Iron Gate (Central Asia)
The Iron Gate (Uzbek: Buzgalaxona; Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰢𐰼:𐰴𐰯𐰍, romanized: temir qapïɣ in Orkhon and Tonyukuk inscriptions; Persian: دربند Darband, Chinese: 鐵門關; pinyin: Tiěménguān), is a defile between Balkh and Samarkand. It breaks up the mountains which extend from the Hisar range south towards the Amu Darya.