Greater Iran
It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains. It is referred to as Greater Persia, while the Encyclopædia Iranica uses the term Iranian Cultural Continent. The term Iran is not limited to the state of Iran. The concept of Greater Iran has its source in the history of the Achaemenid Empire in Persis, the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 resulted in Iran ceding Dagestan and most of Azerbaijan to Russia. After the Russo-Persian War, the Turkmanchey Treaty of 1828 ended centuries of Iranian control of its Caucasian provinces, in 1935, the endonym Iran was adopted as the official international name of Persia by its ruler Reza Shah. The name “Irān“, meaning “land of the Aryans”, is the New Persian continuation of the old genitive plural aryānām, the Avestan evidence is confirmed by Greek sources, Arianē is spoken of as being between Persia and the Indian subcontinent. However, this is a Greek pronunciation of the name Haroyum/Haraiva, a land listed separately from the homeland of the Aryans.
While up until the end of the Parthian period in the 3rd century CE, the idea of “Irān“ had an ethnic, the idea of an “Iranian“ empire or kingdom in a political sense is a purely Sasanian one. It was the result of a convergence of interests between the new dynasty and the Zoroastrian clergy, as we can deduce from the available evidence and this convergence gave rise to the idea of an Ērān-šahr “Kingdom of the Iranians, ” which was “ēr“. Richard Nelson Frye defines Greater Iran as including much of the Caucasus, Afghanistan and Central Asia, with influences extending to China. According to Frye, Iran means all lands and peoples where Iranian languages were and are spoken, and this view, even though common among serious scholars, is almost certainly overstated. To the Ancient Greeks, Greater Iran ended at the Indus, according to J. P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams most of Western greater Iran spoke Southwestern Iranian languages in the Achaemenid era while the Eastern territory spoke Eastern Iranian languages related to Avestan.
In the words of Richard Nelson Frye, Only in modern times did western colonial intervention, as Patrick Clawson states, ethnic nationalism is largely a nineteenth century phenomenon, even if it is fashionable to retroactively extend it. Greater Iran however has more of a cultural super-state, rather than a political one to begin with. A detailed list of these follows in this article. Greater Iran is called Iranzamin which means The Land of Iran, Iranzamin was in the mythical times opposed to the Turanzamin the Land of Turan, which was located in the upper part of Central Asia. In the pre-Islamic period, Iranians distinguished two main regions in the territory they ruled, one Iran and the other Aniran, by Iran they meant all the regions inhabited by ancient Iranian peoples, this region was more extensive in the past
Ghor Province
Ghōr, spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in central Afghanistan, towards the north-west, the province contains ten districts, encompassing hundreds of villages, and approximately 657,200 settled people. Firuzkoh, serves as the capital of the province, mandesh is the historical name by which the mountain region of Ghor was called. The inhabitants of Ghor were completely Islamized during the Ghurids era, before the 12th century, the area was home to Hindus, Buddhists, and a small number of Jews. Remains of the oldest settlements discovered by Lithuanian archaeologists in 2007 and 2008 in Ghor date back to 5000 BC, ruins of a few castles and other defense fortifications were discovered in the environs of Chaghcharan. A Buddhist monastery hand-carved in the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the first centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism, the artificial caves revealed testimony of daily life of the Buddhist monks. The rise to power of the Ghurids at Ghur, an isolated area located in the mountain vastness between the Ghaznavid empire and the Seljukids, was an unusual and unexpected development.
The area was so remote that till the 11th century, it had remained an enclave surrounded by Muslim principalities. It was converted to Islam in the part of the 12th century after Mahmud raided it. Even it is believed that paganism, i. e. a variety of Mahayana Buddhism persisted in the till the end of the century. The mountainous country between Hirat and Ghazni, Ghor itself was a country of infidels, containing only a few Musulmans, and the inhabitants spoke a language different from that of Khurasan. Minhaju-S-Siraj records the strife between the non-Muslim and Muslim populations and it is said that Amir Suri was a great king and most of the territories of Ghor were in his possession. But as most of the inhabitants of Ghor of High and low degree had not yet embraced Islam, the Saffarians came from Nimroz to Bust and Dawar, Yakub Lais overpowered Lak-Lak, who was the chief of Takinabad, in the country of Rukhaj. The Ghorians sought the safety in Sara-sang and dwelt there in security, according to Minhahu-S Siraj, Amir Suri was captured by Mahmud of Ghazni, made prisoner along with his son and taken to Ghazni, where Amir Suri died.
