished by Nuh III. Faik made overtures to Bogra Khan and Ughar Khan of Khorasan. Bogra Khan answered Faik's call, came to Herāt, and became its ruler. The Samanids fled, betrayed at the hands of Faik to whom the defense of Herāt had been entrusted by Nuh III. In 994, Nuh III invited Alptegin to come to his aid. Alptegin, along with Mahmud of Ghazni, defeated Faik and annexed Herāt, Nishapur and Tous, Iran, Tous.
Herat was a great trading center strategically located on trade routes from Mediterranean to India or to China. The city was noted for its textiles during the Abbasid Caliphate, according to many references by geographers. Herāt also had many learned sons such as Khwajah Abdullah Ansari, Ansārī. The city is described by Estakhri and Ibn Hawqal in the 10th century as a prosperous town surrounded by strong walls with plenty of water sources, extensive suburbs, an inner citadel, a congregational mosque, and four gates, each gate opening to a thriving market place. The government building was outside the city at a distance of about a mile in a place called Khorāsānābād. A church was still visible in the countryside northeast of the town on the road to Balkh, and farther away on a hilltop stood a flourishing fire temple, called Sereshk, or Arshak according to Hamdallah Mustawfi, Mustawfi.
Herat was a part of the Tahirid dynasty, Taherid dominion in Khorāsān until the rise of the Saffarid dynasty, Saffarids in Sistan, Sistān under Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, Ya'qub-i Laith in 861, who, in 862, started launching raids on Herat before besieging and capturing it on 16 August 867, and again in 872. The Saffarids succeeded in expelling the Taherids from Khorasan in 873.
The Samanids, Sāmānid dynasty was established in Transoxiana by three brothers, Nuh I, Nuh, Yahya ibn Asad, Yahyā, and Ahmad Samani, Ahmad. Ahmad Sāmāni opened the way for the Samanid dynasty to the conquest of Khorāsān, including Herāt, which they were to rule for one century. The centralized Samanid administration served as a model for later dynasties. The Samanid power was destroyed in 999 by the Qarakhanids, who were advancing on Transoxiana from the northeast, and by the Ghaznavids, former Samanid retainers, attacking from the southeast.
Mahmud of Ghazni, Sultan Maḥmud of Ghazni officially took control of Khorāsān in 998. Herat was one of the six Ghaznavid mints in the region. In 1040, Herat was captured by the Seljuk Empire. During this change of power in Herat, there was supposedly a power vacuum which was filled by Qutb Shah, Abdullah Awn, who established a city-state and made an alliance with Mahmud of Ghazni. Yet, in 1175, it was captured by the Ghurid dynasty, Ghurids of Ghor and then came under the Khwarazmian dynasty, Khawarazm Empire in 1214. According to the account of Mustawfi, Herat flourished especially under the Ghurid dynasty in the 12th century. Mustawfi reported that there were "359 colleges in Herat, 12,000 shops all fully occupied, 6,000 bath-houses; besides caravanserais and mills, also a darwish convent and a fire temple". There were about 444,000 houses occupied by a settled population. The men were described as "warlike and carry arms", and they were Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims. The Friday Mosque of Herat, great mosque of Herāt was built by Ghiyasuddin Ghori in 1201. In this period Herāt became an important center for the production of metal goods, especially in bronze, often decorated with elaborate inlays in precious metals.
The Mongol Empire, Mongols laid siege to Herat twice. The first siege resulted in the surrender of the city, the slaughter of the local sultan's army of 12,000, and the appointment of two governors, one Mongol and one Muslim. The second, prompted by a rebellion against Mongol rule, lasted seven months and ended in June 1222 with, according to one account, the beheading of the entire population of 1,600,000 people by the victorious Mongols, such that "no head was left on a body, nor body with a head."
The city remained in ruins from 1222 to about 1236. In 1244 a local prince Shams al-Din Kart was named ruler of Herāt by the Mongol governor of Khorāsān and in 1255 he was confirmed in his rule by the founder of the Ilkhanate, Il-Khan dynasty Hulagu Khan, Hulagu. Shamsuddin Kart founded a new dynasty and his successors, especially Fakhruddin Kart and Ghiyasuddin Kart, built many mosques and other buildings. The members of this dynasty were great patrons of literature and the arts. By this time Herāt became known as the ''pearl of Khorasan''.
