Real History: The City of Merv

When covering real history on this blog I normally try to stick to covering the Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity in general or the region of Southeast Asia / Sundaland specifically. However the photo of these walls from a city that was once part of the Silk Road is very inspiring to my imagination.

These central Asian cities are fascinating to me because they were influenced by so many different cultures. The Persian, Greeks, Arabs, Turks and Mongols all left their mark.

Read more about Merv and the surrounding areas:

Ancient History of Turkmenistan

Central Asia's Lost Civilisation

Forgotten Realms of the Oxus Region

Wikipedia: Merv

Update: These images are from the Turkmenistan site linked above and show the ruins of a Bronze Age civilisation that date back to 2500 BCE. Ancient History of Turkmenistan: Gonur 

The Water Buffalo

Artwork by Jama Jurabaev

The water buffalo is one of those animals that might not have been domesticated yet in the time period before the floods. But it's an interesting animal to add to the setting since it's an animal that can be worked and ridden.

Depending on the technological development level of your setting it might be fun to include.

Wikipedia: Water Buffalo