Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the early Islam period, after the victory against the Sassanids, Arabic
forces came to Merv in 651. Probably due to its strategic position and eco-
nomical importance, Merv, which is one of the first cities who accepted Is-
lam, was made the capital of Khorasan, the most eastern Islamic province,
and the base for conquest of Central Asia. Another importance of Merv to
the Muslims is that the caliphate passed from Umayyads to Abbasids as a
result of the movement initiated against Umayyads in Merv in 749 by the
ruler of Khorasan, Abu Muslim.
During his short reign, Abu Muslim established a new city named Sul-
tan Kala (Fig. 3) to the west of Erk Kala and around the Madjan channel.
The Arab reign, which started in the second half of the 7th century with the
Islam conquests, lasted for two centuries during the Umayyad and Abba-
sid dynasties being governed by the caliphate centers in Syria and Persia,
and resulted in the diffusion of the Islam civilization to Merv. In the first
years of conquest, Arabs took advantage of the Sassanid bureaucracy and
tried to increase the Arab population by bringing their soldiers' families
from Kufa and Basra (Özgüdenli, 2006).
FIGURE 3
Sultan Kala City Walls, 8th century (Sayan, 1999).
Caliph Al-Ma'mun named Merv the capital of Abbasids for a short
period. Later, during the caliphate wars, because he defeated his brother
Emin with the help of Persians, he left the governance of eastern provinces
to Persian rulers. In the reign of the Persian family of the Tahirids the
capital was moved to Nishapur. Then, governance of Merv was taken over
by Saffarids from Sistan for a short period. Samanids, who had the capital
in Bukhara, came out as the rulers as a result of the upheaval in Khorasan
in the last quarter of the 9th century. But after the partitioning of the
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