Herat, also written as Harat or Hirat, and historically known as Haraiva, Horeiva and Hires, is a city in western Afghanistan, serving as the capital and largest city of Herat Province. It has long been the third-largest city of Afghanistan. The city is within the jurisdiction of Herat District and has an estimated population of 673,273 settled residents. Mullah Nematullah Hassan is the current mayor of the city. His predecessor was Haji Abdulraziq Rashed.