Balkh
بلخAncient Bactria and Balkh, the mother of cities, where Rumi was born.
Arab geographers called Balkh the mother of cities. As Bactria it was a province of the Achaemenids and later the heart of a Greek kingdom, and Zoroastrian tradition links it with Zoroaster and his royal patron.
Rumi was born in or near Balkh in 1207, before his family fled west. Today the region's centre is Mazar-i-Sharif, whose Blue Mosque is a place of pilgrimage and the scene of a great Nowruz festival.
In the Shahnameh
In the Shahnameh, Balkh is the seat of King Goshtasp, in whose reign Zoroaster brings his faith.
Cities and towns
Mazar-i-Sharifمزار شریف
The city of the Blue Mosque
Balkhبلخ
The mother of cities
Sheberghanشبرغان
Near Tillya Tepe, the hill of Bactrian gold
Landmarksبناها و نشانهها
Blue Mosque
روضه شریفThe shrine at the heart of Mazar-i-Sharif
Balkh through time
Iranian historyThe Timuridsتیموریان
Timur's campaigns were brutal, but his heirs made Samarkand and Herat capitals of Persian painting, poetry, astronomy and architecture.
- Shrine rebuilt under Sultan Husayn Bayqara
