Former populated places in Afghanistan

Balkh is a city in northern Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 148,972 people. It is within the jurisdiction of Balkh District and its current mayor is Maulvi Mohammad Qasim Fazal Subhan. Located approximately to the northwest of Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya or the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, it is the second largest city of Balkh Province.

Ai-Khanoum (, meaning 'Lady Moon'; ) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a military and economic centre for the rulers of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom until its destruction  BC. Rediscovered in 1961, the ruins of the city were excavated by a French team of archaeologists until the outbreak of conflict in Afghanistan in the late 1970s.

human settlement

archaeological site

archaeological site in Afghanistan

colony of Alexander the Great on the Hindu-Kush mountains

Shortugai (Shortughai), in Darqad District of northern Afghanistan, was a trading colony of the Indus Valley Civilization (or Harappan Civilization) established around 2000 BC on the Oxus river (Amu Darya) near the lapis lazuli mines. It is considered to be the northernmost settlement of the Indus Valley Civilization.

historical town near Merv in Khorasan

ancient Greek city, site of modern-day Kandahar, Afghanistan

archaeological site in Afghanistan

Afghan river

Firozkoh (Persian: فیروزکوه, Fīrōzkōh), or Turquoise Mountain, was the summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty, in the Ghor Province of central Afghanistan. It was reputedly one of the greatest cities of its age, but was destroyed in 1223 after a siege by Tolui, son of Genghis Khan. The location of the city was lost to history. It has been proposed that the Minaret of Jam, in Shahrak District, Ghor Province, is the only standing remains of the city.

city in Afghanistan

Archeological site in Ghorband Valley in Afghanistan

ancient Afghan fortress

buddhist monastery located in near Hadda, Afghanistan

Pushang, also known by its Arabicized form of Bushanj, Bushang, and Fūshanj, was the name of a town in Khorasan, close to Herat in present-day Afghanistan.

Buddhist monastery site in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan

human settlement in Afghanistan

archaeological site near Kabul, Afghanistan