Dehistan

Dehistan was an oasis on the dry plain east of the Caspian Sea, watered by canals and dotted with settlements. Its principal medieval town, Mishrian, lay on a caravan route between Gurgan and Khwarazm. Fortified walls, caravanserais and mosques marked a prosperous centre of trade, while the nearby cemetery of Mashat contained the tombs of its inhabitants.

The Khwarazmshahs sponsored some of Dehistan's finest buildings, including monuments whose tall brick minarets still rise above the plain. In the thirteenth century the Mongol invasions brought destruction to the region. The oasis eventually declined as its irrigation system ceased to sustain the cultivated land, leaving the monuments amid an arid landscape. Their decorated brickwork recalls a time when a thriving town stood on this desert route.