Journal of the Royal United
Service Institution
VOL. XIX. 1875. No. LXXX.
LECTURE.
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Pheasants,
chakors, and rock-pigeon were abundant; and there were
bears and panthers. At Yalatun “the desert aspect
was a little broken “by symptoms of recent
culture." An excellent Russian scholar, Mr. Delmar
Morgan, having kindly favored me with translated extracts
from Hitter's " Iran," just published in the
Russian language, with annotations by M. Khanikoff, I
take advantage of the occasion to notice what is there
said of Merv. It may savor of insular self-satisfaction,
but I think it quite legitimate, and it is undeniably
pleasant to remark that, while English authorities are
utilized wholesale in these valuable works thrown out,
from day to day, by the Continental press, very little
matter is brought to light which has heretofore been kept
secret from our own writers and explorers. As
compilations, these publications have an undeniable
value; for they comprise the latest information
obtainable on the particular subjects treated; and I
could not fail to observe in the volume under reference,
the map of Seistan, prepared from the data collected by
an officer of my own mission in 1872. I am not now about
to quote literally from Ritter; but his compilation gives
me the substance of the following brief sketch.
Merv. — The plain of Merv, though now surrounded by
deserts, has had from time immemorial, a reputation for
fertility. According to
Strabo, Antiochus Soter
selected it as a site for one of the cities of Antioch,
walling in, for the purpose, a space 1,500 stadia in
circumference.
Local tradition, on the other hand, takes the origin of
the town a little further back, to Alexander the Great.
Its ancient renown well accords with the consideration
given to it by the Mohammedan Caliphs, and the testimony
recorded in its favor by Ibn Haukal in the tenth century,
not only for natural products of the soil, but for the
learning of its inhabitants, progress in arts and
sciences, and encouragement of commercial enterprise. No
city bad surpassed it in the grandeur of its palaces, the
beauty and luxuriance of its meadows and gardens, and the
abundance of its fresh water supply.
Silk cultivation had been introduced thence into
Tabaristan. Other towns sent to Merv to buy silkworms'
eggs; while cotton and linen cloths of the finest quality
were manufactured there. Two centuries later Edrisi
writes that “the river flows past many beautiful
houses “and populous villages or hamlets situated on
its banks. The residences are an arrow's flight apart
from each other, built of baked " clay, and
surrounded with gardens." He praises the melons of
Merv, its cotton, and the produce of its looms,
remarkable for softness of texture, and eagerly sought by
traders; and he names ten other towns, then visited by
travelers, but now unknown, well supplied with water, and
famed for the abundance of their fruits, their trade,
their mosques, bazaars, and caravanserais; thus proving how
flourishing was the oasis of Merv at that particular
epoch. In spite, however, of a brilliant early
history, the city became a heap of ruins under the
destructive inroads of the hordes of Genghis Khan; and
though again rebuilt, and of considerable repute as a
frontier city of Persia, was again laid waste in
subsequent years. After
the death of Nadir Shah, when
JBOC Note: Antiochus Soter was
the Greek King who built the great wall around
Merv. 1,500 stadia is over 172 miles in circumference.
Antiochus Soter |
ANTIOCHUS I., Soter, the son of
Seleucus, inherited his father's Asiatic
dominions, and soon after his accession
he waged war against the native kings of
Bithynia, one of whom, Nicomedes, called
to his aid the Gauls, who were then
ravaging Thrace, Macedonia and Greece,
and rewarded them for their assistance by
assigning them a large territory in
Northern Phrygia, which had formed part
of the dominions of Antiochus, and which
was thereafter called Galatia.
North-western Lydia was likewise wrested
from Antiochus and erected into the Kingdom
of Pergamus. Antiochus acquired the title
of Soter (the Deliverer), from his only
important victory over the Gauls (B. C.
275); but his operations were generally
unsuccessful, and his kingdom was very
much diminished in wealth and power
during his reign. Antiochus Soter was
defeated and killed in battle with the
Gauls, near Ephesus, in B.
Library of Universal History: Containing
a Record of the Human Race from the
Earliest Historical Period to the Present
Time ; Embracing a General Survey of the
Progress of Mankind in National and
Social Life, Civil Government, Religion,
Literature, Science and ArtBy Israel
Smith ClarePublished by Union Book Co.,
1906 |
The "Edrisi" mentioned here is
the Arab geographer al-Idrisi who was born in
Ceuta, Morocco. He composed the Book of Roger for
Roger II, King of Sicily. It was the great work
of Geography for its age. For an interesting
article see Al-Idrisi
And Roger’s Book
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