The Turkmens in the age of imperialism: A study of the Turkmen people and their incorporation into the Russian Empire (Publication of Turkish Historical Society. Serial VII)

Ankara, Turkey: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi [Turkish Historical Society Printing House], 1989 xiii, 276 pp. Footnotes, bibliography, index, 3 maps. Only published in paperback. An important book for anyone seriously interested in Turkmen history, art, and culture. The only such detailed history in English, this is a scholarly study of Turkmen history during the pivotal nineteenth century, including the Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia and its impact on the Turkmen tribes. The work begins with the study of Turkmenia, its country, and people, and then discusses the early history of the Turkmen people up to 1800 in order to understand their position in the nineteenth century. The economic, social, and political structures of the Turkmen society, in particular their traditional unwritten law (Tore), are examined in detail in order to understand how the Turkmens were able to survive as a small nation. Then, the struggle of the Turkmens for independence against the Khivan and Persian yoke from the beginning of the nineteenth century up to 1860, the formation of a union among themselves, and their relations with the neighbouring nations are studied in detail. The independence of the Turkmens, however, was threatened by the rivalry between Great Britain and Russia in Central Asia. Because of this rivalry, the Russians, who had already conquered the Khanates of Central Asia, began to prepare for the conquest of Turkmenia in order to place themselves in an advantageous position in Central Asia against British India, in case of conflict with Britain. The rest of the work is a detailed study of the Turkmens and their remarkable resistance against the Russian invasion from 1869 to 1885.