INTRODUCTION:

Buddhism: A Religion without Borders;

Since its birth in India, about 2,500 years ago, the religious tradition of Buddhism has spread throughout the globe, to become a world religion. Over the centuries, it spread from the ‘holy land’ (Dong, Yung, 2005) to the different countries. A religion without borders, transcended many geographies and many communities. As a natural spread it moved northwards and expanded into Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subsequent movement it was spread to southeast Asia. In the initial diffusion the merchants and monks travelling through the silk route, spread this religion in the oasis cities along the silk route. Along the trade routes the religious tradition entered into Central Asia and China and further in the rest of the east Asia. The religion continued its spread further to Korea and Magnolia. Later on, it was carried into Japan from Korea.

Thus, the religious tradition of Buddhism has crossed many boundaries; geographical, sociocultural and political.

The Emergence and Development of Buddhism in Ancient Margiana:

Buddhism was the first religious faiths to take advantage of the mobility provided by the Silk Road to extend its reach far beyond its native land. In this research an attempt has been made to investigate the traces of Buddhism in the western most limits of the Central Asia. It is the land of ancient Margiana; where three great cultures met and influenced each other.

The ancient Margiana has been at the crossroad of civilization, due to its geographical location. It was frequented by the merchants and monks (missionaries) from India, Iraq and western China. For millennia, the cities of the Merv oasis have exerted considerable influence over the civilizations of Central Asia and Iran.

There are evidences of a cosmopolitan culture in the ancient Merv. It had boasting communities of Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Manicheans, Christians and Jews. How and when the Buddhism reached in to the land of Margiana is debatable but its existence in the in the cultural landscape of the Oasis of Merv, in historical past, is undebatable.

Cultural Landscape of Merv and its Oasis (Ancient Margiana):

A historic urban centre existed in the oasis of the Merv (Margiana). Merv is one of the oldest cities along the Silk Route. It has a long history. It was founded in the sixth century BC. Later on, it became the capital of the Great Seljuks Empire which stretched from Central Asia to the Mediterranean. It remained the citadel of the historical region of Khurasan, that included north eastern Iran and southern parts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and north-western Afghanistan.

In Avesta the land of Margiana was called Margav; ancient Greek and Roman geographers called it Margiana and Medieval Arab historians and geographers described it as Maru or Merv. It was a major city on the Silk route. It facilitated the exchange of goods and ideas over millennia. The city, in particular, was influenced by the culture of India, Central Asia and Iran.Thus, the Metropolitan city of Merv (Litvinsky B. A. 1996) existed on the Silk Road. By contemporary estimates, the population of Merv, reached 60,000. (Litvinsky B. A. 1996)

The Morphology of the Landscape:

The land of ancient Margiana existed on the large and fertile oasis in the Kara-Kum desert. It was concentrated around oasis of Merv (Mary in Turkmenistan) (Heirman and Bumbacher, 2007). Geomorphologically the oasis is formed by the River Murghab. The Murghab rises in the mountains of Afghanistan and enters the oasis at its southern end and eventually dry down in the desert to the north. Many historical accounts suggest that the oasis was not only confined to the delta of the Murghab, but extended southwards along the river valley. Life in the Merv oasis has always depended on the waters of the Murghab.

The oasis of Merv or Margiana was a flourishing agricultural area since antiquity. Water for irrigation to the existing agricultural land was provided by the River Murghab, as is evident in earlier and medieval sources. It was crisscrossed by many canals. Thus, it had been intensively cultivated since the historical past.

The historians trace the urban occupation of the area as far back as the sixth century BC. The prosperous city located at the ‘gateway’ to Central Asia, was the last major centre of caravan trade (on the ‘Silk Route’) during the ancient period. From here caravans embarked on the long journey to the Bactria and Sogdiana, in the way to Amul (the main crossing point of the Amu Darya). From Amul it is an easy journey to Bukhara in the north-east or to Nishapur in the south-west or down the stream to Termez. The caravan setting out from Chinese historical city of Xian, which is considered as the beginning of the Silk Road used to arrive in Istanbul passing through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran, respectively. (Ahmet Dinc, 2012) This route was not only used by merchants but also by missionaries and adherents of various religions, who were spreading new ideas, establishing and fostering their religious communities.

Besides, Merv was an important administrative and military centre of the Achaemenian, Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian empires, prior to its conquest by the Turks and Arabs. With Balkh, Merv was one of the principal cities of Khurasan. It was also the ‘Eastern land’ of the early Islamic empires.

