Herat

Herat, also written as Harat or Hirat, and historically known as Haraiva, Horeiva and Hires, is a city in western Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Herat Province. It has long been the third-largest city of Afghanistan. The city is within the jurisdiction of Herat District and has an estimated population of 673,273 settled residents. Mullah Nematullah Hassan is the current mayor of the city. His predecessor was Haji Abdulraziq Rashed.

Herat is a major industrial and trading center. As the gateway to Iran and Turkmenistan, it collects billions of dollars in customs revenue for Afghanistan. It has an international airport and a large industrial park near it. The roads from Herat to Iran (through the border town of Islam Qala) and Turkmenistan (through the border town of Torghundi) are becoming strategically important.

Herat is situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (Selseleh-ye Safēd Kōh) in the fertile valley of the Hari River. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia, it is a regional hub in the country's west. It dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine. The city has a number of historic sites, particularly the Great Mosque of Herat, the Herat Citadel, the Musalla Complex. During the Middle Ages, Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan, as it was known as the Pearl of Khorasan. After its conquest by Timur, 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. After the fall of the Timurid Empire, Herat has been governed by various Afghan rulers since the early 18th century.

In 1716, the Abdali Afghans inhabiting the city revolted and formed their own Sultanate, the Sadozai Sultanate of Herat. The city was governed by Afsharid Persia in 1732. After Nader Shah's death and Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power in 1747, Herat separated from Afsharid Iran and became part of Afghanistan. It became an independent city-state in the first half of the 19th century, facing several invasions from Qajar Iran until being reincorporated into Afghanistan in 1863. Prior to the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, the city had become one of the major stops on the Hippie trail from Tehran to Kabul. Following the 2001 war, the city had been relatively safe from militant attacks. In 2021, it was announced that Herat would be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Herat, Piranshahr, Damghan and Aleppo are noted to be sites for archaeological interests and exploration.