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Gonur Tepe |
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Ancient Merv, capital of the Persian and Greek satrapy of Merv/Margiana, was eventually abandoned just like its even more ancient forebear shown here, Gonur Tepe (Gonordepe), which was a major city of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) until the River Murghab changed its course to leave it high and dry. Archaeological findings at Gonur Tepe in the 1970s included a palace, temples, a fortified mud-brick enclosure, and fire altars which could be associated with Zoroastrianism. Findings also included an increasing preponderance of elements of the Andronovo horizon of the Kazakh steppe which began to intrude in the early second millennium BC. The Andronovo people can be associated with Indo-Iranians and, following the collapse of the BMAC due to climate change, there was no stopping them from becoming the controlling power in Central Asia, South Asia, and Iran. |
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