Herat Province in the context of "Sadozai Sultanate of Herat"

The ancient history of Afghanistan, also referred to as the pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan, dates back to the prehistoric era and the Helmand civilization around 3300–2350 B.C. Archaeological exploration began in Afghanistan in earnest after World War II and proceeded until the late 1970s during the Soviet–Afghan War. Archaeologists and historians suggest that humans were living in Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the region were among the earliest in the world. Urbanized culture has existed in the land from between 3000 and 2000 BC. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages have been found inside Afghanistan.

After the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up to northeast Afghanistan, it was inhabited by the Iranic tribes and controlled by the Medes until about 500 BC when Darius the Great (Darius I) marched with his Persian army to make it part of the Achaemenid Empire. In 330 BC, Alexander the Great of Macedonia invaded the land after defeating Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Much of Afghanistan became part of the Seleucid Empire followed by the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Seleucus I Nicator was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya and gave his daughter in a peace treaty. The land was inhabited by various tribes and ruled by many different kingdoms for the next two millennia. Before the arrival of Islam in the 7th century, there were a number of religions practiced in modern-day Afghanistan. Zoroastrianism and Ancient Iranian religions were practiced in western Afganistan (Khorasan and Herat). Hinduism and Buddhism was primarily practiced in regions of Eastern (Kabul) and South-Eastern Afganistan (Kandahar). The Kafiristan (present-day Nuristan) region, in the Hindu Kush mountain range, was not converted until the 19th century. They still follow the ancient Vedic religion (related to modern day Hinduism).

Herat, also known as Harat or Hirat, and historically known as Hira, Harew, Haraiva, Areion, and Horeiva, is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276. It is the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (Selseleh-ye Safēd Kōh) in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, it is a regional hub in the country's west.

Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine. The city has a number of historic sites, including the Herat Citadel and 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 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. 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. They were conquered by the Afsharid Persia in 1732.

Mohammad Yaqub Khan (1849 – 15 November 1923) was Emir of Afghanistan from February 21 to October 12, 1879. He was a Pashtun and the son of the previous ruler, Sher Ali Khan.

Mohammad Yaqub Khan was appointed as the governor of Herat province in 1863. In 1870, he decided to rebel against his father but failed and was imprisoned in 1874.

Ghazi Mohammad Ayub Khan (Pashto; Persian: محمد ایوب خان, 1857 – 7 April 1914) also known as the Victor of Maiwand or the Afghan Prince Charlie was, for a while, the governor of Herat Province in the Emirate of Afghanistan. He was briefly the Emir of Afghanistan, from 12 October 1879 to 31 May 1880. He also led the Afghan troops during the Second Anglo-Afghan War and defeated the British Indian Army at the Battle of Maiwand. Following his defeat at the Battle of Kandahar, Ayub Khan was deposed and exiled to British India. However, Ayub Khan fled to Persia (now Iran). After negotiations in 1888 with Sir Mortimer Durand, the United Kingdom's ambassador at Tehran, Ayub Khan became a pensioner of the British Raj and traveled to British India in 1888, where he lived in Lahore, Punjab, until his death in 1914. He was buried in Peshawar and had eleven wives, fifteen sons, and ten daughters. Two of his grandsons, Sardar Hissam Mahmud el-Effendi and Sardar Muhammad Ismail Khan, served as brigadiers in the Pakistan Army.

In Afghanistan, he is remembered as the "National Hero of Afghanistan."

Chishti Sharif District, also known as Chisht District, is the most easterly district in Herat Province, Afghanistan, situated along the Hari River and one of its northern tributaries. It borders with Obe District to the west, Badghis Province to the north and Ghor Province to the east and south. The population was estimated at 23,100 in 2012. The district administrative center is the village of Chishti Sharif.

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.

The TAPI pipeline was completed on the Turkmenistan side in 2024. The project is currently expanding southbound in Herat Province of Afghanistan. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road.

Badghis (Dari: ولایت بادغیس, romanized: Wilāyat-e Bādghīs and Pashto: د بادغیس ولایت, romanized: Da Bādghīs Wilāyat) is one of the northwestern provinces of Afghanistan. It borders Turkmenistan to the north, Herat to the west and southwest, Ghor to the south and southeast, and Faryab to the east. The provincial capital is Qala e Naw, serving as the main administrative, economic, and cultural hub of the province.

Covering an area of approximately 20,000 square kilometers and having an estimated population of about 550,000 people (as of 2025), Badghis is characterized by rolling hills, semi-arid plains, and the western extensions of the Hindu Kush mountains. The province is drained primarily by the Murghab River and its tributaries, which provide essential water for agriculture in an otherwise dry landscape. Badghis is sparsely populated compared to more fertile provinces and faces challenges such as soil erosion, desertification, and limited infrastructure.

Farah (Pashto, Dari: فراه) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the western part of the country on the border with Iran. It is a spacious and sparsely populated province, divided into eleven districts and contains hundreds of villages. It has a population of about 563,026, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural tribal society. The Pashtuns of Farah speak southern dialect (Kandahari Pashto) and mostly belongs to the Durrani clan of Pashtuns. The Farah Airport is located near the city of Farah, which serves as the capital of the province. Farah is linked with Iran via the Iranian border town of Mahirud. The famous tourism sites of the province include Pul Garden, New Garden, Kafee Garden, shrine of Sultan Amir and Kafer castle.[1]

Geographically the province is approximately 48,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), roughly twice the size of Maryland, or half the size of South Korea. The province is bounded on the north by Herat, on the northeast by Ghor, the southeast by Helmand, the south by Nimroz, and on the west by Iran. It is the fourth largest province in Afghanistan by area, but the second least densely populated province.