| Turkmenistan, officially Republic of Turkmenistan, republic in Central Asia, bordered on the north by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, on the east by Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, on the south by Afghanistan and Iran, and on the west by the Caspian Sea. It was formerly the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Turkmenistan is the southernmost of the former Soviet republics. Its land area totals 448,100 sq km (188,460 sq mi). Ashgabat is its capital and largest city.
Turkmenistan has received little attention from the outside world. Apart from its role in establishing the Seljuk dynasty in the Middle East in the Middle Ages, for most of its history this territory was not a coherent nation but a geographically defined region of independent tribal groups and other political entities. Like other republics of the former Soviet Union, Turkmenistan has emerged on the world scene as a newly independent nation in need of both national and international acceptance, security, and development.
When other constituent republics of the Soviet Union advanced claims to sovereignty in 1988 and 1989, Turkmenistan's leadership also began to criticize Moscow's economic and political policies as exploitative and detrimental to the well-being and pride of the Turkmen. By a unanimous vote of its Supreme Soviet, Turkmenistan declared its sovereignty in August 1990. After the August 1991 coup attempt against the Gorbachev regime in Moscow, Turkmenistan's communist leader Saparmyrat Niyazov called for a popular vote on freedom. The official result of the vote was 94 % in favor of freedom. The republic's Supreme Soviet had little choice other than to declare Turkmenistan's freedom from the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Republic of Turkmenistan on October 27, 1991.
It will be appropriate to speak first of the history of Turkmenistan where the Turkmens currently live. Archeological excavations show that people lived in today's Turkmenistan 3000.000 years ago. Scientists think that the Caspian Sea, which was much lager than it is now, began to dry up and recede and this process resulted in the birth of the Kara-Kum desert. In those ages particularly in the neolithic age, agriculture was prevalent in the Southern Turkmenistan while cattle-breeding and fishing were developed in the North. From relics found in the Togalak-Depe, Chopan-Depe and Geok-Depe areas, it appears that the first human settlement in Turkmenistan occurred between 7000 and 5000B.C. Turkmen people created various wonderful world of art, in which its history, mode of life, religious beliefs and thoughts were incarnated.Sculpture is one of the ancient kind of the fine arts. Having apppeared in the neolithic period it underwent difficult and multi-stage way of development. Nature worship, magic rites-these were conditions under which the ancient neolithic art of ancestors of Turkmen was formed.
Another culture that flourished in Turkmenistan was in the Khorezm area. Khorezm corresponds more or less to the same period as the Parthian State.As the Parthian state ended in the southern Turkmenistan in the 3d century A.D., a short period of the Sassanids began in the area. In the second half of the 5th sentury A.D. Turkmenistan came under the domination of another group, the Ephtalities. This represents the beginning of Turkic domination in Turkmenistan. As a matter of fact, the 6th century in Turkmenistan is known as the century of the Turkic Khagans.
The Arabs came to Turkmenistan in the middle of the 7th century.The Arabs conquered western Turkmenistan and the Khorezm area after several battles and subjugated the whole Turkmenistan. In the 9th century, the Arab rule in Turkmenistan disintegrated and was replaced by the Takhirids and Samanids. The Gaznavians who emerged in the 10th century put the end to the Samanids rule and started their own era. Oguz-Turkmen movement of the 11-12 centuries led to formation of the large empire, which stretched from the Middle Asia to Syria and Palestine and was ruled by the Seldzuks dynasty.
Seldzuk sultans gave much attention to science and art as well as construction. Economic potentialities of the powerful military and political state stimulated the thriving of many trades including art construction. The most wonderful and significant construction of the Seldzuk1 s period is, undoubtedly, mausoleum of sultan Sanjar in MERV, created by architect of genuis Mukhammed ibn-Atsyz from Serakhs. Thus as a result of synthesis of ancient architectural-planning traditions with rich ornamentations of oguz tribes in the Seldzuk period there appeared magnificient works of architecture, many of which preserved to our time and which are priceless historical and cultural legacy of the Turkmen nation.
