MERV AND SARAKHS OASES ,Asiatic Russia,Antique Map

1890s HISTORICAL MAP CHART

Merv , in current-day Turkmenistan, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The oasis is situated on the southern edge of the Kara-kum Desert, in 37° 30’ N. and 62°E. It is about 230 miles north from Herat, and 280 mi. SSE from Khiva. Its area is about 1900 square miles. The great chain of mountains which, under the names of Paropamisadae and Hindu Kush, extends from the Caspian Sea to the Pamir Mountains is interrupted some 180 mi. south of Merv. Through or near this gap flow northwards in parallel courses the rivers Heri-rud (Tejend) and Murghab, until they lose themselves in the desert of Kara-kum. Thus they make Merv a sort of watch tower over the entrance into Afghanistan on the north-west and at the same time create a stepping-stone or étape between north-east Persia and the states of Bokhara and Samarkand. The oasis is irrigated by an elaborate system of canals cut from the Murghab. The country has at all times been renowned throughout the East for its fertility. Every kind of cereal and many fruits grow in great abundance, e.g. wheat, millet, barley and melons, also rice and cotton. Cotton seeds from archaeological levels as far back as the 5th century are the first indication that cotton textiles were already an important economic component of the Sassanian city. Silkworms have been bred. The Turkomans possess a famous breed of horses and keep camels, sheep, cattle, asses and mules. Turkomans are excellent workers in silver and noted as armourers. Carpets from the region of Merv are sometimes considered superior to the Persian. They also make felts and a rough cloth of sheep's wool

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side.