The city was founded by Alexander the Great in 330 BC who named it Alexandria in Arachosia, which was the recorded name for this city until the Islamic conquest. It is suggested that the name "Kandahar" evolved from "Iskandar" pronounced as "Scandar" , in the local dialect version of the name Alexander. The change of the name from "Scandar" to Candar is mentioned by the 15th century Portuguese historian João de Barros in his most famous "Décadas da Ásia".
