Departure through Merv
· Merv, present-day Mary Region, Turkmenistan
After leaving Nishapur amid controversy, al-Bukhari went to Merv, met Ahmad ibn Sayyar, and then continued to Bukhara. The source establishes the sequence Nishapur–Merv–Bukhara. The chronology places this movement in 253 AH, spanning 867–868 CE; 867 is the opening Gregorian year.
