Journal of the Royal United
Service Institution
VOL. XIX. 1875. No. LXXX.
LECTURE.
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the frontier posts and outlying
districts of Persia, if not strong enough to remain loyal
or assert their independence, fell to the sword of the
most powerful neighbor, Mary held out gallantly, under
Bahram Ali Khan (and, according to Malcolm, under his son
also), against its Uzbek invaders ; but eventually it was
subdued. A few words of literal quotation may here be
added. "In 1787, Shah Murad, of “Bukhara,
destroyed the canals and fortress, and removed the
greater "number of inhabitants to his own city,
where a separate community" of them still exists.
The remaining inhabitants afterwards migrated " to Persia,
and the oasis became a desert and camping-ground for
" nomad Turkmen.
The view from the fortress of Merv over the ' surrounding
district is desolate in the extreme. For a distance of
'twelve hours' ride the ground is strewed with ruins of
villages and "gardens, and with choked up meadows,
exhibiting an occasional trace ' of verdure wherever
watered by river inundation. Fraser heard ' that the only
good building left was a mosque built by Timur
Shah," some ruins of an extensive bazaar, and the
tomb of an unnamed " warrior.1 Even now the Turkmen
gather, without the slightest "trouble, excellent
wheat and delicious melons."
Hitter represents
the Turkmen possessors of modern Merv to be uncouth and
illiterate robbers, fanatics without mosques, and more
attached to their horses than fellow men. He adds
that, in 1832, the Khan of Khiva marched with an army
from Urgench to Merv to levy tribute from the Teke
(Tekke) tribe ; and that he established, both at Merv and
Sarakhs (then in the hands of the Salors), custom-houses,
in order to tax the goods carried by the caravan roads
between Mashhad and Balkh. This information is derived
from Burnes, who considered the advance of the Khivan
troops creditable to the military genius of the Khan. The
distance traversed, was fifteen marches, almost destitute
of water, wells being dug from stage to stage. A vast
herd of camels was employed conveying water and
provisions; and of these, about 2,000 perished in the
steppe. The Khan, Allah Kuli, commanded on this occasion
in person. His father, Rahim Khan, had, however,
performed a greater feat. He had entirely crossed the
desert to Persia; but he had lost the greater portion of
his horses in the undertaking, and was compelled to leave
his guns in the sand. Vambery
mentions still later expeditions from Khiva to Merv ; one
in about 1842, when Medemin, or Muhammad Amin, brother of
the then reigning Khan, moved at the Lead of 15,000
horsemen, against the Sarik Turkmen ; and six campaigns
when the same chief, himself Khan, was opposed to the
same enemy. The conqueror captured the citadel of Merv
and the fort of Yalatun; but his triumph was of short
duration; for no sooner had he returned to his capital
than the Sariks rebelled, and put the men, garrison, and
commandant to the sword. Then followed a new
campaign; and later still, three campaigns against the
Tekes (Tekke), who, finally joining with the Yomuds made
themselves troublesome opponents. The Khan was killed by
these refractory subjects near Merv, and his head sent as
a present to the Shah of Persia. Before commencing the
upward journey to Khorezm and its capital,
1 Probably Alp Arslan.
JBOC Note: Merv is situated against the
southern edge of the KaraKum desert. The desert
gave the Teke (Tekke) protection from the
Tekes victims. In at least the 18th and
19th Centuries the Teke existed as brigands and
slavers. The major Tekke obahs camps at Achal
(Ashgabat and Geok Tepe) and Tejun were less open
to military actions by their neighbors. Merv
however was open to attack Khiva, Bukhara and
Meshed.
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