Merv (Turkmen: Merw; Persian: مرو), Gyaur-Kala is the most ancient known city in Central Asia, located on the banks of the Murghab River in the southeastern part of Turkmenistan, 30 km east of the modern city of Mary, near the modern city of Bayramaly.
The capital of the Persian satrapy of Margiana and the Turkic Seljuk Empire. The ruins of Merv are a World Heritage Site. According to some estimates, at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries, Ancient Merv was the largest city in the world with a population of over half a million people. The area of its shakhristan reached 350 hectares.
The Merv oasis was already inhabited in the era of the Margiana civilization (late 3rd – early 2nd millennium BC); in cuneiform texts it is mentioned as Margu, from which the name of the surrounding region comes. At the turn of our era, Merv was one of the main urban centers of Parthia with an area of 60 km² and several rings of walls. According to Chinese sources, in 97 the Chinese military leader Ban Chao reached Merv with his detachment.
In the 3rd century, the first Christians appeared in the city. The powerful Merv Metropolis was formed here. Evidence of their activity is the Christian necropolis of the 3rd-6th centuries in the vicinity of Old Merv, as well as the Haroba-Koshuk structure 18 kilometers from Merv, which some researchers consider the ruins of a Christian temple.
In the early Middle Ages, a Jewish community existed in Merv. In Merv, archaeologists found Jewish inscriptions on ossuaries with names inscribed in Hebrew: “Joseph bar Jacob” and the like.
After the Arab conquest of Central Asia in the 7th century, it gained a second life as a springboard for conquering expeditions to the north and east. Under the Abbasids, Merv was one of the main centers of Arabic book learning, possessing ten libraries. The city was known as a home for immigrants from Arab countries, as well as from Sogdiana and other Central Asian countries. In the period from 813 to 818, the temporary residence of Caliph al-Ma’mun in Merv actually made the city the capital of the entire Caliphate.
The city’s heyday began under the rule of the Samanid dynasty.
Merv reached its greatest prosperity in the middle of the 12th century, when Sultan Sanjar made it the capital of the Seljuk state. At that time, Merv amazed contemporaries with the scale of its buildings and its huge population, which, according to some estimates, was larger than the population of Constantinople and Baghdad. It continued to be the largest center of Central Asia under the Khorezmshahs. Khorezmshah Atsiz, taking advantage of Sanjar’s defeat in the battle with the Kara-Khitans near Samarkand, captured and plundered Merv in the winter of 1141. Active archaeological research began on the territory of the Merv oasis, which acquired a systematic character in the late 19th – early 20th century (post-war period) thanks to the work of M.E. Masson.
Here is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- Erk-Kala: The central fortress of Merv, which served as the residence of the rulers and protection for the city’s inhabitants. The remains of palaces, mosques and other structures have been preserved here.
- Gyaur-Kala: The outer city, where residential areas, craft workshops and shopping arcades were located. Here you can see the remains of houses, baths, mosques and other buildings.
- Abdullakhan-Kala: The southern fortress, which served as a defensive structure.
- Sultan-Kala: The northern fortress, which was built in the 12th century.
- Abdullakhan-Tepe: A mound on which, presumably, an ancient citadel was located.
Merv is a place where history comes to life. By visiting this ancient city, you can touch the secrets of the past and feel the greatness of the civilizations that once flourished in these lands.
