1221, year the great city of Merv was destroyed by a Mongol siege

The architectural legacy of the Silk Road lives on today throughout Central Asia, whether you’re wandering the trading domes of Uzbekistan’s Bukhara, or exploring the remote caravanserai of Tash Rabat in southern Kyrgyzstan. On the more epic, yet ruined, scale are the wondrous remnants of ancient cities situated in key parts of the old trade routes which collectively made up the Silk Road.

We’ve long been intrigued by the cities where foundations and walls are the remaining fragments, places where a bit of reading and imagination will uncover its momentous history. Two cities that immediately come to mind are Merv in Turkmenistan and Panjakent in Tajikistan, both with glorious and destructive pasts, under the protection of UNESCO, and neither having ever been built on after being abandoned thousands of years ago.

Merv, for several centuries, was a thriving, powerful and prosperous trading hub along the caravan routes between east and west. Its oasis territory allowed for impressive construction of an irrigation network way beyond its years, and the city became known as one of the great centres of trade, specialising in textiles, particularly fine silk and cotton.

Built-up over time by the empires of Achaemenid, Abbasid and Seljuk, by the time the 13th century arrived, Merv is believed to have been the largest city in the world. Today it’s one of the most remarkable archaeological sites open to visit, with the highlight being Great Kyz Kala, a formidable fortress, otherwise known as Maiden's Castle. Travel and trade in this great city never recovered after the attack in 1221 by Genghis Khan’s son, which led to mass destruction and massacre of both buildings and people.

From Merv, it’s time to travel east across the border to Uzbekistan, past the great city of Samarkand, and venture over a second border to Tajikistan, where we find ourselves at the ancient city of Panjakent. Once part of the Persian Empire of Sogdiana, this city held a strategic position for those travelling along the southern route of the Silk Road, over the Pamir Mountains. Compared to Merv today, little of ancient Panjakent is left to see above ground, yet there’s ongoing excavations to uncover more about its remains. The astonishing part of Panjakent is artistic frescoes, in remarkable condition with original colours surviving, have been discovered on site, both local and national museums now present these in permanent exhibitions.

For more on architectural ruins in Central Asia, head over to our article on the Khorezm Forts of Uzbekistan.