Afghanistan and Turkic States

Turkmenistan formerly as well known asTurkmenia(Russian ), is one of theTurkic statesinCentral Asia. Until 1991, it was a serving republic of theSoviet Union, theTurkmen Soviet socialistic Republic(Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six main(a)Turkic states. It is bordered byAfghanistanto the south einsteinium,Iranto the south and southwest,Uzbekistanto the east and northeast,Kazakhstanto the north and northwest and theCaspian Seato the west. Turkmenistans gross domestic product growth rate of 11% in 2010ranks 4th in the world, but these figures ar subject to wide margins of error. 5It possesses the worlds fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, nigh of the country is covered by theKarakum (Black Sand) Desert. The Turkmen government operates as asingle-party system. 6Turkmenistan was govern byPresident for LifeSaparmurat Niyazov(called Turkmenbasy drawing card of the Turkmens) until his sudden death on 21 December 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedovwas elected the new hot seat on 11 February 2007.The dirt of Turkmenistan has a long history, as armies from one pudding stone after another decamped there on their way to more prosperous territories. The neighbourhoods indite history begins with its conquest by theAchaemenid conglomerateof ancient Persia, as the region was divided up amid thesatrapiesofMargiana,KhorezmandParthia. credit entry needed Alexander the Greatconquered the territory in the 4th centuryBCon his way toCentral Asia, round the time that theSilk Roadwas established as a major trading route betweenAsiaand theMediterranean Region. citation needed Approximately 80 years later, PersiasParthian Kingdomestablished its capital inNisa, now in the suburbs of the capital,Ashgabat. After replacement of the Parthian conglomerate by Persian Sassanids, another infixed Iranian dynasty, the region remained territory of the Persian empire for several centuries. 7 In t he septenaryth century AD,Arabsconquered this region, introducingIslam. The Turkmenistan region soon came to be known as the capital of great Khorasan, when the caliphAl-Mamunmoved his capital toMerv. citation needed In the middle of the 11th century, theTurkoman-ruledSeljuk Empireconcentrated its strength in the territory of modern Turkmenistan in an get to expand intoKhorasan(modernAfghanistan). The empire broke follow out in the second half of the twelfth century, and the Turkmen lost their independence whenGenghis caravan inntook control of the easternCaspian Searegion on his march west. For the next seven centuries, the Turkmen people lived under variant empires and fought constant inter-tribal wars. Little is documented of Turkmen history prior toRussianengagement.