Timur took Herat in 1380 and he brought the Kartids, Kartid dynasty to an end a few years later. The city reached its greatest glory under the Timurid dynasty, Timurid princes, especially Husayn Bayqarah, Sultan Husayn Bayqara who ruled Herat from 1469 until May 4, 1506. His chief minister, the poet and author in Persian and Turkish, Ali-Shir Nava'i, Mir Ali-Shir Nava'i was a great builder and patron of the arts. Under the Timurids, Herat assumed the role of the main capital of an empire that extended in the West as far as central Persia. As the capital of the Timurid empire, it boasted many fine religious buildings and was famous for its sumptuous court life and musical performance and its tradition of miniature paintings. On the whole, the period was one of relative stability, prosperity, and development of economy and cultural activities. It began with the nomination of Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty), Shahrokh, the youngest son of Timur, as governor of Herat in 1397. The reign of Shahrokh in Herat was marked by intense royal patronage, building activities, and the promotion of manufacturing and trade, especially through the restoration and enlargement of the Herat's bāzār. The present Musallah Complex, and many buildings such as the madrasa of Gawhar Shad, Ali Shir mahāl, many gardens, and others, date from this time. The village of Gazar Gah, over two km northeast of Herat, contained a shrine that was enlarged and embellished under the Timurids. The tomb of the poet and mystic Khwajah Abdullah Ansari, Khwājah Abdullāh Ansārī (d. 1088), was first rebuilt by Shahrokh about 1425, and other famous men were buried in the shrine area. Herat was shortly captured by Kara Koyunlu between 1458 and 1459.
In 1507 Herat was occupied by the Shaybanid Dynasty, Uzbeks but after much fighting the city was taken by Ismail I, Shah Isma'il, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, in 1510 and the Shamlu Qizilbash assumed the governorship of the area. Under the Safavids, Herat was again relegated to the position of a provincial capital, albeit one of particular importance. At the death of Shah Isma'il the Uzbeks again took Herat and held it until Tahmasp I, Shah Tahmasp retook it in 1528. The Persian king, Abbas I of Persia, Abbas was born in Herat, and in Safavid texts, Herat is referred to as ''a'zam-i bilād-i īrān'', meaning "the greatest of the cities of Iran". In the 16th century, all future Safavid rulers, from Tahmasp I to Abbas I, were governors of Herat in their youth.
Modern history
By the early 18th century Herat was governed by the Sadozai Sultanate of Herat, Abdali Afghans. After Nader Shah's death in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani took possession of the city and became part of the Durrani Empire.
In 1793, Herat (1793-1863), Herat became independent for several years when Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
underwent a civil war between different sons of Timur Shah Durrani, Timur Shah. The Qajar Iran, Iranians had multiple wars with Herat between 1801 and 1837 (1804, 1807, 1811, 1814, 1817, 1818, 1821, 1822, 1825, 1833). The Iranians Siege of Herat (1838), besieged the city in 1837, but the British helped the Heratis in repelling them. In 1856, they invaded again, and briefly managed to take the city on October 25; it led directly to the Anglo-Persian War. In 1857 hostilities between the Iranians and the British ended after the Treaty of Paris (1857), Treaty of Paris was signed, and the Persian troops withdrew from Herat in September 1857. Afghanistan conquered Herat on May 26, 1863, under Dost Muhammad Khan, two weeks before his death.
In the 1960s, engineers from the United States built Herat International Airport, Herat Airport, which was used by the Soviet Union, Soviet forces during the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Even before the Soviet–Afghan War, Soviet invasion at the end of 1979, there was a substantial presence of Soviet advisors in the city with their families.
Between March 10 and March 20, 1979, the Afghan National Army, Afghan Army in Herāt under the control of commander Ismail Khan mutinied. Thousands of protesters took to the streets against the Khalq communist regime's oppression led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. The new rebels led by Khan managed to oust the communists and take control of the city for 3 days, with some protesters murdering any Soviet advisers. This shocked the government, who blamed the new administration of Iran following the Iranian Revolution for influencing the uprising. Reprisals by the government followed, and between 3,000 and 24,000 people (according to different sources) were killed, in what is called the 1979 Herat uprising, or in Persian as the ''Qiam-e Herat''. The city itself was recaptured with tanks and airborne forces, but at the cost of thousands of civilians killed. This massacre was the first of its kind since the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, and was the bloodiest event preceding the Soviet–Afghan War.
Herat received damage during the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, especially its western side. The province as a whole was one of the worst-hit. In April 1983, a series of Soviet bombings damaged half of the city and killed around 3,000 civilians, described as "extremely heavy, brutal and prolonged". Ismail Khan was the leading mujahideen commander in Herāt fighting against the Soviet-backed government.
