Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also: 
Spain
Further reading:
K.A.C.Creswell, A 
Short Account of Early Muslim
Architecture,
revised and enlarged ed. J.W.Allan,
Aldershot 1989, 302.
G.Goodwin, 
Islamic Spain,
Architectural Guides for
Travellers, London 1990, 125–6.
Merv (also Marw or Marv)
Ancient city in the Central Asian republic of
Turkmenistan. Also called Merv al-Shahijan or Royal
Merv to distinguish it from the city of the same name in
modern Afghanistan.
The city is located in the Merv oasis fed by the
Murghab river. During the early Islamic period it
functioned as one of the chief cities of Khurassan
and under the Abbasids was capital of the east.
During the eighth century the centre of the town
gradually moved from its old Sassanian site of Gyaur
Kala to a new site which is now known as Sultan
Kala. In 1070 the Seljuk sultan Malikshah rebuilt the
city wall which remains as one of the finest examples
of medieval fortification. Other remains from the
Seljuk period include the mausoleum of Sultan
Sanjar which is a domed structure standing on a
square base measuring 27 m per side. The Mongol
invasions caused severe damage to the city which
Tomb of Sultan Sanjar, Merv, Turkmenistan (after Pugachenkara)
Merv (also Marw or Marv)

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never fully recovered. Under the Timurid sultan
Shah Rukh attempts were made to revive the
fortunes of the city. The city dam was rebuilt to
restore the irrigation system but this was only
partially successful. Also the city of this period was
built on a different site known as Abd Allah Khan
Kalla.
Further reading:
G.Hen-man, V.Masson, K.Kurbansakhatov, et. al., The
International Merv Project, preliminary report on the
First Season’, 
Iran
31: 39–62, 1993.
E.O’Donovan, 
The Merv Oasis and Adventures East of the
Caspian During the Years 1879–81,
London 1882.
G.A.Pugachenkava, ‘Puti razvitiya arkhitekturi Iuzhnogo
Turkmenistana pori rabovladeniya’, 
Trudi Iuzhno
Turkmenistanskoi Arkheologicheskoi Ekspeditsii
6: Moscow,
1958.