It was founded in April 1977 as Gäwers District, with its center on the urban-type settlement of Anau.

Abolished in August 1988, it was restored in 1992 as part of Ahal, where it was later renamed Ak bugday ("white wheat").

Local lore holds that white wheat was first cultivated in this area, and the capital of this district, Anau, features a museum devoted to white wheat as well as local archeology.

The Ahal State Power Station (Turkmen: Ahal Döwlet Elektrik Stansiýasy), located about 9 kilometers NE of Anau, with design capacity of 650 megawatts, was constructed to power the city of Ashgabat.

The additional capacity was needed in particular to power Ashgabat's Olympic Village.