This great Central Asian river was known as the Oxus in ancient times. What is it called today?

The Amu Darya also called the Amu River and historically known by its Latin name, Oxus, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, at Qal`eh-ye Panjeh in Afghanistan, and flows from there north-westwards into what remains of the Aral Sea. In ancient times, the river was regarded as the boundary between Greater Iran and Turan.

The ancient Greeks called the Amu Darya the Oxus. In ancient times, the river was regarded as the boundary between Greater Iran and Tūrān.One southern route of the Silk Road ran along part of the Amu Darya northwestward from Termez before going westwards to the Caspian Sea.

It is believed that the Amu Darya's course across the Kara-Kum Desert has gone through several major shifts in the past few thousand years. Much of the time - most recently from the 13th century to the late 16th century - the Amu Darya emptied into both the Aral and the Caspian Seas, reaching the latter via a large distributary called the Uzboy River.