After the communist government's collapse in 1992, Khan joined the Islamic State of Afghanistan, new government and he became governor of Herat Province
Herat ( Persian: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north-western part of the country. Together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the north-western region of Afghanistan. Its primary city a ...
. The city was relatively safe and it was recovering and rebuilding from the damage caused in the Soviet–Afghan War. However, on September 5, 1995, the city was captured by the Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
without much resistance, forcing Khan to flee. Herat became the first Persian-speaking city to be captured by the Taliban. The Taliban's strict enforcement of laws confining women at home and closing girls' schools alienated Heratis who are traditionally more liberal and educated, like the Kabulis, than other urban populations in the country. Two days of anti-Taliban protests occurred in December 1996 which was violently dispersed and led to the imposition of a curfew. In May 1999, a rebellion in Herat was crushed by the Taliban, who blamed Iran for causing it.
After the United States invasion of Afghanistan, U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, on November 12, 2001, it was captured from the Taliban by forces loyal to the Northern Alliance and Ismail Khan returned to power (see Battle of Herat). The state of the city was reportedly much better than that of Kabul. In 2004, Mirwais Sadiq, Aviation Minister of Afghanistan and the son of Ismail Khan, was ambushed and killed in Herāt by a local rival group. More than 200 people were arrested under suspicion of involvement.
In 2005, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) began establishing bases in and around the city. Its main mission was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and help with the rebuilding process of the country. Train Advise Assist Command – West, Regional Command West, led by Italy, assisted the Afghan National Army (ANA) 207th Corps (Afghanistan), 207th Corps. Herat was one of the first seven areas that transitioned security responsibility from NATO to Afghanistan. In July 2011, the Afghan security forces assumed security responsibility from NATO.
Due to their close relations, Iran began investing in the development of Herat's power, economy and education sectors. In the meantime, the United States built a consul (representative), consulate in Herat to help further strengthen its Afghanistan – United States relations, relations with Afghanistan. In addition to the usual services, the consulate works with the local officials on development projects and with security issues in the region.
On 12 August 2021, the city was Fall of Herat, captured by the Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
during the 2021 Taliban offensive.
Geography
Climate
Herat has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification ''BSk''). Precipitation is very low, and mostly falls in winter. Although Herāt is approximately lower than Kandahar, the summer climate is more temperate, and the climate throughout the year is far from disagreeable, although winter temperatures are comparably lower. From May to September, the wind blows from the northwest with great force. The winter is tolerably mild; snow melts as it falls, and even on the mountains does not lie long. Three years out of four it does not freeze hard enough for the people to store ice. The eastern reaches of the Hari River, including the rapids, are frozen hard in the winter, and people travel on it as on a road.Places of interest
*Foreign consulates India, Iran and Pakistan operate their consulate here for trade, military and political links. *Neighborhoods **Shahr-e Naw (Downtown) **Welayat (Office of the governor) **Qol-Ordue (Army's HQ) **Farqa (Army's HQ) **Darwaze Khosh **Chaharsu **Pul-e Rangine **Sufi-abad **New-abad **Pul-e malaan **Thakhte Safar **Howz-e-Karbas **Baramaan **Darwaze-ye Qandahar **Darwaze-ye Iraq **Darwaze Az Kordestan
*Parks
**Park-e Taraki
**Park-e Millat
**Khane-ye Jihad Park
*Monuments
** Herat Citadel (Qala Ikhtyaruddin or Arg)
**Musalla Complex, Musallah Complex
**Musalla Minarets of Herat
Of the more than dozen minarets that once stood in Herāt, many have been toppled from war and neglect over the past century. Recently, however, everyday traffic threatens many of the remaining unique towers by shaking the very foundations they stand on. Cars and trucks that drive on a road encircling the ancient city rumble the ground every time they pass these historic structures. UNESCO personnel and Afghan authorities have been working to stabilize the Fifth Minaret.
*Museums
**Herat Museum, located inside the Herat Citadel
**Jihad Museum
*Mausoleums and tombs
**Gawhar Shad Mausoleum
**Khwaja 'Abd Allah Ansari shrine, Mausoleum of Khwajah Abdullah Ansari
**Tomb of Jami
**Tomb of khaje Qaltan
**Mausoleum of Mirwais Sadiq
**Jewish cemetery – there once existed an ancient Jewish community in the city. Its remnants are a cemetery and a ruined shrine.