The Khwarizmshahs who had a long past in Turkmenistan began to rise in the tenth century. Their capital city was Gurganj (Old Urgan) near the city of Dashoguz in the North of today's Turkmenistan. The Khwarizshahs who enjoyed autonomy during the Seljuki period had already left their imprint on economic and social life and reached an advanced level of development. In the regime ofAnush Tegin, Kutbeddin Mohammed, Adsyz and his son llarslan, the Khwarizmshahs extended frontiers from the Oxus to Irag particularly between the tenth and twelfth centuries.
As the Mongol army continued to advance in the land of Khwarizm and began to capture cities of Northern Khwarizm one by one, Jatalleddin Khwarizmshah went into action to protect Gurganj. However, as Turken Khatoun in the capital city did not allow him any say in this work, he withdrew to the south and there defeated the advance units of the Mongol army who were entering into the area. In 1221, the Mongol armies commended by Genghis Khan's sons Chuchi, Chagatai and Ogdai attacked Gurganj from four sides and, after a six-month deference, captured the city. Certain sources state that the Mongols slaughtered nearly one milion people during this war.The Mongol raids caused upheaval to economic and civil life in Turkmenistan and in the Khwarizmian state. Libraries, dams, mosques and institutions of science were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were ruthlessly slain.Certain Turkmen clans who survived these horrors saved themselves from extinction by migrating to various places.While some of the Turkmens fleeing the Mongol invasion went to Anatolia, some migrated to Afghanistan and Pakistan and some other stayed in Turkmenistan.Immediately following the Mongol invasion, the lands of Turkmenistan were divided among the sons of Genghis Khan, with Chuchi taking the North, Hulagu the South and Chagatai the East.
After the Mongols disintegrated as a result of internal strife, Tamerlane brought the Turkish tribes together and formed a powerful state which restored stability in Turkestan. Having captured Khwarism and most of Turkmenistan in 1388, Tamerlane then destroyed the Golden Horde and extended his domination to the north. Historical sources state that Tamerlane levelled the city of Urganj to the ground and turned it into farming land, because its people had opposed him, and brought chaos on the social, commercial and cultural life of the region. Having recruited thousands of Turkmens as cavalrymen into his army after invading Turkmenistan, Tamerlane with his disciplined army made expeditions to Iran, India and the Caucasus and won most of his battles, establishing a large empire whose capital city was Samarkant. Reigning between 1370 and 1405, Tamerlane died in the days when he was planning a big expedition to China. Under Shahrukh and Ulug Beg, the two sons of Temerlane who succeeded him as rulers of his empire, an advanced level was reached in Turkestan in science, culture, arts, agriculture urbanism. Activities in the field of astronomy in particular were unequalled for many centuries to come. In the observatory built in this period, the length of a year was calculated with an error of only 4 minutes. However, as a result of failure in administration against the successes in science, coupled with a power struggle among the sons of Tamerlane, the state broke up and was replaced by the Uzbek Khanate.
During the Mongol period and the reign of Tamerlane, many Turkmen tribes like Teke, Salur, Yamut and Ersaru scattered widely from Turkmenistan into Iran, Irag, Syria, the Caucasus and Turkey. Of these tribes, the Turkmens Akkoyunlu (White Sheep) and Karakoyunlu (Black Sheep) who established states in western and northern Iran and in eastern Anatolia founded a great civilisation between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. According to historical sources, Bayram Khan who went to India and made a great reputation there had come from the Turkmens of Karakoyunlu.
When the Uzbek Khan Shaybani who had replaced the state of Tamerlane was defeated by Shah Ismael in Merv in 1510, Turkmenistan was invaded by the Saffawis, but the Turkmens who lived in Khwarizm united with the Uzbeks and did not allow the Safawis to settle permanently in the region.Later on, the Uzbeks and the Turkmens founded a Khanate known as the Khwarizm or Khiva Khanate. Although this Khanate dominated the greater part of Turkmenistan, the Turkmens in Merv, Akhal and Etrek kept their independence and simply paid a tribute to the Khanate.
