Greater Khorasan is an area of land from the past which included parts that are presently in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan forms the largest territory of Khorasan. Afghanistan was called Khorasan up to the 18th century, when Ahmad Shah Abdali renamed it to its current name.

Khorasan contained mostly Herat, Balkh, Kabul and Ghazni (now in Afghanistan), Nishapur and Sistan (now in Iran), Merv and Sanjan (now in Turkmenistan), Balochistan (now in Pakistan), Samarqand and Bukhara (both now in Uzbekistan) as well as the Bactrian regions (now in Afghanistan and Tajikistan). It is important to mention that Khorasan's regions were at variance during each Empire, whether it lost its territories to the Persian Empires or to other Empires in Transoxiana.

Until the 13th century and the devastating Mongol invasion, Khorasan was considered the cultural capital of Persia.(J. Lorentz) [It refers to the Khorasan province of Iran, mostly to the great city of Nishapur)

References

• Lorentz, J. Historical Dictionary of Iran. 1995 ISBN 0810829940

See also

• Khorasan
• Chorasmia

External links

• Current Khorasan Province of Iran with Some references to Greater Khorasan
• Some Afghanistan History with references to Greater Khorasan

History of Asia

Хорасан | Chorasan