*Mosques
**Jumu'ah Mosque (Friday Mosque of Herat)
**Gazargah Sharif
**Khalghe Sharif
**Shah Zahdahe
*Hotels
**Serena Hotel (coming soon)
**Diamond Hotel
**Marcopolo Hotel
*Stadiums
**Herat Stadium
*Universities
**Herat University
Demography
The population of Herat numbered approximately 592,902 in 2021. The city houses a multi-ethnic society and speakers of the Persian language are in the majority. There is no current data on the precise ethnic composition of the city's population, but according to a 2003 map found in the National Geographic (magazine), National Geographic Magazine, Persian language, Persian-speaking Tajik people, Tajik and Farsiwan peoples form the majority of the city, comprising around 85% of the population. The remaining population comprises Pashtun people, Pashtuns (10%), Hazara people, Hazaras (2%), Uzbek people, Uzbeks (2%) and Turkmen people, Turkmens (1%).
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
is the native language of Herat and the local dialect – known by natives as ''Herātī'' – belongs to the ''Khorāsānī'' cluster within Persian. It is akin to the Persian dialects of eastern Iran, notably those of Mashhad and Khorasan Province, which borders Herat. This Persian dialect serves as the lingua franca of the city. The second language that is understood by many is Pashto language, Pashto, which is the native language of the Pashtuns. The local Pashto dialect spoken in Herat is a variant of Southern Pashto, western Pashto, which is also spoken in Kandahar and southern and western Afghanistan. Religiously, Islam in Afghanistan, Sunni Islam is practiced by the majority, while Shia Islam in Afghanistan, Shias make up the minority.
The city has high residential density clustered around the core of the city. However, vacant plots account for a higher percentage of the city (21%) than residential land use (18%) and agricultural is the largest percentage of total land use (36%).
The city once had a History of the Jews in Afghanistan, Jewish community. About 280 families lived in Herat as of 1948, but most of them moved to Israel that year, and the community disappeared by 1992. There are four former synagogues in the city's old quarter, which were neglected for decades and fell into disrepair. In the late 2000s, the buildings of the synagogues were renovated by the Aga Khan Trust for culture, and at this time, three of them were turned into schools and nurseries, the Jewish community having vanished. The Jewish cemetery is being taken care of by Jalil Ahmed Abdelaziz.
Sports
;Professional sports teams from Herat * Stadiums ** Herat Cricket Ground ** Herat StadiumNotable people from Herat
Rulers and emperors
* Tahir ibn Husayn 9th century Abbasid Caliphate army general, and the founder of Tahirid dynasty * Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, Ghiyasuddin Muhammad, was the emperor of the Ghurid dynasty from 1163 to 1202. During his reign, the Ghurid dynasty became a world power, which stretched from Gorgan to Bengal * Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty), Mīrzā Shāhrūkh bin Tīmur Barlas, Emperor of the Timurid dynasty of Herāt * Abu Sa'id Mirza, ruler of theTimurid Empire
The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani (Chagatai language, Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Tu ...
during the mid-fifteenth century
* Husayn Bayqarah, Mīrzā Husseyn Bāyqarāh, Emperor of the Timurid dynasty of Herāt
* Abbas I of Persia, Shāh Abbās ''The Great'', Emperor of Safavids, Safavid Persia
* Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani Empire
* Dost Mohammad Khan, Emir Dost Mohammad Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty, buried in the city
* Sultan Jan, ruler of Herat in the 19th century
Politicians
* Ahmad Maymandi 11th centuryPersian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
vizier of the Ghaznavids, Ghaznavid empire
* Ismail Khan, former List of governors of Herat, governor of Herat Province and Ministry of Water and Energy (Afghanistan), Minister of Water and Energy
* Amina Afzali, Amena Afzali, politician
* Faramarz Tamanna, politician
Poets
* Asjadi, 10th-11th century royalPersian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
poet at the court of the Ghaznavids
* Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Khwājah Abdullāh al-Herawi al-Ansārī, a Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
poet of the 11th century
*Pur-Baha Jami, 13th century Iranian peoples, Iranian poet, Pun master, satirist, and often scathing social commentator, born in Minaret of Jam, Jam, spent his youth in Herat
* Jami, Nūr ud-Dīn Jāmī, a Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Sufi poet of the 15th century
* Mir Ali Shir Nava'i, Nizām ud-Din ʿAlī Shīr Herawi, famous poet and scientist of the Timurid dynasty, Timurid era
* Hatefi, a Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
poet of the 16th century and nephew of Jami, Nūr ud-Dīn Jāmī