Merv has a succession of towns. The cities in the oasis of Merv consist of ancient Gyaur Kala with its citadel at Erk Kala, medieval Sultan Kala and post-medieval Abdullah Khan Kala and an eighteenth-century city of Bairam Ali Khan Kala. Gyaur Kala and its citadel, Erk Kala was the longest-lived cities of Merv. It was founded in the sixth century BC. The city of Gyaur-kala flourished from the third to the seventh centuries AD. It was capital of the Sassanid kings of Persia. From the seventh century onwards, it came under the Muslim rule.

Merv was an exemplar of the commercial and intellectual culture that flourished along the Silk Road.Located on the crossroads of transcontinental trade route, Merv was famous for its exports, especially its textiles. It included much of the silk as well as a superior quality cotton. The 12th-century Arab geographer al-Idrisi has also described about this city.

Merv had strategic, military and commercial importance. (Barbara Kaim and Maja Kornacka, 2016) It was also a cultural capital of the region. Under the Seljuks, Merv also developed as a city of learning and culture. It produced many notable poets, mathematicians, astronomers, physicians, musicians and physicists. Umar Khayyam is known to have spent several years in this city, working at the astronomical observatory in Merv.

Merv was destroyed by the Mongols (descendants of Genghis Khan) in 1221 AD. It caused an estimated 700,000 deaths. The city never fully recovered since then. In subsequent centuries, numerous rulers attempted to rebuild and resettle Merv, but the city never returned to the size and stature it enjoyed in earlier years under the Seljuks.

Since 1988, the city and its monuments have been protected as Historical and Cultural Park. it was listed a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

Cultural or Religious Landscape of Merv and its Oasis:

Since antiquity, Merv and its oasis (Ancient Margiana) attracted traders, missionaries and adherents of various religions and cults. Textual and archaeological evidence actually indicates that from the Parthian period on wards, the Merv oasis became the home to people of various nationalities and faiths ranging from Zoroastrianism to Christianity and Judaism to Buddhism. (Barbara Kaim and Maja Kornacka, 2016) The city of Merv was therefore a multi-faith, multilingual and multicultural urban community.

Morphology of the Ancient City of Merv (Turkmenistan):

City of Merv

Location and Natural Landscape:

The ancient city of Merv was located in one of the most ancient regions of Central Asia, the Margiana, it was surrounded by prosperous (well cultivated) Merv oasis, in the bleakness of the Kara kum desert, (the Margian oasis) it was sustained by oasis of Murghab river, Merv had most favourable natural landscape for urban development, it was strategically located on the crossroads of transcontinental trade, today it is considered as one of the greatest vanished cities, it was destroyed by Mongols in 1221 AD,

Historical Landscape:

it was a historic urban landscape, historians trace the urban occupation of the area goes as far back as the sixth century BC, once was the largest city of the world, it was Located on the ancient Silk Road, the earliest Merv was, the sacred centre of the Mouru, related to Zoroastrian religion.

The ancient city was the city of known as Antiochia, it was also known as Alexandria Margiana, which is considered to be connected with Alexander the Great's conquest of the territory, later on, it became Maryiana, a part of Parthia, since 1st century AD Margiana grew more and more independently, into a large trade centre, in 651 Merv was conquered by Arabs and transformed into a capital of the Eastern province of the Khorasan, the peak of the city’s prosperity reached around 11th and 12th centuries, when it became a capital of Seljukians,

Urban Landscape:

The ancient city was a constellation of urban settlements on the banks of the Murghav river, the geographic conditions were favourable for the location of the city,

Merv can be regarded as traveling city', it has shifted many different locations, Erddala, Gyaur kala, Sultan kala, Abdullakhan kala are fortified cities around Merv, indicating shift in power centre, it was a large centre of the ancient Parthia, it was even superior to the other cities of Khurasan, during that period it was connected to Bukhara to Nishapur in north and south, it was frequently visited by merchants from as far as Iraq and western China and also India,

Cultural Landscape:

The older Merv had a cosmopolitan urban society, it was also regarded as the metropolis of the Silk Road, it was a crossroads of the world religions, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Manicheans, Christians and Jews, all lived here, side by side, a Buddhists monastery was discovered from the eastern part of the city, a necropolis of Zoroastrians was also discovered in its suburbs,

Urban and Cultural Core:

Merv was a famous industrial town of the region (Merv was famous for its crucible steel), it was also famous for its exports, especially its textiles in the name of Merv cotton.

