Ancient site · City
Merv
Also known as Margu, Antiochia Margiana
A great oasis city of the Murghab delta in Turkmenistan. The first walled city, Erk Kala, was founded in the 6th century BCE as the Achaemenid Persians took over Margiana.
The Seleucid king Antiochus I rebuilt it as Antiochia Margiana (today's Gyaur Kala), and Parthians, Kushans and Sasanians later ruled it; Buddhist stupas stood here. In the Middle Ages it became one of the largest cities in the world. Its overlapping walled cities form a World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- city c. 550 BCE–18th century CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 37.66° N, 62.19° E
How we know
Named as Margu in Darius the Great's Behistun inscription (c. 515 BCE) and by later writers; its walled cities are excavated.
Nearby sites
- Gonur Depe c. 2400–1600 BCE
- Altyn-Depe c. 3200–2000 BCE; urban c. 2400–2000 BCE
- Tillya Tepe graves c. 1st century BCE–1st century CE
- Jeitun c. 6000 BCE, for a few centuries
- Sarazm c. 3500–2000 BCE (radiocarbon range 3900–2100 BCE)
- Ai-Khanoum c. 290–145 BCE