The region had previously conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni. It was the last stronghold of an ancient religion professed by the inhabitants when all their neighbors had become Muhammadan, in the 11th century AD Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the prince of Ghor Ibn–I-Suri, and made him prisoner in a severely contested engagement in the valley of Ahingaran. Ibn-I-Suri is identified a Hindu by the author, who has recorded his overthrow, in 1011,1015 and 1020, both Mahmud and Masud I led expeditions into Ghur and established Islam in place of the indigenous paganism. After this, Ghur was considered a state of the Ghaznavid empire
Samanid Empire
The Samanid Empire, known as the Samanid dynasty, Samanid Emirate, or simply Samanids, was a Sunni Iranian empire, ruling from 819 to 999. The Samanid state was founded by four brothers, Ahmad, Yahya, in 892, Ismail ibn Ahmad united the Samanid state under one ruler, thus effectively putting an end to the feudal system used by the Samanids. It was under him that the Samanids became independent of Abbasid authority, the Samanid Empire is part of the Iranian Intermezzo, which saw the creation of a Persianate culture and identity that brought Iranian speech and traditions into the fold of the Islamic world. This would lead to the formation of the Turko-Persian culture, the Samanids promoted the arts, giving rise to the advancement of science and literature, and thus attracted scholars such as Rudaki and Avicenna. While under Samanid control, Bukhara was a rival to Baghdad in its glory, scholars note that the Samanids revived Persian more than the Buyids and the Saffarids, while continuing to patronize Arabic to a smaller degree.
In a famous edict, Samanid authorities declared that here, in region, the language is Persian. The eponymous ancestor of the Samanid dynasty was Saman Khuda, a Persian noble who belonged to a dehqan family, the latter is more probable since the earliest appearance of the Samanid family appears to be in Khorasan rather than Transoxiana. Originally a Zoroastrian, Saman Khuda converted to Islam during the governorship of Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri in Khorasan and this marked the beginning of the Samanid dynasty. He was defeated at a battle near Pushang in 857, and fled to Nishapur, the Tahirids thereafter assumed direct control over Herat. In 839/40, Nuh seized Isfijab from the nomadic pagan Turks living in the steppe and he thereafter had a wall constructed around the city to protect it from their attacks. He died in 841/2—his two brothers Yahya and Ahmad, were appointed as the joint rulers of the city by the Tahirid governor of Khorasan. After Yahyas death in 855, Ahmad took control over Shash and he died in 864/5, his son Nasr I received Farghana and Samarkand, while his other son Yaqub received Shash.
Nasr I used this opportunity to strengthen his authority by sending his brother Ismail to Bukhara, when Ismail reached the city, he was warmly received by its inhabitants, who saw him as one who could restore order. Although the Bukhar Khudahs continued to rule in Bukhara for a few more years. After not so long, disagreement over where tax money should be distributed, started a conflict between the brothers, Ismail was eventually victorious in the dynastic struggle, and took control of the Samanid state. However, Nasr had been the one who had invested with Transoxiana. Because of this, Ismail continued to recognize his brother as well, but Nasr was completely powerless and he thereafter forced the Abbasid caliph to recognize him as the ruler of those territories, which they did. In the spring of 900, he clashed with Ismail near Balkh, Ismail thereafter sent him Baghdad, where he was executed
Saffarid dynasty
The Saffarid dynasty was a Muslim Persianate dynasty from Sistan that ruled over parts of eastern Iran, with its capital at Zaranj. Khorasan and Sistan from 861 to 1003 and he seized control of the Sistan region and began conquering most of Iran and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The Saffarids used their capital Zaranj as a base for an aggressive expansion eastward and westward and they first invaded the areas south of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and overthrew the Persian Tahirid dynasty, annexing Khorasan in 873. By the time of Yaqubs death, he had conquered the Kabul Valley, Tocharistan, Kerman, Khorasan, the Saffarid empire did not last long after Yaqubs death. His brother and successor, Amr bin Laith, was defeated at the Battle of Balkh against Ismail Samani in 900, Amr bin Laith was forced to surrender most of his territories to the new rulers. The Saffarids were subsequently confined to their heartland of Sistan, with their role reduced to that of vassals of the Samanids, the dynasty began with Yaqub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar, a coppersmith who moved to the city of Zaranj.
