# Marw al-Rudh > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Marw_al-Rudh > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Marw_al-Rudh.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marw_al-Rudh > Source revision: 1357272960 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Historical town near Merv in Khorasan}} {{Expand Russian|topic=geo|Мерверруд|date=May 2026}} [[File:Transoxiana 8th century.svg|thumb|right|Map of [Khurasan](/source/Khurasan) and [Transoxiana](/source/Transoxiana) and their major settlements in the early Middle Ages]] '''Marw-Rud''' ({{langx|fa|مروروذ}}, {{IPA|fa|mæɹvˈɹuːd|IPA}}) or '''Marw al-Rudh''' ({{langx|ar|مرو الروذ}}; {{lit|Marw on the river}}), locally used to be known by the older variants '''Marwarudh''' ({{lang|fa|مروروذ}}) and '''Marrudh''' ({{lang|fa|مروذ}}),"مرورود" in [Dehkhoda Dictionary](/source/Dehkhoda_Dictionary) was a medieval settlement in [Khurasan](/source/Greater_Khurasan). It was also known as '''Marw-i Kuchik''' ({{lang|fa|مرو کوچک}}; {{lit|Little Marw}}) to distinguish it from the nearby [Marw al-Shahijan](/source/Marw_al-Shahijan) or Greater Marw.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} The town was located near the modern Afghan settlement of [Bala Murghab](/source/Bala_Murghab), at the site where the [Murghab River](/source/Murghab_River) leaves the mountains of [Gharjistan](/source/Gharjistan) and enters the [steppe](/source/steppe) of the [Karakum Desert](/source/Karakum_Desert). The modern settlement of Maruchak or Marv-i Kuchik, although named after the medieval town, appears to be the site of a former suburb of it, named Qasr-i Ahnaf.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} The town existed already in pre-Islamic times, its foundation being attributed to the [Sasanian](/source/Sasanian) king [Bahram Gur](/source/Bahram_Gur) (reigned 420–438). Its original name in Persian was Marwirōd ({{lang|fa|مرورود}}) or Marvirot (Mrot in [Armenian](/source/Old_Armenian)), which survived in the later [Arabic](/source/Arabic) ''[nisba](/source/nisba_(onomastics))s'' of ''al-Marwarrudhi'' and ''al-Marrudhi''.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} A [Nestorian](/source/Nestorian) bishopric is attested there in 553, and in 652, during the [Muslim conquest of Persia](/source/Muslim_conquest_of_Persia), the local governor Badham submitted to the Muslims and became a client ruler.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} The [Abbasid](/source/Abbasid)-era geographers report that the town was the centre of a flourishing agricultural region, with a number of dependent suburbs such as Qasr-i Ahnaf. According to [al-Muqaddasi](/source/al-Muqaddasi), who wrote in ca. 980, the locals were kin of the people of Gharjistan, and the town was a dependency of the rulers, or Shirs, of Gharjistan.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} A section of the ''Harbiyya'' district of the [Round city of Baghdad](/source/Round_city_of_Baghdad) was named ''Marwrūdiyya'' ({{lang|ar|مرورودية}}) after the people from this city.{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Kennedy|first1=H.|title=BAGHDAD i. Before the Mongol Invasion – Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baghdad-iranian-connection-1-pr-Mongol|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica Online|accessdate=24 January 2018|language=en}} The town continued to flourish under the [Seljuk Empire](/source/Seljuk_Empire), when the Seljuk ruler [Ahmad Sanjar](/source/Ahmad_Sanjar) built the city a new wall, some 5,000 paces in circumference.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} The town and the surrounding area suffered during the constant conflicts between the [Khwarazmshahs](/source/Khwarazmshahs) and the [Ghurids](/source/Ghurids) in the late 12th century, and a battle was fought there between the Ghurid ruler [Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad](/source/Ghiyath_al-Din_Muhammad) (r. 1163–1202) and his Khwarazmian rival [Sultan Shah](/source/Sultan_Shah_of_Khwarezm) (r. 1172–1193) in 1190.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} Although the town appears to have escaped the destruction of Marw al-Shahijan by the [Mongols](/source/Mongol_Empire), it fell into ruin under the [Timurids](/source/Timurids) and was largely abandoned.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=617–618}} ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==Sources== * {{EI2 | volume = 6 | title = Marw al- Rūd̲h̲ | first = C. E. | last = Bosworth | authorlink = C. E. Bosworth | pages = 617–618 | doi =10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4977}} {{Badghis Province}} {{coord|35|35|N|63|20|E|display=title}} Category:Former populated places in Afghanistan Category:Medieval Khorasan Category:Medieval cities Category:Badghis Province Category:Populated places established in the 5th century Category:Sasanian cities --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marw al-Rudh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marw_al-Rudh) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marw_al-Rudh?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.