KYEYNE KISHMAN/KUSHMEIKHAN, THE FORTRESS ON THE MERV OASIS NORTHEASTERN FRONTIER:FROM THE ACHAEMENIDS TO ARAB CONQUEST
The article deals with an impressive group of ruins on the northeastern outskirts of the Merv Oasis (Margiana of ancient authors, modern Mary velayat of Turkmenistan), uniting several monuments of different times and different types, now known as Kyeyne Kishman (medieval Kushmeikhan). A complete archaeological survey of the area, carried out by the route groups of the Central Asian archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archeology USSR Academy of Sciences (RAS) in the 1980s and early 1990s of the last century, made it possible to restore the following picture of the dynamics of the development of this “micro-oasis”. The first fortified settlement in this area appeared at the end of the Achaemenid period, probably as an outpost in the eastern part of the Merv Oasis. At the beginning of the Hellenistic period, it continued to function, acquiring new fortifications. However, at some point, there was the time of decline: settlement territory reduced and the fortifications were abandoned. A gradual community reconstruction in the settlement and in its surroundings took place in the next, Early Parthian period. In the Late Parthian and Early Sassanian periods, life in the region became more active: a fortress was built with a new settlement around it. In the Late Sassanian period, the fortress and settlement continued to function, to the south of them a large castle was constructed with an adjoining settlement. By the Early Arab period (8th-9th centuries), the fortress had already been abandoned, and the castle had been rebuilt into an “inner city” with a large settlement adjacent to it. In the 10th century, new external walls were erected, girdling parts of the entire urban area. The city grew and developed, but in the 10th century it rapidly fell into decline, probably as a result of the “Oguz invasion”.