He left work to become an Ayyar and eventually got the power to act as an independent ruler, from his capital Zaranj he moved east into al-Rukhkhadj and Zamindawar followed by Zunbil and Kabul by 865. He invaded Bamyan, Balkh and Ghor, in the name of Islam, he conquered these territories which were ruled mostly by Buddhist tribal chiefs. He took vast amounts of plunder and slaves from this campaign, the harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, that once the waning power of the Caliphate became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent. Among these Saffarids of Sistan shone briefly in the Afghan area, the Tahirid city of Herat was captured in 870 and his campaign in the Badghis region led to the capture of Kharidjites which formed the Djash al-Shurat contingent in his army. Yaqub turned his focus to the west and began attacks on Khorasan, Khuzestan and Fars. The Saffarids seized Khuzestan and parts of southern Iraq, and in 876 came close to overthrowing the Abbasids and these incursions, forced the Abbasid caliphate to recognize Yaqub as governor of Sistan and Kerman, and Saffarids were even offered key posts in Baghdad.
In 901, Amr Saffari was defeated at the battle of Balkh by the Persian Samanids, in 1002, Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Sistan, dethroned Khalaf I and finally ended the Saffarid dynasty. The Saffarids gave great care to the Persian culture, under their rule, the eastern Islamic world witnessed the emergence of prominent Persian poets such as Fayrouz Mashriqi, Abu Salik al-Jirjani, and Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani, who was a court poet. In the 9th century, the Saffarids gave impetus to a renaissance of New Persian literature and culture. Following Yaqubs conquest of Herat, some chose to celebrate his victory in Arabic, whereupon Yaqub requested his secretary, Muhammad bin Wasif al-Sistani. From silver mines in the Panjshir Valley, the Saffarids were able to mint silver coins, iranian Intermezzo Nasrid dynasty Mihrabanids Samanids Ghaznavids List of kings of Persia List of Sunni Muslim dynasties Encyclopædia Iranica Saffarids
Kabul
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan as well as its largest city, located in the eastern section of the country. According to a 2015 estimate, the population of the city was around 3,678,033 which includes all the ethnic groups. Rapid urbanization had made Kabul the worlds 64th largest city and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world, Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. The city is at a location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia. It has been part of the Achaemenids, Mauryans, Kabul Shahis, Ghaznavids, Later, it was controlled by the Mughal Empire until finally becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The city is located high up in a valley between the Hindu Kush mountains. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, in the early 19th century, the British occupied the city but were compelled to abandon it. Relations between Afghanistan and Great Britain were established, the city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed.
A civil war in the 1990s between various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, resulting in many casualties, since the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, the city gradually began rebuilding itself with assistance by the international community. Despite the many terrorist attacks by elements, the city is growing and developing. The city is divided into about 18 districts, the Kabul International Airport is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a few miles from the foreign embassies. The Parliament of Afghanistan, built by India, is located in the Kārte Seh district, spelled Cabool, Kabol, or Cabul. The word Kubhā is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta. The Rigveda praises it as a city, a vision of paradise set in the mountains. The area in which the Kabul valley sits was ruled by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids, there is a reference to a settlement called Kabura by the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, It became a center of Zoroastrianism followed by Buddhism and Hinduism.
