Image: Wikimedia Commons

Balkh

Capital of Balkh District, Afghanistan

CitytownQ182159

Also known as Umm Al-Belaad · Mother of All Cities · Umm al-Bilad · Bactra · Baktra · Balch

Country: Afghanistan
Located in: Balkh
Population: 77,000(2006)
, 7,242(1979)
1
Sources
1.Stated in First Population Census of Afghanistan (1979)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Elevation: 365 m

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Balkh is a city in northern Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 148,972 people. It is the second largest city of Balkh Province and is within the jurisdiction of Balkh District. Balkh is located approximately 24 km (15 mi) to the northwest of Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately 74 km (46 mi) to the south of the Amu Darya or the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border.

Overview

All data

59 statements · 15% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Twinned administrative body: Samarkand
World Heritage criteria: (ii)
(iv)
(v)
Heritage designation: Tentative World Heritage Site(since 2004) official name: City of Balkh (antique Bactria) · world heritage criteria: (ii), (iv)
Significant event: Siege of Balkh(1447)
Siege of Balkh(1370)
Capital of: Balkh
Q11929756
Different from: Balch
Category for people buried here: Q122231744
Replaces: Bactra
Part of: list of World Heritage Sites in Northern and Central Asia

On other databases

37 identifiers linking Balkh across the web's reference databases

36.7581, 66.8989OpenStreetMap ↗

Data quality

statements

15%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 12, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). Balkh (Q182159). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/balkh-Q182159