> Over the centuries, Merv’s inhabitants built and maintained a series of dams and dykes on the Murghab river and a network of canals and reservoirs to ensure t

> Over the centuries, Merv’s inhabitants built and maintained a series of dams and dykes on the Murghab river and a network of canals and reservoirs to ensure the supply of water to the city. The position of mir-ab, or water bailiff, was an important post in Merv: according to contemporary medieval accounts, he had a force of 10,000 workmen under his command, including a team of 300 divers who routinely patched up the dykes with timber. Their labour maintained the dam on the Murghab, preventing the accumulation of silt and regulating the flow of water into Merv’s canals in times of drought and plenty.