- Kushan Pass
Infobox Mountain Pass
Name = Kushan Pass
Photo =
Caption =
Elevation = about 4,370 m or 14,340 ft
Location = AFG
Range =Hindu Kush
Coordinates =
Topographic
Transversed by =Kushan Pass (el. about 4,370 m or 14,340 ft) is a
mountain pass just west of the famousSalang Pass (3,878 m. or 12,723 ft.) in theHindu Kush mountain range of northernAfghanistan . These two passes provide the most direct, if difficult, routes across the imposing east-west wall of theHindu Kush mountains which divide northernAfghanistan orTokharistan fromKabul province , which is closely connected to southern Afghanistan andPakistan .Vincent Smith states that Alexander took his troops across both the Khāwak and the Kaoshān or
Kushan Pass . [Smith, Vincent A. (1908) "The Early History of India", p. 45. Oxford. The Clarendon Press.] However, according to some scholars, there is really no proof for this. [Vogelsang, Willem. (2002) "The Afghans", p. 9, n. 16. Blackwell Publishers. Oxford.] .It is likely that the Pass was named after the
Kushan dynasty which had a number of important sites in the region ofBaghlan , to the north of the passes (dating from the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE), including the majestic fortified dynastic temple ofSurkh Kotal and Rabatak where the fascinatingRabatak inscription listing the names of the early Kushan kings, and providing evidence on the date of the beginning of the Kanishka era was found a few years ago.It seems it is the Yangi-Yuli, or "New Road" of
Babur (1483-1530), the conqueror of northern India and founder of theMughal Dynasty . [Wood, John (1872) "A Journey to the Source of the River Oxus. With an essay on the Geography of the Valley of the Oxus by Colonel Henry Yule". London: John Murray, p. lxxiv.]Both these passes, so important for the early history of Afghanistan, are now bypassed by the paved road that runs through the
Salang tunnel under theSalang Pass , completed by the Soviets in 1964, at a height of about 3,400 m. It linksCharikar andKabul withKunduz ,Khulm ,Mazari Sharif andTermez ..Footnotes
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