Kandahar - Name

Name

A debate sometimes rises over the meaning and origins of the name Kandahar. Scholars believe that the name may be a transliteration of "Is", the local version of the name Alexander, after Alexander the Great who founded the city in 330 BC and named it Alexandria. A temple to the deified Alexander as well as an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by the Indian Emperor Ashoka, who lived a few decades later, have been discovered in Kandahar. Ibn Batutta mentions the name in the 14th century by describing it as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni. It has been then mentioned extensively by Mughal Emperor Babur and others.

Another etymology offered is that the word "kand" or "qand" in Persian and Pashto (the local languages) means "candy", and "har" means necklace. The name "Candahar" in this form translates to "candy-necklace". The ق is not an actual Persian alphabet, but in Turkish languages (especially in Uzbeki) the <> means "candy" and <> means "river", and <