The region became part of the Seleucid Empire but was given to the Indian Maurya Empire. The Greco-Bactrians captured Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. Some historians ascribe Kabul the Sanskrit name of Kamboja and it is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings
Fars Province
Fars Province known as Pars or Persia in historical context, is one of the thirty-one provinces of Iran and known as the cultural capital of Iran. It is in the south of the country, in Irans Region 2 and it has an area of 122,400 km². In 2011, this province had a population of 4.6 million people, of which 67. 6% were registered as urban dwellers,32. 1% villagers, and 0. 3% nomad tribes. The etymology of the word Persian, found in many ancient names associated with Iran, is derived from the importance of this region. Fars Province is the homeland of the Persian people. The word Fârs is derived from
Kerman
Kerman is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,374, in 221,389 households and it is the largest and most developed city in Kerman Province and the most important city in the southeast of Iran. It is one of the largest cities of Iran in terms of area, Kerman is famous for its long history and strong cultural heritage. The city is home to many mosques and Zoroastrian fire temples. Kerman is on the recent list of the worlds 1000 cleanest cities, Kerman became capital city of Iranian dynasties several times during its history. It is located on a large, flat plain,1,036 km south of Tehran, Kerman was founded as a defensive outpost, with the name Veh-Ardashir, by Ardeshir I, founder of the Sassanid Empire, in the 3rd century AD. After the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, the city came under Muslim rule, at first the citys relative isolation allowed Kharijites and Zoroastrians to thrive there, but the Kharijites were wiped out in 698, and the population was mostly Muslim by 725.
Already in the century the city was famous for its manufacture of cashmere wool shawls. The name Kerman was adopted at some point in the tenth century, under the rule of the Seljuk Turks in the 11th and 12th centuries, Kerman remained virtually independent, conquering Oman and Fars. When Marco Polo visited Kerman in 1271, it had become a major trade emporium linking the Persian Gulf with Khorasan, however, the city was sacked many times by various invaders. Kerman expanded rapidly during the Safavid Dynasty and rugs were exported to England and Germany during this period. In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars, and in 1794 he captured Kerman, but soon after he was besieged in Kerman for six months by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Many women and children were sold into slavery, and in ninety days the city turned into ruins, the Zoroastrians of Kerman who had been strong supporters of Lotf Ali Khan suffered the wrath of the founder of Qajar dynasty the most during this period. The present city of Kerman was rebuilt in the 19th century to the northwest of the old city, Kerman is located on a high margin of Kavir-e Lut in the south-central part of Iran.
The city is surrounded by mountains, Kerman is located along the Saheb Al Zman mountain. The city is 1,755 m above sea level, making it third in elevation among provincial capitals in Iran, winter brings very cold nights to Kerman. Mountains in the south and southeast Jftan Joopar and Plvar and Kerman have snow all year round, Kerman is located at latitude 30.29 and longitude 57.06. The citys many districts are surrounded by mountains that bring variety to Kermans year-round weather pattern, the northern part of the city is located in an arid desert area, while the highland of the southern part of the city enjoys a more moderate climate
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq. The population of Baghdad, as of 2016, is approximately 8,765,000 making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab world, and the second largest city in Western Asia. Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century, within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural and intellectual center for the Islamic world. This, in addition to housing several key institutions, garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the Centre of Learning. Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with a population of 1,200,000 people. The city was destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state in 1938, in contemporary times, the city has often faced severe infrastructural damage, most recently due to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the subsequent Iraq War that lasted until December 2011.
In recent years, the city has been subjected to insurgency attacks. As of 2012, Baghdad was listed as one of the least hospitable places in the world to live, the site where the city of Baghdad developed has been populated for millennia. By the 8th century AD, several villages had developed there, including a Persian hamlet called Baghdad, the name is of Indo-European origin and a Middle Persian compound of Bagh god and dād given by, translating to Bestowed by God or Gods gift. In Old Persian the first element can be traced to boghu and is related to Slavic bog god, a similar term in Middle Persian is the name Mithradāt, known in English by its Hellenistic form Mithridates, meaning gift of Mithra. There are a number of locations in the wider region whose names are compounds of the word bagh, including Baghlan. The name of the town Baghdati in Georgia shares the same etymological origins, when the Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, founded a completely new city for his capital, he chose the name Madinat al-Salaam or City of Peace.
