Afghanistan - City of Balkh (antique Bactria)

The city of Balkh comprises a large urban site of some 11 square kilometres, lying west of the modern regional capital of northern Afghanistan, Mazar i Sharif, and about 46 miles south of the Amu Darya (Oxus) river whose course ran close to the city in antiquity. The foundation of the city of Paktra, later known as Bactria is ascribed to Kaiomars, and at an early date it was said to have rivaled urban centres such as Babylon. For a long period Bactria was the spiritual centre for the Zoroastrian religion, as well as having a rich temple to the goddess Anahita. Accounts of visitors in the 7th century AD indicate the existence of a significant number of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and other monuments in the city. Subsequent accounts from the 10th century AD indicate that the city was ringed with earthen walls, with six gates, within which was a fine citadel and a mosque. The city became a centre for education, and in 980 AD the philosopher-scientist Ibn Sina was born in Balkh, as was the poet Ferdowsi. Its reputation as a place of learning persisted, judging by accounts of travellers in the 12th century AD, who describe a range of educational establishments, as well as its importance as a trading centre for the region, with links to India and China. Despite the fact that the city was sacked by Jenghiz Khan in 1220, when the inhabitants were said to have been slaughtered and all buildings leveled, and again by Timur in the 14th century, the traveler Marco Polo described Balkh a century later as a “noble city and great”.

Afghanistan - Bagh-e Babur

Bagh-e Babur is located on the slopes of Kuh-e Sher Darwaza, southwest of the old city of Kabul. The garden is c. 11.5 ha large and arranged in 15 terraces along a central axis in east west direction. From the top terrace, the visitor has a magnificent vista over the garden and its perimeter wall, across the Kabul River towards the snow covered mountains. Created by the founder of the Mughal dynasty, Ziihir ad-Din Muhammad Biibur (1483-1530), after his conquest of Kabul in 1504, Bagh-e Babur is one of the earliest surviving Mughal gardens. The king was a passionate gardener and personally designed and supervised at least 10 gardens in his capital Kabul (frontispiece). They are described in the BlJbur-name, but the historical name of Bagh-e Babur is not known. Excavations revealed that Babur did not design his garden on an empty plot: ruins of a monumental building dating to the 3rd century BC and traces of a subsequent occupation to the 15th century made it necessary to clear the ground before a large terraced garden with a different orientation could be landscaped at this very spot. For political reasons, Babur had to move east and conquered northern India in 1526; he died in Agra in 1530. Throughout his years in the flat, dusty plains of India he missed his home country and thus wished to be buried in Kabul. His body was transferred to Bagh-e Babur by his widow around 1544. The texts do not provide a reason why out of all gardens he chose this one. However, remains of older tombs with brick vaults and stone cists excavated underneath the tomb platform revealed that the area was already used as a cemetery, possibly by his Timurid kin -a finding which might provide a context for his choice.