- The Oxus River in the Ancient World, now known as the Amu Darya River, was considered the northern frontier of Ancient Greater Iran and of the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great.
- It flows from Afghanistan to a Delta in the South Aral Sea, and today forms the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Karakum Desert
- To the west of the River Oxus (Amu Darya), lies the Karakum Desert.
- This is a Desert covered in Sand dunes that covers over two thirds of Turkmenistan, a country on the east coast of the Caspian Sea.
Uzboy River
- This was a distributary of the River Amu Darya, which is now a dry river channel.
- It ran 470 miles (750km) via Sarykamish Lake to the Caspian Sea until the 9th century CE and again until the 16th century CE.
Karakum Canal
- In 1953 the Soviet Government built an irrigation canal to the south of the dried up Uzboy riverbed.
- The Water was diverted from the Amu Darya to irrigate the Karakum Desert, which led to the drying up of the Aral Sea.
Silk Road
- In the Ancient World, the Silk Road passed out of China, through Afghanistan, down the River Oxus into both the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea.
- The Silk Road then followed the Volga which discharges into the Caspian Sea, and passed over a short overland connection into the River Don.
- The Route then followed the Don into the Sea of Azov and into the Black Sea, past the Crimean Peninsular and its Port of Chersonesus Taurica.
River Oxus (Amu Darya)