![]() In one of the bloodiest episodes in Central Asian history, the city fell to the Mongols in 1221 and Gengis Khan’s son ordered the massacring of the entire population inside. The city was successively part of the Achaemenid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian Empire, the Sassanian Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate.ĭescribed by a 10th century geographer as the “mother of the world,” Merv reached its height in the early 13th century when it was the largest city in the world, with over 500,000 people. Situated by an oasis in modern day Turkmenistan, Merv was conquered by a succession of empires that tried to control the centre of the Silk Road. Side View of Great Kyz Qala or ‘Kiz Kala’ (Maiden’s Castle), ancient city of Merv. Pliny the Elder complained that the Roman elite’s appetite for silks from Han China was leading to a huge drain of wealth eastwards, which was the case for much of the history of the Silk Road. It covered an astounding area of 1,200 acres. Xi’an is home to the Terracotta Army, 8,000 terracotta sculptures of warriors which were buried alongside the first emperor in his vast mausoleum.ĭuring the Han dynasty – which was contemporary with the Roman Empire – it was the site of the largest palace complex ever built anywhere in the world, Weiyang Palace. It was from Xi’an that the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang set out to unify all the warring states of China into a vast empire in 221 BC. In the Far East, merchants begun their long journey along the Silk Road from Xi’an, the capital of ancient imperial China. Here are 10 key cities along the Silk Road. Their magnificent ruins remind us of the vital importance of this route throughout history. ![]() Cities on this route flourished from the extraordinary wealth of the merchants that passed through their caravanserais. ![]()
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