Margiana

Margiana
Marv
Province of the Seleucid Empire, Parthian Empire and Sasanian Empire
c. 281–261 BC–651 AD

Margiana, ca. 300 BC
CapitalMerv
Historical eraAntiquity
• Established
c. 281–261 BC
• Annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate
651 AD
Today part ofAfghanistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan

Margiana (Greek: Μαργιανή Margianḗ, Old Persian: Marguš,[1] Middle Persian: Marv[2]) is a historical region centred on the oasis of Merv and was a minor satrapy within the Achaemenid satrapy of Bactria, and a province within its successors, the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian empires.

It was located in the valley of the Murghab River which has its sources in the mountains of Afghanistan, and passes through Murghab District in modern Afghanistan, and then reaches the oasis of Merv in modern Turkmenistan. Margiana bordered Parthia to the south-west, Aria in the south, Bactria in the east and Sogdia in the north.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Livius:Margiana was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Brunner 1983, p. 750