This was the name on coins and other official usage. By the 11th century, Baghdad became almost the exclusive name for the world-renowned metropolis, after the fall of the Umayyads, the first Muslim dynasty, the victorious Abbasid rulers wanted their own capital whence they could rule. They chose a site north of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, on 30 July 762, the caliph Al-Mansur commissioned the construction of the city, mansur believed that Baghdad was the perfect city to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. Mansur loved the site so much he is quoted saying, This is indeed the city that I am to found, where I am to live, and where my descendants will reign afterward. The citys growth was helped by its excellent location, based on at least two factors, it had control over strategic and trading routes along the Tigris, the abundance of water in a dry climate
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents and neighbors have been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, political, Islam began in the early 7th century.
Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are found in Horn of Africa, China, Mainland Southeast Asia, Northern Borneo and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide.
Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
Zunbils
Zunbil, written as Zhunbil, was a dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in present southern Afghanistan region. They ruled from the early 7th century until the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan in 870 AD, the Zunbils are believed to be an offspring of the southern-Hephthalite rulers of Zabulistan. The dynasty was related to the Kabul Shahis of the northeast in Kabul and it follows from Huei-chaos report that Barhatakin had two sons, one who ruled from after him in Kapisa-Gandhara and another who became king of Zabul. The Zunbils worshipped the sun, which they named Zun from which derived their name. Their territory included between what is now the city of Zaranj in southwestern Afghanistan and Kabulistan in the northeast, with Zamindawar, the title Zunbil can be traced back to the Middle-Persian original Zūn-dātbar, Zun the Justice-giver. The geographical name Zamindawar would reflect this, from Middle Persian Zamin-i dātbar, according to Anthony McNicoll, the Zunbils ruled in the Kandahar area for nearly 250 years until the late 9th century AD.
Their main capital Zamindawar was located in the present-day Helmand Province of Afghanistan, the shrine of Zoon was located about three miles south of Musa Qala in Helmand, which may still be traced today. Some believe that the Sunagir temple mentioned by the famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang in 640 AD pertains to this house of worship. In 653-4 AD, an army of around 6,000 Arabs were led by General Abdur Rahman bin Samara and they arrived to the shrine of Zoon in Zamindawar. It is reported that General Abdur Rahman broke off a hand of the idol, the General explained to the Marzbān, my intention was to show you that this idol can do neither any harm nor good. At this point some of the people of southern Afghanistan accepted Islam for the first time, abi Bakra lead the Army of Destruction against the Zunbils and was defeated. About 700 Ibn al-Ashath tried again with the Peacock Army which led to a mutiny, the early Arab governors of Sistan had at times penetrated as far as Ghazna and Kabul, but these had been little more than slave and plunder raids.
The Zunbils worshiped the sun god Zun, sometimes referred to as Zoor or Zoon and he is represented with flames radiating from his head on coins. Statues were adorned with gold and used rubies for eyes, the god appears to have been brought to the region by the Hephthalites. Over time, the religion was influenced by Hinduism, with aspects of Shiva. Connections to Buddhism and Zoroastrianism have been drawn, the cosmopolitan nature of the god is consistent with the variety of religions practiced in the region prior to the Islamization of Afghanistan. Islamic conquest of Afghanistan Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan Battle of Nahāvand Yazidis Zunbil in Encyclopædia Britannica
Greater Khorasan
Khorasan is a historical region lying in the northeast of Persia. Khorasan in its proper sense comprised principally the cities of Balkh and Herat and Nishapur, Merv and Nisa, and Bukhara and Samarkand. Some believe that at certain times Khorasan covered an area, which included parts of Transoxiana, Sistan. Sources from the 14th to the 16th century report that areas in the south of the Hindu Kush mountain range formed a frontier between Khorasan and Hindustan, in the Islamic period, Persian Iraq and Khorasan were the two important territories. The boundary between these two was the surrounding the cities of Gurgan and Qumis. In particular, the Ghaznavids and Timurids divided their empires into Iraqi, the adjective Greater is added these days to distinguish the historical region from the Khorasan Province of Iran, which roughly encompassed the western half of the historical Greater Khorasan. The name Khorāsān is derived from Middle Persian Khwarāsān, a compound of khwar, thus the name Khorasan means land where the sun rises or east.
