[1] In Soviet times called Saragt in Turkmen, the city was referred to as Sarahs in antiquity and continuously to the present by locals.

During the Sassanid period a Zoroastrian fire temple was constructed in Mele Hairam, about 15 km east of the town.

[4] In the Seljuk Era a famous school of architects was located in Sarahs, along with a mausoleum commemorating the 11th century sufi Abul Fazl (Serakhs Baba).

In 1089 Yarty Gumbez mausoleum was constructed 8 km south of the town, possibly as a burial site for Sheikh Ahmed Al Khady.

Sarahs is a crossing point on the Iranian-Turkmen border and the place where bogies must be changed on the freight railway line from Tejen to Mashhad in Iran, which was opened in 1996.