Amul Settlement ​

Amul or also called Amol, situated near modern-day Turkmenabat in Turkmenistan, was an important city along the Silk Road, serving as a major trade hub for its strategic position at a crossing of the Amu Darya River. Settled as early as the 1st century CE, it thrived especially during the 9th and 10th centuries, connecting routes from Merv to Bukhara and Khorezm to Bactria and China.

The city highlights are the fortified citadel, an expansive outer city, and a bustling crafts and trade district. The city was occupied from the 1st to the 4th century A.D. During that time, it was approximately 50 hectares in size and part of the Kushanian Kingdom. In the 4th century A.D., the city experienced a period of crisis, but it later recovered, and Amul achieved its peak in the 11th and 12th centuries.

13th century, Amul was destroyed by the Mongols, and its significant stage began in the 15th century when it was named Charjui. The town plan of that period survived until the 1960s, with an area of rabad (handicraft and residential area) that surrounded the Amul Shakhristan exceeding 150-175 hectares. 

The archaeologists have found plenty of artefacts such as pottery, sculptures, and a seal-amulet, highlighting its rich cultural heritage. The site has not been excavated extensively, and it currently only features a raised fortress with a higher citadel in the northwest corner of the mound. The remains of Shakhristan of Amul-Charjui now form a nearly regular quadrangle measuring 9 hectares.

In addition to Amul, there are tens of similar multi-layer sites in the Middle Amu Darya zone, which were formed during the Late Kushanian period (3rd-4th centuries A.D.) and were mostly lost after the Mongolian invasion, except for Amul. Throughout ancient and medieval times, the Amudarya river played a key role in connecting the territories, serving as the basis of agriculture, and the main transport and trade artery in Central Asia. It was also a connecting element for the people living on both its left and right banks (North was called Transoxania). Many pairs of towns-fortresses were linked in the convenient geographic locations of water crossing, such as Amul and Farap, Zemm and Kerkichi, Khodja-Idat-kala and Navidakh, Tashguzar and Old Termez.