Merv had an excellent city life, merchants, pilgrims and solders, all were comfortable within the city, after Buryakov Y. F., Baipakov K. M., Tashbaeva K. and Jakubov Y., 1999, The Cities and Routes of the Silk Road, Tashkent, International Institute of Central Asian Studies.

The Existence of Buddhism in Margiana:

Buddhism has had a long history in Central Asia. The existence of ruins of Buddhist shrines is reminder strong presence of Buddhism in ancientMargiana. These oasis cities contributed in the expansion of Buddhism in Central Asia and beyond its territory. In Merv, archaeologists have discovered an important Buddhist centre, with temples and a number of stupas.

Authenticity and Integrity of the Evidences:

Du Huan was a Chinese travel (in the 8th century, time of birth and death unknown). (Wan Lei, 2016) In his description about the culture of the ancient city of Margiana, the Chinese soldier Du Huan referred the existence of the ‘Buddhist temples’ in the city of Mo-lu (Merv). (Wan Lei, 2016) Although, the archaeological discoveries remain the primary source of information about the existence of Buddhism in Margiana. However, Harmatta,1994, and Litvinsky, 1996 have produced records on this subject in great details. The recent archaeological evidences corroborate to this fact. The stupa and associated Sangharama (monastery), was excavated by Masson in the 1950s.

A stupa with a statue of Buddha has been found in Gyaur-kala near Merv. It has been repeatedly dated by Masson, Koselenko, Filanovic and Usmanova to the second century AD. But none of the artefacts found there (Brahmi manuscripts, clay plaques, vases) predate the Hephthalite period (around 450, or sometime before). (Heirman and Bumbacher, 2007) Notwithstanding these uncertainties, the presence of Buddhism in Margiana in the second or third century is still probable. But this early dating was contested by Litvinsky and Stavisky. (Heirman and Bumbacher, 2007) The Buddhist monastery has attracted the most attention in the literatures. Barbara Kaim and Maja Kornacka, 2016 also reveal that the earliest archaeological traces of Buddhist presence in the Merv oasis most probably do not predate the fifth or sixth century AD. A clay head of a Buddha statue was found in the ruined stupa at Gyaur Kala. (Barbara Kaim and Maja Kornacka, 2016) The ‘Merv Vase’ found in the Buddhist monastery of Gyaur Kala reveals much about the existence of Buddhism in Merv. (it is kept in the National Museum of History, Ashkhabad).(Barbara Kaim and Maja Kornacka, 2016) both the evidences suggest a date not earlier than the sixth century AD.

The birchbark manuscript, which consists of about 150 leaves has been found near Bairam-Ali in the Merv oasis (Turkmenia). It contains a number of texts written at different times; ranging from the second to the fifth centuries. (McRae John R. and Nattier, Jan. 2012) The Gandhari and Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts in Brahmi and Kharosthi script have also come to light at Merv and other places. However, detailed study and translation of these texts, as well as other Buddhistic inscriptions from the region remains to be done. These Buddhist manuscripts have been restored and is preserved at the Institute of Oriental Studies in St Petersburg; the other is undergoing restoration in Moscow. (Litvinsky B. A. 1996) It reveals much about the existence of Buddhism in the region. (Heirman and Bumbacher, 2007) A document found in Merv contains extracts from various Buddhist works compiled by a Buddhist missionary for his own use. (Litvinsky B. A. 1996)

The longevity of the Buddhist monastery, not only, illustrate how this religion thrived but spread deeper into the empire during the Kushano-Sasanian period. (Simpson, 2014)

CONCLUSION:

Despite its location on the periphery of the ancient empires, the Merv oasis had nowhere a peripheral existence, as far as its religious landscape is concerned. The cities of the Merv oasis have exerted considerable influence over the cultures of Central Asia and Iran. It bears exceptional testimony to the civilizations of Central Asia.

Buddhism witnessed a new phase of creativity in these cities. It has had its impact on societies and communities of Central Asia for several centuries. It greatly influenced the cultural and religious life of the oasis cities and left deep impact on the society.

REFERENCES:

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Received on 18.05.2019 Modified on 05.06.2019

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2019; 10(4): 1051-1054.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2019.00171.2