Editing Ahal Region (section)

===Turkmen period=== 
British Lieutenant Colonel H.C. Stuart reported in 1881 that the Ahal branch of the [[Teke (Turkmen tribe)|Teke tribe]] of the [[Turkmens|Turkmen]] ethnic group arrived in the area around 1830 and established several semi-nomadic villages (''auls'') between what is now the city of [[Gyzylarbat]] and village of Gäwers, inclusive.<ref name=stuart>{{cite book|title=The Country of the Turkomans|date=1977|publisher=Oguz Press and the Royal Geographical Society|place=London|isbn=0-905820-01-0}}, Chapter 11, Stuart, Lt. Col. H.C., ''The Country of the Tekke Turkomans, and the Tejend and Murghab Rivers'', lecture delivered in 1881.</ref> The Ahal area was formally part of [[Persia]] but ''de facto'' autonomous under Turkoman tribal control until Russian forces defeated the Teke army at the [[Battle of Geok Tepe]] in January 1881.