Merv

archaeological site in Turkmenistan

7 dated entries naming Merv, drawn from 7 separate years between 651 CE and 1221 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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7th century

651King Yazdegerd III of Persia is murdered in a miller's hut near Merv by his followers, ending both Persian resistance to Arab conquest, and the Sassanid Empire.source

8th century

747June 9 – Abbasid Revolution: Abu Muslim Khorasani, Persian military leader from Khorasan, begins an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which is carried out under the sign of the Black Standard. Close to 10,000 Muslims, primarily Khorasani Persians are under his command, when the hostilities officially begin in Merv (modern Turkmenistan).source
748February 14 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan (modern Iran), marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i takes the cities Nishapur and Rey, defeating an Umayyad army (10,000 men) at Gorgan.source

11th century

1040May 23 – Battle of Dandanaqan: The Turkmen Seljuqs defeat the Ghaznavid forces (50,000 men) led by Sultan Masʽud I at Dandanaqan, a fortress city in the desert near Merv. Ghaznavid commanders Ali Daya and Begtoghdi are blamed for the defeat and executed.source

12th century

1145Estimation: Merv (in the Seljuk Empire) becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Constantinople.source
1153Estimation: Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Merv in the Seljuk Empire.source

13th century

1221February – The cities of Merv (perhaps the world's largest up to this date), Herat and Nishapur which have peacefully surrendered rise up in arms. Genghis Khan sends his son Tolui to spend an extra month to subdue the revolts. Contemporary scholars report over a million people are systematically killed in a genocide.source