A city, rich in administrative quality, religious tolerance and economy, was influenced by one empire after another. Merv, located 40km from the city of Mary in Turkmenistan, had gradually emerged as the centre of Islamic Culture, as it had topped the list of the largest cities in the world 4,000 years ago! According to Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 – AD 79) who was also called Pliny the Elder, Alexander the Great founded the city of Merv and changed its name to Alexandria. Pliny was a Roman author, naturalist, natural philosopher, and a Naval and Army Commander of the early Roman Empire. He was also a friend of Roman Emperor Vespasian (November 17, 9 AD – June 23, 79 AD).

The ruler of the city changed after the demise of Alexander the Great in BC 323 at the age of 32. Emperors of the Bactrian, Parthian and Kushan Dynasties, too, ruled Merv. Along with the forts, Buddhist monasteries and temples were also built there. Merv became the world’s largest city between the 12th and 13th Centuries. The population of this city was 0.5 million at that period of time. Most of the people, who used to live in Merv, were Persians, Turkish and Arabs. The city, surrounded by huge forts, had several libraries. Foreigners often frequented Merv mainly for study purposes. The population was constantly growing in the city due to the convenience of living.

At one point of time, Merv came under the scanner of the Mongols! Tolui Khan (1191 – 1232), the fourth and youngest son of Mongol ruler Genghis Khan (1162 – August 25, 1227), invaded Merv in 1221. He not only destroyed libraries, forts and monasteries, but also killed nearly one million people! According to historians, the city experienced bloodbath in 1221.

However, Tolui Khan spared some artists. According to historians, although Tolui Khan detained around 400 artists, he did not kill any one of them. The Mongol invader asked his soldiers to kill all the people, except those artists. Merv, once an administrative centre in Central Asia, fell into ruins after the Mongol invasion.

Turkey discovered the ruins of Merv thousands of years later. In 1999, UNESCO listed Ancient Merv as a cultural World Heritage Site, noting that “the cities of the Merv oasis have exerted considerable influence over the civilisations of Central Asia and Iran for four millennia“. Merv has now become an archaeological site.

Although it takes just an hour to reach Merv from Mary, there is no special public transport system to commute there. Usually, tourists visit Merv (from Mary) by private cars.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das