Herat: A Short History
Herat was a great trading center strategically located on ancient trade routes from the Mediterranean to India or China.
The city was conquered by the Arabs in the 8th century and became Moslem. It was noted for its textiles during the Abbasid Caliphate, according to many references by geographers. The city is described in the 10th century as a prosperous town surrounded by strong walls with plenty of water sources, extensive suburbs, an inner citadel, a congregational mosque, and four gates, each gate opening to a thriving market place.
During the Middle Ages, Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan, the ancient region crossing the borders of modern day Afganistan, Iran and the states of Central Asia.Herat was known as the Pearl of Khorasan.
The great mosque of Herātwas built in 1201. In this period Herāt became an important center for producing metal goods, especially in bronze, often decorated with elaborate inlays in precious metals.
One eyewitness described that there were “359 colleges in Herat, 12,000 shops fully occupied, 6,000 bath-houses; besides caravanserais and mills, also a darwishconvent and a fire temple”. There were about 444,000 houses occupied by a settled population. The men were described as “warlike and carry arms”, and they were Sunni Muslims.
The Mongols
The Mongol Empire laid siege to Herat twice. The first siege resulted in the surrender of the city, the slaughter of the local sultan’s army of 12,000, and the appointment of two governors, one Mongol and one Muslim. The second, prompted by a rebellion against Mongol rule, lasted seven months and ended in June 1222 with, according to one account, the beheading of the entire population of 1,600,000 people by the victorious Mongols, such that “no head was left on a body, nor body with a head.”
The city remained in ruins from 1222 to about 1236. In 1244, a local prince Shams al-Din Kart was named ruler of Herāt by the Mongol governor of Khorāsān and in 1255 he was confirmed in his rule by the founder of the Il-Khan dynasty Hulagu. Shamsuddin Kart founded a new dynasty and his successors, especially Fakhruddin Kart and Ghiyasuddin Kart, built many mosques and other buildings. The members of this dynasty were great patrons of literature and the arts. By this time Herāt had become known as the pearl of Khorasan.
If anyone asks thee which is the pleasantest of cities, Thou mayest answer him aright that it is Herāt. For the world is like the sea, and the province of Khurāsān like a pearl-oyster therein, The city of Herāt being as the pearl in the middle of the oyster.[7]
— Rumi, 1207–1273 A.D.
The Timurid Dynasty
After its conquest by Tamerlane, the city became an important center of intellectual and artistic life in the Islamic world. Under the rule of Shah Rukh, the city served as the focal point of the Timurid Renaissance, whose glory is thought to have matched Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth.
Timur took Herat in 1380 . The city reached its greatest glory under the Timurid princes, especially Sultan Husayn Bayqara who ruled Herat from 1469 until 1506. His chief minister, the poet and author in Persian and Turkish, Mir Ali-Shir Nava’i was a great builder and patron of the arts. Under the Timurids, Herat assumed the role of the main capital of an empire that extended in the West as far as central Persia.
As the capital of the Timurid empire, it boasted many fine religious buildings and was famous for its sumptuous court life and musical performance and its tradition of miniature paintings. On the whole, the period was one of relative stability, prosperity, and development of economy and cultural activities. It began with the nomination of Shahrokh, the youngest son of Timur, as governor of Herat in 1397. The reign of Shahrokh in Herat was marked by intense royal patronage, building activities, and the promotion of manufacturing and trade, especially through the restoration and enlargement of the Herat’s bāzār. The present Musallah Complex, and many buildings such as the madrasa of Gawhar Shad, Ali Shir mahāl, many gardens, and others, date from this time. The village of Gazar Gah, over two km northeast of Herat, contained a shrine that was enlarged and embellished under the Timurids. The tomb of the poet and mystic Khwājah Abdullāh Ansārī(d. 1088), was first rebuilt by Shahrokh about 1425, and other famous men were buried in the shrine area.
The Safavid Dynasty
After the fall of the Timurid Empire, Herat was governed by various Afghan rulers until in 1507, after much fighting the city was taken by Shah Isma’il, the founder of the Persian Safavid dynasty.
The Safavid dynasty was one of Iran’s most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires.
Under the Safavids, Herat was again relegated to the position of a provincial capital, albeit one of particular importance.
The Persian king, Shah Abbas the Great was born in Herat, and in Safavid texts, Herat is referred to as a’zam-i bilād-i īrān, meaning “the greatest of the cities of Iran”. In the 16th century, all future Safavid Persian rulers, from Tahmasp I to Abbas I, were governors of Herat in their youth.
Nader Shah
After ruling Persia and Afganistan along with parts of the Arab Gulf and Turkey and Central Asia for more than 200 years The Safavids were overthrown in the early 18th century by Nader Shah , who despite a relatively short reign of only 15 years became known as Persia’s Napoleon .
Nader Shah fought many battles and occupied Herat and the rest of Afganistan even invading India.
The Afgan Empire
After Nader Shah’s death and the coming of the Iranian Qajar dynasty Afganistan seized its independence. With Ahmad Shah Durrani’s rise to power in 1747, Herat separated from Persia became part of Afghanistan.It became an independent city-state in the first half of the 19th century, facing off several Qajar Iranian invasions until being incorporated into Afghanistan in 1863.
The Iranians had multiple wars with Herat between 1801 and 1837 including the years 1804, 1807, 1811, 1814, 1817, 1818, 1821, 1822, 1825, and 1833.
The Iranians again besieged the city in 1837, but the British helped the Heratis in repelling them.
The British had occupied Afganistan from the east after defeating the Afgans In 1856, as part of their conquest of India, Pakistan and beyond .
The Iranians invaded again, and briefly managed to take the city on 25 October;it led directly to the Anglo-Persian War.
In 1857 hostilities between the Iranians and the British ended after the Treaty of Paris was signed, and the Persian troops withdrew from Herat in September 1857.Afghanistan conquered Herat on 26 May 1863, under Dost Muhammad Khan. It has been part of Afganistan ever since .
The roads from Herat to Iran (through the border town of Islam Qala) and Turkmenistan(through the border town of Torghundi) are still strategically important. As the gateway to Iran, it collects high amount of customs revenue for Afghanistan.It also has an international airport. Following the 2001 war, the city had been relatively safe from Taliban insurgent attacks.
In 2021, it was announced that Herat would be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.On 12 August 2021, the city was seized by Talibanfighters as part of the Taliban’s summer offensive.
Content courtesy Wikipedia
Destinations: Iran / Afghanistan / Uzbekistan / Turkmenistan
