Religious Landscape of the Ancient Merv Oasis

Abstract

Situated on north-eastern outskirts of the Iranian oecumene, Merv and its oasis (ancient Margiana) played an important role in the history of the ancient Iranian empires, not only for strategic reasons but also for their location at the crossroads of routes that once attracted traders, missionaries, and adherents of various religions and cults. Textual and archaeological evidence actually indicates that at least from the Parthian period onwards, ancient Merv and the Merv oasis were home to people of various nationalities and faiths ranging from Zoroastrianism to Christianity, Judaism, Manichaeism, and Buddhism. The paper is a review of the religious situation in the region based on a broad range of historical and archaeological evidence. Chronologically it covers the period from the mid-second century BC, when Margiana was incorporated into the expanding Parthian state, to the mid-seventh century AD, i.e. the death of the last Sasanian ruler, Yazdegerd III (633-51) and the arrival of Islam.