On the southern outskirts of Türkmenabat, the administrative center of Lebap Province, lies a towering, man-made hill nestled between modern constructions and agricultural fields. This hill, a silent witness to two millennia of history, marks the site of Amul, an ancient city born at a vital crossing of the Amu Darya River. Today, Amul is recognized as an archaeological site of national significance, protected by the state and listed among the historical landmarks of the Zeravshan-Karakum segment of the Great Silk Road. This segment, through transnational efforts, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Not long ago, however, Amul suffered from neglect and destruction. Local residents would extract soil from the site for personal use, discarding ancient artifacts as waste. The mindless erosion of Amul’s historical legacy was halted only through the determined efforts of Turkmenistan’s National Department for the Preservation, Study, and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
Amul’s history could have faded into obscurity if not for the dedication of individual scholars. Among these was Mikhail Masson, the founder of the Central Asian archaeological school, whose brief but unparalleled essay on Amul remains a cornerstone of research. While the etymology of “Amul” eluded him, Masson noted the existence of a similarly named city in Iran’s Mazandaran Province, near the Caspian Sea. In medieval literature, to avoid confusion, the Amul near the Amu Darya was often described with epithets like “Amul of the Shore,” “Amul of the Jayhun,” or “Amul of the Desert.” The latter reflects the southeastern Karakum region, once known as the Amul Desert.
Even after Timur renamed the city Charjuy (modern-day Türkmenabat), the name Amu endured in the river’s designation. The Amu Darya, once called Oxus by the Greeks and Jayhun in the Islamic era, is believed to derive from a water deity, Oxo. The Arabic term “Jayhun” translates to “restless” or “unrestrained,” aptly describing the river’s erratic behavior.
Within the vast expanse of steppes and wetlands, several key attractions draw tourists, ecologists, and nature lovers from around the world.
Despite nearly 90 years of archaeological exploration, much of Amul’s distant past remains a mystery. Written sources offer scant details, with the first mentions of Amul in Arab chronicles dating to the 7th century. However, this does not preclude the city’s earlier existence. In 1949, the Southern Turkmenistan Archaeological Complex Expedition, led by Alexander Roslyakov and later Galina Pugachenkova, confirmed that Amul’s citadel was inhabited as early as the 1st century CE. Excavations revealed cultural layers dating to the early Kushan Empire, along with Kushan ceramics and copper coins.
During the 9th–10th centuries, Amul thrived as a trade hub on routes linking Merv to Bukhara and Khorezm to Bactria. By this time, the city encompassed an area of 175 hectares, featuring an inner citadel, an outer city, and a bustling crafts and trade district (rabād). Amul reached its zenith in the 11th–12th centuries before suffering devastation during the Mongol invasion in the early 13th century.
