Claim: Shahrisabz is formerly known as Kesh or Kish and was founded more than 2,700 years ago forming a part of the Achaemenid Empire, also called the First Persian Empire.
Evidence: It is located at an altitude of 622 m. Historically known as Kesh or Kish, Shahrisabz was once a major city of Central Asia and was an important urban center of Sogdiana, a province of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. It was founded more than 2,700 years ago and formed a part of the Achaemenid Empire or Persia from the 6th to 4th centuries BC. 'The Empire'), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia founded by Cyrus the Great.