* Latif Nazemi, Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
poet
Scientists
* Muvaffak, Abu Mansur Muvaffak Harawi, 10th-century Persian people, Persian physician * Abolfadl Harawi, 10th-century astronomer under the patroange of the Buyid dynasty, Buyids in Ray, Iran, Rey, originally from Herat *Ahmad ibn Farrokh, 12th-century Persian physician * Taftazani, a Muslim polymath of the 14th century * Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Harawi 15th centuryPersian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
physician
* Nimat Allah al-Harawi 17th century Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
chronicler at the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir
Religious figures
* Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi, Fakhr ad-Din al-Razi, polymath and Islamic scholar of the 12th-century * Hussain Kashefi, a 15th-century Persian prose-stylist and Islamic scholar and scientist * Ali al-Qari, Ali al-Hirawi al-Qari, from 17th century, considered to be one of the masters of hadith and Imams of fiqh * Mujib Rahman Ansari (1982–2022), mullah and pro-Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
cleric
Artists
* Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Harawi 12th and 13th centuryPersian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
traveller and first known graffiti artist in the Muslim world, originally from Herat
* Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād, Ustād Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād, the greatest of the medieval Persian miniature, Persian painters
* Mir Ali Heravi, prominent Persian people, Persian calligrapher and calligraphy teacher of Nastaʿlīq script in the 16th century
* Alka Sadat, Film producer was born here
* Sonita Alizadeh, rapper and activist
Sports
* Nadia Nadim, Afghan-Danish Association football, football player, most influential and greatest Afghans, Afghan female football player of all time, won the French league title in the 2020–21 Division 1 Féminine, 2020-21 season with Paris Saint-Germain Féminine, Paris Saint-Germain * Hamidullah Karimi, Afghans, Afghan footballer, plays as a forward for Indian club Delhi United FC *Mohammad Rafi Barekzay, Afghanistan, Afghan footballer, plays as a midfielder for Toofaan Harirod F.C., Toofaan Harirod F.COthers
* Gowhar Shad, wife of Shah Rukh, Shāh Rūkh Mīrzā * Zablon Simintov, last remaining Jews, Jew living in AfghanistanEconomy and infrastructure
Transport
Air
Herat International Airport was built by engineers from the United States in the 1960s and was used by the Soviet Armed Forces during the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s. It was bombed in late 2001 during Operation Enduring Freedom but had been rebuilt within the next decade. The runway of the airport has been extended and upgraded and as of August 2014 there were regularly scheduled direct flights to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Dubai International Airport, Dubai, Mashhad International Airport, Mashad, and various airports in Afghanistan. At least five airlines operated regularly scheduled direct flights to Kabul International Airport, Kabul.
Rail
Rail transport, Rail connections to and from Herat were proposed many times, during ''The Great Game'' of the 19th century and again in the 1970s and 1980s, but nothing came to life. In February 2002, Iran and the Asian Development Bank announced funding for a railway connecting Torbat-e Heydarieh in Iran to Herat. This was later changed to begin in Khaf, Iran, Khaf in Iran, a railway for both cargo and passengers, with work on the Iranian side of the border starting in 2006. Construction is underway in the Afghan side and it was estimated to be completed by March 2018. There is also the prospect of an extension across Afghanistan to Sher Khan Bandar.Road
The AH76 highway connects Herat to Maymana and the north. The AH77 connects it east towards Chaghcharan and north towards Mary, Turkmenistan, Mary in Turkmenistan. Highway 1 (part of Asian highway AH1) links it to Mashhad in Iran to the northwest, and south via the Kandahar–Herat Highway to Delaram.Gallery
Herat in fiction
*The beginning of Khaled Hosseini's 2007 novel ''A Thousand Splendid Suns'' is set in and around Herāt. *Salman Rushdie's novel ''The Enchantress of Florence'' makes frequent reference to events in Herāt in the Middle Ages.Sister cities
* Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States (since 2016) * Divandarreh, Divandarreh, Kurdistan, Iran (since 2021)See also
*Aria (satrapy) *Geography of Afghanistan *Greater Khorasan *Herāt Province *History of AfghanistanReferences
Sources
* *Attribution
Bibliography
External links
* * * * * *Detailed map of Herāt city
Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin {{Iranian Architecture Herat, Cities in Afghanistan Cities in Central Asia Populated places along the Silk Road Populated places in Herat Province Provincial capitals in Afghanistan Cities founded by Alexander the Great