Cophen (Kabul)

The river Kabul, the ancient Cophen, near Peshawar seen to the east. Photo Marco Prins.

Cophen: river in eastern Afghanistan and the western Punjab, the modern Kabul.

The source of the river Kabul is in the Hindu Kush mountains, not far from the modern city with the same name, the capital of Afghanistan. From here, it flows to the east until it discharges into the Indus, near Attock. It is therefore the natural road to India, and several cities have flourished from trade along the river (e.g., Peucelaotis and modern Peshawar). This photo shows the river near Peshawar, seen to the east.

A Gandaran. Eastern stairs of the apadana at Persepolis. Photo Marco Prins.

In Antiquity, the valley of the Cophen was known as Gandara. From the late sixth century onward, the inhabitants paid tribute to the Achaemenid king in Persepolis. This picture, part of the famous relief on the eastern stairs of the Apadana, shows a Gandaran offering his tribute: a buffalo. When the Macedonian conqueror Alexander marched through this area in 326 BCE, his soldiers noted that cattle in this land were great and beautiful; therefore, the king selected no less than 230.000, and sent them to Europe (Arrian, Anabasis, 4.24.4). What happened to them, is not recorded.

The river Kabul, the ancient Cophen, near Charsadda seen to the west. Photo Marco Prins.

The third picture is taken near modern Charsadda, which is identical to ancient Peucelaotis, Pushkalāvatī, "the city of lotus flowers". The mountains in the background constitute the frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The road along the Kabul, part of the Grand Trunk Road, is famous because it crosses the Khyber pass.While Alexander himself was occupied in the Swat valley, a Macedonian army commanded by his generals Hephaestion and Perdiccas entered India along this road.