In 588, a
Nestorian bishopric at Pushang is mentioned. In the 650s, the town was captured by
the invading Arabs. After the
Abbasid Revolution in 750, Pushang was under the governorship by
Mus'ab ibn Ruzaiq, an
Iranian companion of the Abbasid general
Abu Muslim. Mus'ab's grandson
Tahir ibn Husayn would later play an important role in the affairs of the Abbasid Caliphate and establish the
Tahirid dynasty, which would rule Pushang and the rest of Khorasan until 873, when the
Saffarid ruler
Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar wrested Khorasan from him. During the decline of the Saffarid dynasty in the early 10th-century, the town was captured by the
Samanids. According to the 10th-century traveler
Ibn Hawqal, the town was half the size of
Herat. He also states that the town was well-built, being surrounded by three gates. In 998, the town was captured by the
Ghaznavid ruler
Mahmud. After the
battle of Dandanaqan in 1040, the city was seized by the
Seljuq Turks. In 1152, Pushang was briefly occupied by the
Ghurid ruler
Ala al-Din Husayn, who was defeated and captured by the Seljuq ruler
Ahmad Sanjar. In 1163, Pushang was once again occupied by the Ghurids, this the Seljuqs being unable to re-capture it. During the
Mongol invasion (1206–1337), Pushang was destroyed, but after some time managed to recover. In 1245, the town was captured by the
Kurt ruler
Shams-uddin Muhammad Kurt I. During the 14th-century, the town was famous for its water melons and grapes. In 1381, the
Turko-Mongol ruler
Timur had the town destroyed after having made the last Kurt ruler,
Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali his vassal. However, the town was later restored and is mentioned many times by the Iranian historian
Hafiz-i Abru. During the
early modern period, Pushang was destroyed due to land disputes between the
Safavids,
Uzbeks and the
Afghans. However, the town was once again revived and is today known by the name of
Ghurian. == References ==