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[[File:EpicIndia.jpg|thumb|[[Bahlikas|Bahlika Kingdom]] alongside other locations of kingdoms and republics mentioned in the Indian epics or [[Bharata Khanda]].]]
Balkh was earlier considered to be the first city to which the [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] tribes moved from north of the [[Amu Darya]], between 2000 and 1500 BC.<ref>Nancy Hatch Dupree, ''An Historical Guide to Afghanistan'', 1977, Kabul, Afghanistan</ref> However it was only recently that archaeological remains before 500 BC were found by French archaeologists led by Johanna Lhullier and Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento in the section called Bala Hissar, which is the citadel of the site. They dated this first settlement to the Early Iron Age ([[Yaz culture|Yaz I]] period, c. 1500-1000 BC) continuing until pre-Achaemenid times ([[Yaz culture|Yaz II]] period, c. 1000-540 BC).<ref name=" Lhuillier">Lhuillier, Johanna, Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento, & Philippe Marquis, (2021). [https://www.austriaca.at/?arp=0x003d19bc "Ancient Bactra: New Data on the Iron Age Occupation of the Bactra Oasis" ], in ''Archaeology of Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC, from the beginning of the Iron
Since the Iranians built their first kingdom in Balkh<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vi1-earliest-evidence |title=IRAN vi. IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS (1) E – Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=2 June 2015 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613070855/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vi1-earliest-evidence |url-status=live }}</ref> (Bactria, Daxia, Bukhdi) some scholars{{who|date=January 2016}} believe that it was from this area that different waves of Iranians spread to north-east [[Iran]] and [[Seistan]] region, where they, in part, became today's [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Tājik people|Tajiks]], [[Pashtuns]] and [[Baloch people|Baluch]] people of the region.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} The changing climate has led to [[desertification]] since antiquity, when the region was very fertile.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=February 2012}} Its foundation is mythically ascribed to [[Keyumars]], the first king of the world in [[Iranian folklore|Persian legend]]; and it is at least certain that, at a very early date, it was the rival of [[Ecbatana]], [[Nineveh]] and [[Babylon]].
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Nazak Tarkhan is also said to have murdered not only the Chief Priest but also his sons. Only a young son was saved. He was taken by his mother to Kashmir where he was given training in medicine, astronomy and other sciences. Later they returned to Balkh. Prof. Maqbool Ahmed observes "One is tempted to think that the family originated from Kashmir, for in time of distress, they took refuge in the Valley. Whatever it be, their Kashmiri origin is undoubted and this also explains the deep interest of the Barmaks, in later years, in Kashmir, for we know they were responsible for inviting several scholars and physicians from Kashmir to the Court of Abbasids." Prof. Maqbool also refers to the descriptions of Kashmir contained in the report prepared by the envoy of Yahya bin Barmak. He surmises that the envoy could have possibly visited Kashmir during the reign of Samgramapida II (797–801). Reference has been made to sages and arts.{{Clarify|date=November 2018}}
The Arabs managed to bring Balkh under their control only in 715 AD, in spite of strong resistance offered by the Balkh people during the [[Umayyad]] period. [[Qutayba ibn Muslim al-Bahili]], an Arab General was Governor of [[Khurasan]] and the east from 705 to 715. He established a firm hold over lands beyond the [[Oxus]] for the Arabs. He fought and killed Tarkhan Nizak in [[Tokharistan]] (Bactria) in 715. In the wake of Arab conquest, the resident monks of the Vihara were either killed or forced to abandon their faith. The Viharas were razed to the ground. Priceless treasures in the form of manuscripts in the libraries of monasteries were consigned to ashes. Presently, only the ancient wall of the town, which once encircled it, stands partially. Nava-Vihara stands in ruins, near Takhta-i-Rustam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ikashmir.net/rktamiri/barmarks.html |title=The Rise Of Barmarks |publisher=Kashmir News Network |first=Ramesh |last=Kumar |access-date=2010-11-30 |archive-date=2011-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001054042/http://ikashmir.net/rktamiri/barmarks.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 726, the Umayyad governor [[Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri]] rebuilt Balkh and installed in it an Arab garrison,<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari|volume=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mzz3raVuGg0C|pages=26–27}}</ref> while in his second governorship, a decade later, he transferred the provincial capital there.<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari|volume=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mzz3raVuGg0C|page=128}}</ref>
[[File:Silver dirham of Abbasids minted in Balh.jpg|200px|thumb|A [[dirham]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] minted in Balkh]]
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