Khorasan, (Khorasani: खोरसन), also spelled Khurasan, officially the Republic of Khorasan is a landlocked country forming part of South Asia and Central Asia. It borders Bharat to the south and the east, Persia to the west and the north, and the Altai Union in the far northeast. It shares a long history with both the Persian and Bharati civilizations but, being centered on impassable mountains and highlands, it has frequently been independent from both.