Mazār-e Sharīf

City and capital of Balkh province, northern Afghanistan, the third largest city, lying at a height of 380 m/1,250 ft above sea level; population (2001 est) 232,800. The city is a commercial centre in the fertile region of Afghan Turkestan, where, with irrigation from the River Balkh, crops of cotton, cereals, and fruit are grown. Industries include flour milling, textiles, and, using natural gas piped from the large reserves to the east of Sheberghān, electricity and fertilizers are also produced. Mazār-e Sharīf has good communications by road to Kabul and other Afghan cities and, with a position 56 km/35 mi south of the frontier with Uzbekistan, and many Uzbek, Turkmen, and Tajik inhabitants, it is also the leading point of transit for Afghan trade with the republics of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.

A mosque and shrine were built in the 15th century to mark the site of the reputed tomb of the caliph Ali, which is said to have been discovered in the 12th century. Since the 15th century the tomb has become widely venerated by Muslims, and Mazār-e Sharīf has become one of the principal places of pilgrimage in the Muslim world. This fact has greatly aided the growth of the city, which became part of the Afghan kingdom in 1852. The city is also the home of a school of Islamic theology.