The Persian word Khāvar-zamīn, meaning the land, has been used as an equivalent term. First established as an entity by the Sassanids, the borders of the region have varied considerably during its 1. Initially the Khorasan province of Sassanid empire included the cities of Nishapur, Merv, Taloqan, Bukhara, Abiward, Tus or Susia and Gurgan. It acquired its greatest extent under the Caliphs, for whom Khorasan was the name of one of the three political zones under their dominion. Under the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, Khorasan was divided into four sections or quarters, each section based on a single major city, Merv, Herat. In the Middle Ages, the term was applied in Persia to all its territories that lay east and north east of Dasht-e Kavir. Ghobar uses the terms Proper Khorasan and Improper Khorasan in his book to distinguish between the usage of Khorasan in its sense and its usage in a loose sense. Improper Khorasans boundaries extended to as far as Hazarajat and Kabul in the east and Baluchistan in the south and Khwarezm in the north, and Damghan and Gorgan in the west.
It is mentioned in the Memoirs of Babur that, The people of Hindustān call every country beyond their own Khorasān, in the manner as the Arabs term all except Arabia. On the road between Hindustān and Khorasān, there are two great marts, the one Kābul, the other Kandahār. Caravans, from Ferghāna, Tūrkestān, Balkh, Bokhāra, Hissār and this country lies between Hindustān and Khorasān
Makran
Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The name Makran derives from Maka, borne by an overlapping satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire, older derivation is from the Makar, or sea dragon, after the humpback whales or whale sharks that abound in the north Arabian Sea. The word Maka became Makran, as it is common in closely related ancient Avestan, the southern part of Balochistan is called Kech Makran on Pakistani side and Makran on the Iranian side which is the name of a former Iranian province. Prior to that, in Achaeminid times, the name Maka was used for the region, the Sumerian trading partners of Magan are identified with Makran. In Varahamihiras Brihat Samhita, there is a mention of a tribe called Makara inhabiting the lands west of India, arrian used a derivation of Makran from the Persian term mahi khoran, meaning fish eaters for Baluchi inhabitants of coastal areas, but this is considered erroneous.
Maka was an important early eastern satrapy of Cyrus the Great and it corresponded to modern day Bahrain and United Arab Emirates, plus the northern half of Oman, as well as Balochistan and the Sindh province of Pakistan. The Babylonians had made voyages using Maka to communicate with India, after Cyrus death, Darius I of Persia succeeded his throne, according to Greek historian Herodotus, wanted to know more about Asia. He wished to know where the Indus emptied itself into the sea, after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great crossed Maka in his campaign of conquest. His army marched through a harsh desert path in Makran, where he lost a significant number of soldiers due to the desert conditions. Herodotus on several occasions mentions the contributions of the Mykians, who inhabited the portion of the Achaemenid Empire. They are mentioned as the men from Maka in daiva inscriptions, the Daiva inscription is one of the most important of all Achaemenid inscriptions. The Mykians served in the army of Xerxes the Great at the battle of Thermopylae and they are thought to be responsible for inventions such as qanats and underground drainage galleries that bring water from an aquifer on the piedmont to gardens or palm groves on the plains.
These inventions were very important reasons behind the success of the empire, the reasons for this may have been the arguably unjust rule of Xerxes. Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī, states in his book India that the coast of India begins with Tiz the capital of Makran. According to historian Andre Wink, Further evidence in the Chachnama makes perfectly clear that areas of Makran as of Sindh had a largely Buddhist population. The Buddhist chief offered his alligience to Chach when the latter was on his way to Kirman in 631, there is thus very wide extension of Indian cultural forms in Makran in the seventh century, even in the period when it fell under Persian sovereignty. By comparison in more recent times the last place of Hindu pilgrimage in Makran was Hinglaj,256 km west of present day Karachi in Las Bela. D. In late 644 AD Caliph Umar dispatched an army under the command of Hakam ibn Amr for the invasion of Makkuran
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