Marw-Rud (, also ''Marw-Rudh'') or Marw al-Rudh (from ; ), locally used to be known by the older variants Marwarudh () and Marrudh (),"مرورود" in Dehkhoda Dictionary was a medieval settlement in

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. It was also known as Marw-i Kuchik (, ) to distinguish it from the nearby Marw al-Shahijan or Greater Marw. The town was located near the modern

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

settlement of Bala Murghab, at the site where the Murghab River leaves the mountains of Gharjistan and enters the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

of the 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. The town existed already in pre-Islamic times, its foundation being attributed to the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

king Bahram Gur (reigned 420–438). Its original name in Persian was Marwirōd () or Marvirot (Mrot in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

), which survived in the later

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

'' nisbas'' of ''al-Marwarrudhi'' and ''al-Marrudhi''. A

Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

bishopric is attested there in 553, and in 652, during the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

, the local governor Badham submitted to the Muslims and became a client ruler. The

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

-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, 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. A section of the ''Harbiyya'' district of the Round city of Baghdad was named ''Marwrūdiyya'' () after the people from this city. The town continued to flourish under the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

, when the Seljuk ruler Ahmad Sanjar built the city a new wall, some 5,000 paces in circumference. The town and the surrounding area suffered during the constant conflicts between the Khwarazmshahs and the Ghurids in the late 12th century, and a battle was fought there between the Ghurid ruler Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (r. 1163–1202) and his Khwarazmian rival Sultan Shah (r. 1172–1193) in 1190. Although the town appears to have escaped the destruction of Marw al-Shahijan by the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

, it fell into ruin under the Timurids and was largely abandoned.

References

Sources

* {{coord, 35, 35, N, 63, 20, E, display=title Former populated places in Afghanistan Medieval Khorasan Medieval cities Badghis Province Populated places established in the 5th century Sasanian cities