Darganata (formerly Birata) is the capital city of
Darganata District
Darganata District (formerly Birata District) is a district of Lebap Province in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northw ...
in
Lebap Province
Lebap Region ( tk, Lebap welaýaty/Лебап велаяты from the Persian language, Persian ''Lab-e āb'') is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya ...
of
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
.
Etymology
The name Darganata is of obscure origin. Atanyyazow speculates that ''dargan'' might be from an Arabic-origin root referring to "boat" or "hull" (the city is on the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
) but finds the suffix ''ata'' ("father") inexplicable.
Paul Brummell
Paul Brummell (born 28 August 1965) is a British diplomat and travel writer.
Early life
Brummell was educated at St Albans School before reading geography at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ...
notes that the name could be interpreted as "Divided Ata Tribe"; this had prompted the renaming to Birata, meaning "United Ata Tribe"!
History
The place developed out of the Khorezm settlement of Dargan; however, the modern city lies about 3 km north.
Nothing exists of the ancient settlement except the wall-perimeter.
On 27 July 2016, the erstwhile town was upgraded to a city; over a year later, on 5 November 2017, its Soviet-era name of Darganata was restored.
Tourism
The Darganata Mausoleum (c. 14th c.) stands between the modern town and the walled perimeter of the ancient settlement; according to local tradition, it is the tomb of
Abu Muslim.
However, this appears to be untrue since contemporary sources record that Muslim's mutilated body was thrown in the River
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
.
References
Populated places in Lebap Region
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