Herat - History

History

Further information: History of Afghanistan

Herat dates back to ancient times, but its exact age remains unknown. During the period of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330 BC), the surrounding district was known as Haraiva (in Old Persian), and in classical sources the region was correspondingly known as Aria (Areia). In the Zoroastrian Avesta, the district is mentioned as Haroiva. The name of the district and its main town is derived from that of the chief river of the region, the Hari River (Old Iranian Harayu, "Golden Water"), which traverses the district and passes some 5 km (3.1 mi) south of modern Herāt. Hari is mentioned in Sanskrit as yellow or golden color equivalent to Persian Zar 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 and Bactria.

History of Afghanistan
Timeline
Ancient Proto-Elamite civilization 2300–1800 BCE Indus valley civilization 2200–1800 BCE Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BCE Aryans 1700–700 BCE Median Empire 728–550 BCE Achaemenids 550–330 BCE Seleucids 330–150 BCE Mauryans 305–180 BCE Greco-Bactrians 256–125 BCE Indo-Greeks 180–130 BCE Indo-Scythians (Sakas) 155–80? BCE Indo-Parthians 20 BCE – 50? CE Kushans 135 BCE – 248 CE Sassanids 230–565 Indo-Sassanids 248–410 Kidarites 320–465 Hephthalites 410–557 Kabul Shahi 565–879
Medieval Rashidun Caliphate 642–641 Umayyads 661–750 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Seljukids 1037–1194 Khwarezmids 1077–1231 Ghorids 1149–1212 Ilkhanate 1258–1353 Kartids 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1506 Arghun 1479–1522 Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709
Modern Hotaki dynasty 1709–1738 Afsharids 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1826 Emirate 1826–1919 Kingdom 1919–1973 Republic 1973–1978 Democratic Republic 1978–1992 Islamic State 1992–2001 Islamic Emirate 1996–2001 Islamic Republic 2001–
Book Category Portal

The district Aria of the Persian 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 and Persepolis. They are wearing Scythian-style dress (with a tunic and trousers tucked into high boots) and a twisted Bashlyk that covers their head, chin and neck.

Hamdallah Mustawfi, composer of the 14th century work The Geographical Part of the Nuzhat-al-Qulub writes that:

"Herāt was the name of one of the chiefs among the followers of the hero Narīmān, and it was he who first founded the city. After it had fallen to ruin Alexander the Great rebuilt it, and the circuit of its walls was 9000 paces."

Herodotus described Herāt 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, 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 after Alexander died, which formed an alliance with the Indian Maurya Empire. Historian Strabo writes that the Seleucids later gave the area south of the Hindu Kush to the Mauryas after a treaty was made.

"Alexander took these away from the Aryans and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus (Chandragupta), upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange 500 elephants."

However, all sources suggest that Herat was predominantly Persian Zoroastrian and there is no evidence of Hinduism making its way into this region. It became part of the Parthian Empire in 167 BC. In the Sasanian period (226-652), Harēv is listed in an inscription on the Ka'ba-i Zartosht at Naqsh-e Rustam; 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 bishop.

In the last two centuries of Sasanian rule, Aria (Herāt) had great strategic importance in the endless wars between the Sasanians, the Chionites and the Hephthalites who had been settled in modern northern Afghanistan since the late 4th century.