modern Mary
Ancient city, Central Asia.
Lying near the modern town of Mary (formerly Merv) in Turkmenistan, it is mentioned in ancient Persian texts as Mouru and in cuneiform inscriptions as Margu and was the seat of a satrapy (province) of the Persian Achaemenian dynasty. Under the Arabs in the 7th century AD, it was rebuilt and served as a base for Muslim expansion into Central Asia. A great centre of Islamic learning under the caliphs of the Abb 0101; sid dynasty , it reached its zenith under the Selj 016B; q sultan Sanjar (r. 111859). It was destroyed by the Mongol s in 1221 then rebuilt in the 17th century. It was occupied by the Russian Empire in 1884.