Turkmenistan declared its sovereignty in Aug. 1990 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Dec. 21, 1991, together with ten other former Soviet republics. It established a government more authoritarian than those functioning in the other newly independent central Asian republics. President Saparmurad A. Niyazov, also called the Turkmenbashi (Leader of All Turkmens), has attempted to create a cult of personality through extravagant self-promotion. Cities, aftershave, and a meteor now bear his name. In 2002, he renamed all the months of the calendar—April is now named after his mother. Niyazov was voted president-for-life by his rubber-stamp Parliament in 1999.
In the 1990s, Turkmenistan exported gas through a Russian pipeline, bringing in about $1 billion per year. But in 1993, Russia closed down Turkmenistan's only pipeline because it competed with Russia's own gas exportation. Turkmenistan was limited to exporting gas to its impoverished central Asian neighbors, who were unable to pay their bills. The nation then opened a pipeline route to Iran, generally agreed to be the most economical route for exporting Caspian oil, and thus ruffled the feathers of Iran's enemy, the U.S. So far, the new plan has not brought in money, and the country is living off loans from Western countries, such as Germany, who hope to partner with the oil-rich, money-poor country. In 2003, Russia agreed to buy 60 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan annually. At the time of the deal, Turkmenistan began to restrict the rights of its ethnic Russian citizens, infuriating Russia.An alleged assassination attempt against Niyazov in Nov. 2002 (thought by outsiders to have been staged) resulted in the conviction of 46 opposition leaders and critics of the government.
In recent years, the country's educational system has degenerated significantly—the number of years of school required has been reduced, the curriculum has grown increasingly vocational, and substantial classroom time is devoted to political propaganda, including the president's own book, Rukhnama (Book of the Soul). The energy-rich Central Asian country revives its most ancient rituals and customs, and discovers old taboos that were thinly papered over during Communist rule. Many marriages are arranged, but marriages-of-love are becoming more popular. Muslims in Turkmenistan are of the Sunni faith, and do not share the Islamic fundamentalism of their neighbors in Afghnaistan and Iran.
Fundamental social institutions generally remained unchanged by the presence of Marxist dogma for over seventy years, although the presence of large numbers of Russians changed the distribution of the classes and the cultural loyalties of the intelligentsia. With some weakening in urban areas in the twentieth century, kinship and tribal affiliation retain a strong determine over the structure of Turkmen society. Increased national awareness is reflected in modifications of the school curriculum as well. Among new courses of instruction is a class on edep , or proper social behavior and moral conduct according to orthodox Turkmen and Islamic values. Officially sanctioned efforts also have been made to contact members of the Turkmen population living outside of Turkmenistan, and several international Turkmen organizations have been accomplished.
The tent is erected in the front yard and used as a summer house...National dress: men wear high, shaggy sheepskin hats and red robes over white shirts. Women wear long sack-dresses over narrow trousers (the pants are trimmed with a band of embroidery at the ankle). Female headdresses usually consist of silver jewelery. Bracelets and brooches are set with semi-precious stones...The Turkmens are famous for their horses, breeding and training. Princess Anne of Great Britain purchased Turkmen horses.
The Turkmens (or Turkomans) make up over 75% of the population; the remainder are Uzbeks (9%) and Russians (7%), as well as smaller groups of Kazakhs, Tatars, Ukrainians, and Armenians. The Turkmens are a Turkic-speaking people who are largely Sunni Muslims. Unlike other Central Asian groups, they still retain tribal and clan divisions. They are descendants of the medieval Oguz tribes (to which the Seljuk and Osmanli Turks also belonged). Executive power in Turkmenistan is concentrated in the presidency. There is also an elected parliament. The country has five administrative divisions known as weloyats.
Country name: Republic of Turkmenistan
Area: 488,100 sq km
Capital: Ashgabat
Other cities: Chardzhou,Tashauz
Population: 4,952,081
birth rate: 27.7/1000
density per sq mi: 26
Languages: Turkmen, Russian, others
Currency: Turkmen Manat (TMM)
Religions: Islam 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
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