Ghurian (غوريان; Ghūrīān, Ghoryan, Ġūrīān) is a city and the administrative center of
Ghurian District in
Herat Province
Herat ( Dari: هرات) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the 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 ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. It is 790 m high with a population of more than 54,000 people. It is situated south of the
Hari River along the
Mashhad
Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...
-
Herat
Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...
highway at . There is a local TV station and a health center. Ghurian is close to the old city of
Pushang
Pushang, also known by its Arabicized form of Bushanj, Bushang, and Fūshanj, was the name of a town in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan, close to Herat in present-day Afghanistan.
Foundation
According to medieval Iranian scholars, Pushang was the o ...
. In 2020 Ghurian was connected by rail to
Khaf in Iran.
In the 19th century, Ghurian was a strategic town on the border between Herat and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, as one of the four provinces of the
Principality of Herat.
It frequently swapped hands between the local chieftains. It was part of the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
under
Ahmad Shah, but was taken by the chieftain of
Torbat-e Heydarieh
Torbat-e Heydarieh () is a city in the Central District (Torbat-e Heydarieh County), Central District of Torbat-e Heydarieh County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the di ...
,
Eshaq Khan, in 1804.
In 1813-14 it was briefly held by Firuz al-Din, the ruler of Herat, but was soon restored to Eshaq Khan. When he died in 1816 it was taken by Banyad Khan Hazara, but later that same year it was captured by Firuz al-Din again and held until 1818, when Iran captured it and gave it to Qilij Khan Timuri. It was later taken by
Mohammad Khan Qara'i, who held it until Qajar authorities deposed him in 1833. It was then taken by the Heratis until 1837, when Iran captured it and held it until 1841.
See also
*
Herat Province
Herat ( Dari: هرات) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the 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 ...
Notes
Populated places in Herat Province
{{Herat-geo-stub