Iron Gate (Central Asia)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Iron Gate.
The Iron Gate is a defile between Balkh and Samarkand. It breaks up the mountains which extend from the Hisar range south towards the Amu Darya. In ancient times it was used as the passage between Bactria and Sogdia and was likely of great importance to any power in the region. It's name comes from the belief that an actual gate, reinforced with Iron, stood in the defile.
[edit] References
- Soucek,Svat. "A History Of Inner Asia." Pg 5. Cambridge University Press.
