Margiana
| Margiana Marv |
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| Province of the Seleucid Empire, Parthian Empire and Sasanian Empire | |||||
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| Capital | Merv | ||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||
| • | Established | c. 281-261 BC | |||
| • | Annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate | 651 AD | |||
| Today part of |
 Afghanistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
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Margiana (Greek: Μαργιανή Margiane, Old Persian: Marguš,Middle Persian: Marv) 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.
Historians currently disagree as to the exact history of Margiana prior to the Achaemenid conquest. Some have argued that a kingdom was established and an urban society had begun to develop surrounding the oasis. It has also been postulated the region existed as part of a major Iranian state centred in Chorasmia that controlled Aria, Sogdia, Parthia and Margiana. Other historians have noted that whilst advanced irrigation had begun in the 7th century BC, the existence of such a state is unlikely. It has been also suggested that Margiana was part of the satrapy of Bactria under the Median Empire.
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