Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan, about 20 km (12 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 74 km (46 mi) south of the Amu Darya river and the Uzbekistan border. Its population was estimated to be 138,594 in 2021-22 by the Afghan National Statistic and Information Authority. Listed as the current 8th most populous city in the country, 2024 estimates set the population of Balkh at 114,883.
Ruins of the Green Mosque (Dari: مَسجدِ سَبز, romanized: Masjid-i Sabz) Pashto شین جومات romanized: |sheen Jumat}} [citation needed] named for its green-tiled Gonbad (Dari: گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001
Ambassador from Balkh (白題國 Baitiguo) to the Tang dynasty, Wanghuitu (王會圖), circa 650 CE.
A dirham of the Abbasid Caliphate minted in Balkh
The Green Mosque of Balkh
Balkh is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country. It is divided into 15 districts and has a population of about 1,509,183, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a Persian-speaking society. The city of Mazar-i-Sharif serves as the capital of the province. The Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport and Camp Marmal sit on the eastern edge of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Image: Blue Mosque in the northern Afghan city in 2012
Image: Fortress ruins, Khulm
Image: 194 19th Century Palace, Tashkurgan, Afghanistan 2013
Image: Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan (Unsplash)
![Ruins of the Green Mosque (Dari: مَسجدِ سَبز, romanized: Masjid-i Sabz) Pashto شین جومات romanized: |sheen Jumat}} [citation needed] named for its gre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/15c_green_mosque.jpg/401px-15c_green_mosque.jpg)
