Teke (tribe)

Stuart reported that in the 1830s the Teke tribe began to settle in the lower Murghab River delta near Merv, which, he said, they destroyed around 1855.

[2] Though technically under Persian suzerainty, the Teke were de facto autonomous, and as O'Donovan remarked, were noted for raids to capture slaves for sale in the markets of Khiva and Bukhara.

At one point the shah of Persia offered a reward of five tomans "for the head of each Turkoman killed raiding within his frontier.

"[3] O'Donovan described to the Royal Geographical Society Mary Teke inhabitants of Mäne, a village in Deregez, as "nominally paying tribute to Persia, but who are really independent.

A Russian diplomat, P.M. Lessar, reported that between December 1881 and April 1882, "a great change had taken place" and "it became possible to travel between Askhabad and Sarakhs without escort, accompanied by only a few labourers armed with guns against chance robbers.

Lt. Col. Stuart noted as well subdivision into four clans, the Wakil (variant Wekil), Beg, Suchmuz, and Bukshi: As of 1879 Russian military officers estimated the Ahal Teke population at "30,000 yurts", and that the Teke "were capable of fielding 50,000 armed men, of whom 20,000 were cavalry and the rest were infantry.

"[11] The main body of Teke were located between Geok-Tepe and "Askhabad", with two villages east of that, Anau and Gäwers.

Combined population of the main body was estimated at 40,000 to 50,000 people, and the Russian commander believed "capture of this area meant the mastery of the entire Ahal-Teke oasis.

[15] Initial efforts in the late 1920s and early 1930s to create a common literary Turkmen language incorporating elements of all major dialects failed when Joseph Stalin's purges resulted in death of the intellectuals involved.