The dominant city in Northwest
Afghanistan. On the banks of the Hari
Rud Herat
was the dominant city in (Persian) Khorasan from the time
of Ginghis Khan forward. Herat was separated
from Persia by England as part of the Treaty of Paris
1956. Herat is
currently in the hands of Taliban and may again be part
of Persia (Iran) in my life time. The US took Herat with
Iranian help and it is currently administered by the US
vassal state in Kabul see: Iranian
Special Forces Reportedly Fight Alongside US in Battle
for Herat
Herat Circa 1222
When the news of Jelal-ud-din's victory over the
Mongol Siki Kutuktu reached Herat it rebelled and
appointed its own governor. Genghis blamed Tului for not
having swept out its inhabitants when he captured it. He
sent his general Ilshidai Noyan with 80,000 men against
it, who blockaded it on all sides. The defense was kept
up with spirit, and the besiegers suffered great loss.
But, as usual, dissensions broke out in the garrison, and
after a siege of a little more than six months Herat was
captured.
For a whole week the Mongols ceased not to kill, burn,
and destroy, and it is said that 1,600,000 people were
killed; the place was entirely depopulated and made
desert. The Mongols then retired. Soon after they sent
back a body of 2,000 to seek out and destroy any of the
inhabitants who had escaped the former massacre. Over
2,000 were thus discovered and put to death. After the
Mongols had fairly retreated, forty persons assembled in
the great mosque—the miserable remnants of its once
teeming population. Of the celebrated men who had
formerly lived at Herat only one survived, namely, Khalib
Mulawa Scheref ud din.
History Of The Mongols From the 9th to
the19th Century. Part I. The Mongols Proper and The
Kalmuks. 'Henry H. Howorth, F.S.A. London: Longmans,
Green, And Co. 1876.
Herat Circa 1885
Herat. — Chief town of the
Herat Province, Afghanistan; situated on the right bank
of the Hari Rud river, in a very beautiful and fertile
plain. Lat. 34° 22' N., long. 62° 8' E.; elevation,
2650 feet. Distance from Kandahar, 369 miles; from Peshawar
via Kandahar and Kabul,
881 miles; from both Teheran and Khiva, about 700 miles.
The city is rectangular and almost square, the northern
and southern sides measuring 1500, and the eastern and
western sides about 1600 yards in length. It is protected
by walls 25 to 30 feet high, built on earthen ramparts
varying from 40 to 60 feet in height; and is surrounded
by a deep wet ditch. There are five gates; and from the
middle of each face run four main streets, which meet in
the centre of the town in a small domed quadrangle. The
principal of these streets — commencing in the
middle of the south face — is covered in throughout
its entire length by a vaulted roof; and many of the
smaller streets which branch off from the main ones are
built over in the same way, forming low dark tunnels. The
houses, which are generally two storeys high, are for the
most part substantially built of bricks and mud, and are
so constructed that each forms in itself a little
citadel, capable of resisting men armed with muskets. The
town is abundantly supplied with excellent water, most of
the houses having wells or reservoirs of their own ; yet Herat
is said to possess strong claims to be considered the
dirtiest city in the world. There are no drains, and the
inhabitants have no notions of cleanliness or sanitation.
The principal building is the Jama Masjid, situated in
the northeast quarter, and built at the end of the 15th
century. It occupies an area of 800 yards square; it was,
when perfect, 465 feet long by 275 feet wide, and had 408
cupolas, 444 pillars, and 6 entrances. It was splendidly
adorned with gilding, and with carved and mosaic work of
the most elaborate description. To the west of the Jama
Masjid is the palace of Charbagh, a mean building,
originally the winter residence of the chiefs of Herat,
and occupied by Yakoub Khan while Governor of the
Province. A large reservoir of water, called the
Haoz-i-Charsli, is situated at the south-east corner of
the central quadrangle. The Ark, or citadel, which is 150
yards long from east to west and 50 yards wide, is near
the centre of the north face, about 200 yards from the
main wall. Connecting it with the wall, and projecting
beyond it to the east and west, is the Ark-i-ndo, or new
citadel, which occupies about a thousand feet in length
of the north face.
The population of the city has varied greatly from time
to time. The most recent estimate does not attempt to
number a doubtless very fluctuating population, but sets
down the number of houses at 1500. The majority of the
inhabitants are Mohammedans of the Shia sect, but there
are besides a number of Hindus and Afghans; Persians,
Tartars, Turkmen, and Jews are also met with in the
principal streets. The original inhabitants appear to
have been Persians, and to have belonged to the race that
spread from Seistan towards the north-east, and formed
the ancient Province of Khorasan, of which, until
recently, Herat remained the capital. Probably no city in
Central Asia has sustained so many sieges, and been so
often destroyed and depopulated. From the middle of the
12th century, when it fell into the hands of the Turkmen,
'who committed the most frightful ravages, and left not
one stone upon another,' till 1863, when it was finally
taken by the Amir of Afghanistan, in whose hands it has
since remained, Herat has been the scene of continual
strife. The
Turkmen, the Uzbeks, and the Persians have repeatedly
besieged and taken the city, only to be in turn driven
out of it. Its geographical position and strategically
importance have given rise to the name ' Key of India,'
frequently applied to the town by controversial writers.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India
Published by , 1885
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