Balkh

Balkh (/bɑːlx/; Persian/Pashto: بلخ Balkh; Bactrian: βαχλο, ẞaxlɔ) was an ancient city and centre of Buddhism, Sufism and Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 74 km (46 mi) south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan, since the latter's earliest history. Marco Polo described Balkh as a "noble and great city".

The ancient city of Balkh was known to the Ancient Greeks as Bactra, giving its name to Bactria. It was mostly known as the centre and capital of Bactria or Tokharistan. Balkh is now for the most part a mass of ruins, situated some 12 km from the right bank of the seasonally flowing Balkh River, at an elevation of about 365 m (1,200 ft).

Outside the town was a large Buddhist monastery later known as Naubahar (or Nava Vihāra in Sanskrit).

French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel associated Shambhala with Balkh, also offering the Persian Sham-i-Bala, "elevated candle" as an etymology of its name. In a similar vein, the Gurdjieffian J. G. Bennett published speculation that Shambalha was Shams-i-Balkh, a Bactrian sun temple.

British Association for Local History

The British Association for Local History (BALH) is a membership organisation that exists to promote the advancement of public education through the study of local history and to encourage and assist the study of local history throughout Great Britain as an academic discipline and as a leisure activity.

BALH was founded and registered as a charity in England and Wales on September 30th, 1982 through an initiative by the National Council of Social Services (now the National Council for Voluntary Organisations) to bring together the work of previously separate organisations in the field. It aims to be the national umbrella organisation for the subject and many local history societies and groups are members of BALH, though others remain outside. People with an interest in local history can also join BALH as individual members.

BALH's activities include the publication of the quarterly journal The Local Historian (first published in 1952), and the quarterly magazine Local History News, as well as a number of books and pamphlets on the topic. It also organises an annual lecture, national and regional conferences and guided visits to libraries, museums and institutions such as The National Archives and the College of Arms. The Association also coordinates an annual Local History Day.