Editing Amu Darya (section)

==Names==
[[Image:Amu darya delta.jpg|150px|left|thumb|Amu Darya delta from space]]
In [[classical antiquity]], the river was known as the {{lang|la|Ōxus}} in [[Latin language|Latin]] and {{wikt-lang|grc|Ὦξος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Ôxos}}) in [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] — a clear derivative of [[Vakhsh River|Vakhsh]], the name of the largest tributary of the river.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Page|first=Geology|date=2015-02-19|title=Amu Darya River|url=https://www.geologypage.com/2015/02/amu-darya-river.html|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Geology Page|language=en-US}}</ref> In [[Sanskrit|Sanskrit texts]], the river is also referred to as {{lang|sa-Latn|Vakṣu}} ({{lang|sa|वक्षु}}). The [[Brahmanda Purana]] refers to the river as {{lang|sa-Latn|Chaksu}} which means 'an eye'.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} The [[Avestan]] texts too refer to the river as Yakhsha/Vakhsha (and Yakhsha Arta ('Upper Yakhsha'), referring to the [[Jaxartes]]/[[Syr Darya]] twin river to Amu Darya). In [[Middle Persian]] sources of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian period]] the river is known as {{lang|pal-Latn|Wehrōd}}<ref name="Iranica" /> ({{lit|good river}}).

The name ''Amu'' is said to have come from the medieval city of ''Āmul'' (later Chahar Joy/Charjunow, and now known as [[Türkmenabat]]) in modern [[Turkmenistan]], with ''Daryā'' being the Persian word for 'lake' or 'sea'. Medieval [[Arabic]] and [[Islam]]ic sources call the river ''Jeyhoun'' ({{langx|ar|جَـيْـحُـوْن|Jayḥūn}}), which is derived from ''[[Gihon]]'', the [[biblical name]] for one of the four rivers of the [[Garden of Eden]].<ref name="ref1">[[William C. Brice]]. 1981. ''Historical Atlas of Islam (Hardcover)''. Leiden with support and patronage from Encyclopaedia of Islam. {{ISBN|90-04-06116-9}}.</ref><ref name="ref2">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |title=Amu Darya |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9007285 }}</ref> The Amu Darya passes through one of the world's highest deserts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Amu Darya|url=https://geography.name/amu-darya/|access-date=2020-07-16|website=geography.name}}</ref>

===As the river Gozan===
Western travelers in the 19th century mentioned that one of the names by which the river was known in Afghanistan was ''Gozan'', and that this name was used by Greek, Mongol, Chinese, Persian, Jewish, and Afghan historians. However, this name is no longer used.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Afghanistan Virtual Jewish History Tour|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/afghanistan-virtual-jewish-history-tour|access-date=2022-02-05|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>

:"Hara ([[Bukhara|Bokhara]]) and to the river of Gozan (that is to say, the Amu, (called the Oxus by Europeans )) ..."<ref name="The Kingdom of Afghanistan: a historical sketch">{{citation |title=The Kingdom of Afghanistan: a historical sketch |author=George Passman Tate |page=11}}</ref>

:"the Gozan River is the River Balkh, i.e. the Oxus or the Amu Darya ..."<ref name="Jews in Islamic countries in the Middle Ages">{{citation |title=Jews in Islamic countries in the Middle Ages |author1=Moshe Gil |author2=David Strassler |page=428}}</ref>

:"... and were brought into Halah (modern day [[Balkh]]), and Habor (which is Pesh Habor or [[Peshawar]]), and Hara (which is [[Herat]]), and to the river Gozan (which is the Ammoo, also called Jehoon) ..."<ref name="Tamerlane and the Jews">{{citation |title=Tamerlane and the Jews |author=Michael Shterenshis |page=xxiv}}</ref>