Yemshi Tepe

An ancient circular fortified city covering approximately 20 hectares, located 5 km northeast of Sheberghan in northern Afghanistan. Built during the Kushan Empire period (1st-3rd century AD) on likely Hellenistic foundations, the city featured tall walls pierced by several gateways and fortified by defence towers. A citadel in the northern section contained a palatial residence that served as the administrative seat of the region. Afghan-Soviet excavations in the late 1960s uncovered a Greek ostracon and various statues. The nearby Tillya Tepe site, just 0.5 km away, yielded the famous Bactrian Gold hoard of 20,600 gold objects, believed connected to Yemshi Tepe's Kushan rulers.