Merv

Merv (Persian name: مرو), in current-day Turkmenistan, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of culture and politics at a site of major strategic value. The site of ancient Merv has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Sites.

History

The Silk Road, extant since prehistoric times, has been a major route for human migrations through Central Asia for all of known history. Though much earlier history must lie under the layers of later city life, archaeological surveys have revealed many survivals of village life as far back as the 3rd millennium BCE.

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Some say that Merv is the origin of Hindu belief in Mount Meru, which Hinduism declares to be the centre of the world. Others suggest, however, that Mount Meru is another name for Mount Kailas in Tibet.

Related Topics:
Hindu - Mount Meru - Hinduism - Mount Kailas - Tibet

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Under the name of Mouru, Merv is mentioned with Bakhdi (Balkh) in the geography of the Zend-Avesta, which probably dates from the 7th century BCE though traditionally given extravagantly earlier dates. Under the name of Margu it occurs as part of one of the satrapies in the Behistun inscriptions (ca 515 BCE) of the Persian monarch Darius Hystaspis. The ancient city appears to have been refounded by Cyrus the Great (559 - 530 BCE), but the Achaemenid levels are deeply covered by later strata at the site. (See also Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex.)

Related Topics:
Balkh - Zend-Avesta - Satrap - Behistun inscriptions - Darius Hystaspis - Cyrus the Great - Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex

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Alexander the Great's visit to Merv is merely legendary, but after his death, Merv became the chief city of a province (Margiana) of the Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanid kingdoms. On the Margus River— called the Epardus by Arrian and now the Murghab— stood the capital of the district, named Antiochia Margiana, ("Antioch of the Margiana") by Antiochus Soter, who rebuilt the city, in a greatly enlarged plan, almost two kilometers across. Little of Seleucid Achiochia Margiana has been recovered, aside from remnants of the fortified outer perimeter.

Related Topics:
Alexander the Great - Seleucid - Parthian - Sassanid - Arrian - Murghab - Antiochus Soter

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After Ardashir I (ca 220-240) took Merv, the study of numismatics picks up the thread: a long unbroken direct Sassanian rule of four centuries is documented from the unbroken series of coins originally minted at Merv. Sanjan was another eminent historical city, in the neighbourhood of Merv, claimed by many Zoroastrian Parsees of India as their place of origin. Beside the official Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid dynasty, Merv was home to a range of other religious faiths and some other religious sects, including Buddhists and Manichaeans. During the 5th century CE, Merv was the seat of a Christian archbishopric of the Nestorian Church.

Related Topics:
Ardashir I - Numismatics - Sanjan - Zoroastrian - Parsee - India - Buddhists - Manichaeans - Christian - Archbishop - Nestorian

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Arab influence

Sassanian rule came to an end when the last Sassanian ruler, Yazdegard III (632-651) was murdered not far from the city and the Sassanian military governor surrendered to the approaching Arab army. The city was occupied by lieutenants of the caliph Uthman ibn Affan, and was constituted the capital of Khorasan. Using this city as their base, the Arabs, led by Kotaiba (Qotaiba) ibn Moslim, brought under subjection Balkh, Bokhara, Fergana and Kashgaria, and penetrated into China as far as the province of Kan-suh early in the 8th century.

Related Topics:
Yazdegard III - 632 - 651 - Uthman ibn Affan - Khorasan - Bokhara - Fergana - Kashgar - China - Kan-suh

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Merv achieved some political spotlight in February 748 when Abu Muslim (d. 750) declared a new Abbasid dynasty at Merv, and set out from the city to conquer Iran and Iraq and establish a new capital at Baghdad. Thereafter Merv remained a provincial capital— except for a moment of glory from 813 to 818 when the temporary residency of the caliph al-Ma'mun effectively made Merv the capital of the Muslim world.

Related Topics:
748 - Abu Muslim - Abbasid dynasty - Iran - Iraq - Baghdad - Al-Ma'mun

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In the latter part of the 8th century Merv became obnoxious to Islam as the centre of heretical propaganda preached by al-Muqanna "The Veiled Prophet of Khorasan". In 874 Arab rule in Central Asia came to an end. During their dominion Merv, like Samarkand and Bokhara, was one of the great schools of learning, and the celebrated historian Yaqut studied in its libraries. Merv produced a number of scholars in various branches of knowledge, such as Islamic law, Hadith, history, literature, and the like. Several scholars have the name: Marwazi المروزي designating them as hailing from Merv.

Related Topics:
Islam - Heretical - Al-Muqanna - 874 - Samarkand - Yaqut - Islamic law - Hadith

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Turkish and Mongolian control

In 1040 the Seljuk Turks crossed the Oxus from the north, and having defeated Masud, sultan of Ghazni, raised Toghrul Beg, grandson of Seljuk, to the throne of Persia, founding the Seljukian dynasty, with its capital at Nishapur. A younger brother of Toghrul, Daud, took possession of Merv and Herat. Toghrul was succeeded by his nephew Alp Arslan (the Great Lion), who was buried at Merv. It was about this time that Merv reached the zenith of her glory. During the reign of Sultan Sanjar or Sinjar of the same house, in the middle of the 11th century, Merv was overrun by the Turkish tribes of the Ghuzz from beyond the Oxus. It eventually passed under the sway of the rulers of Khwarizm (Khiva).

Related Topics:
1040 - Seljuk Turks - Oxus - Toghrul Beg - Seljuk - Seljukian dynasty - Nishapur - Alp Arslan - Ghuzz - Khwarizm

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In 1221 Merv opened its gates to Tule, son of Genghis Khan, chief of the Mongols, on which occasion most of the inhabitants are said to have been butchered. Excavations revealed drastic rebuilding of the city's fortifications in the aftermath, but the prosperity of the city began to decay. In the early part of the 14th century the town was made the seat of a Christian archbishopric of the Eastern Church. On the death of the grandson of Genghis Khan, Merv was included (1380) in the possessions of Tamerlane, Turco-Persian prince of Samarkand.

Related Topics:
1221 - Tule - Genghis Khan - Mongols - 1380 - Tamerlane - Turco-Persian

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Persian period to Russian occupation

In 1505 the city was occupied by the Uzbeks, who five years later were expelled by Ismail Khan, the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Persia. It was in this period that a large dam on the river Murghab was restored by a Persian nobleman, and the settlement which grew up in the area thus irrigated became known as Bairam Ali, by which name it is referred to in some 19th century texts. Merv remained in the hands of Persia until 1787, when it was captured by the emir of Bokhara. Seven years later the Bokharians razed the city to the ground, broke down the dams, and converted the district into a waste. When Sir Alexander Burnes traversed the country in 1832, the Khivans were the rulers of Merv. About this time the Tekke Turkomans, then living on the Heri-rud, were forced by the Persians to migrate northward. The Khivans contested the advance of the Tekkes, but ultimately, about 1856, the latter became the sovereign power in the country, and remained so until the Russians occupied the oasis in 1883.

Related Topics:
1505 - Uzbek - Ismail Khan - Safavid dynasty - Murghab - 1787 - Alexander Burnes - 1832 - 1856 - 1883

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