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.

Remains

Russian excavations of the ancient site began in 1890. From 1992-2000 a joint team of archaeologists from Turkmenistan and the U.K. have made remarkable discoveries.

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The ruins of Old Merv cover an area of over 15 square miles. Merv has one of the finest Seleucid city walls yet discovered. Two Sassanian residential quarters were revealed in the 1990s digs, in the citadel and in the lower city, which offer the first closely dated material from a major Sassanian center. The site also contains a square citadel (Bairam Ali Khan kalah), 11/8 m. in circuit, built by a son of Tamerlane and destroyed by the Bokharians, and another kalah or walled inclosure known as Abdullah Khan. North from these lies the old capital of the Seljuks, known as Sultan Kalah, and destroyed by the Mongols in 1219. Its most conspicuous feature is the burial mosque of Sultan Sanjar, reputedly dating from the 12th century. East of the old Seljuk capital is Giaur Kalah, the Merv of the Nestorian era and the capital of the Arab princes. North of the old Seljuk capital are the ruins of Iskender Kalah, probably to be identified with the ancient Merv of the Seleucid dynasty.

Related Topics:
Bairam Ali Khan kalah - 1219 - Seleucid dynasty

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