JBO'C's Historical Reference

Turkmen Part 1 - Turkmen Part 2 - Turkmen Part 3 - Turkmen Part 4 - Turkmen Part 5 - Turkmen Part 6 - Turkmen Part 7 - Turkmen Part 8 - Turkmen Part 9 - Turkmen Part 10 - Turkmen Part 11 - Turkmen Part 12

Their (the Sarik) head-quarters are generally considered to be Pendjdeh on the Murghab. For the present Russia, not having come into contact with these two tribes, knows little or nothing of them, but it is with them that she would be called upon to deal after the fall of Merv. It is just possible, particularly if a friend held Herat, that by skilful negotiation these clans might be secured by her as allies in a war with the Tekes/Tekke, who are certainly no favorites with the smaller tribes. But of all the clans the Tekes, whom we have now to consider, are by far the most important. They are the most numerous, warlike, and united. They hold the best strategical positions, and their principal stronghold is as inaccessible as it well can be. Their horses are also the best specimens of the kind, and their arms, inferior as they are when compared with those of Russia, are superior to any possessed by any other Turkmen tribe. The Tekes/Tekke country commences in the north-west at the post of Kizil Arvat, and continues down the valley which lies between the Kuren and Kopet Daghs on the one side, and a range of sand-hills on the other, as far as Abiverd. Beyond the Tejund they hold Merv, and its vicinity as well. This valley is extremely fertile, owing to the numerous rivers that flow down to it from the crests of the mountains of Khorasan. The Akhal branch of the Tekes hold the country between Kizil Arvat and Anef, and their region is marked throughout by a line of forts — forty- three in number. The Akhals alone are reckoned to have nearly ten thousand tents, and the other Tekes are said to have fifty thousand more. It has been computed that the whole tribe could put thirty thousand men into the field, more than half of whom would be admirably mounted. Although the Tekes are the most formidable of the robbers on the Persian frontier, they yet follow in their villages a busy life as agriculturists and silk weavers. Those villages are also much larger and more permanently occupied than is wont with these nomads ; and as one consequence of these regular communities there is a more definite mode of government existing among them than anywhere else among the Turkmen. The Aksakal's authority is respected, but the most important check over the turbulent spirits of these strange people is that given by "custom."

The deb, as it is called, rules everything; and all disputes are decided, not by reference to the Koran, but to precedent. All travelers agree that the order and tranquility in a Turkmen camp is wonderful, considering the character of its occupants, and also bearing in mind the very ineffectual punishments it lies at the disposal of the community to inflict. This may be traceable to two causes; in the first place to the numerous ties which bind each member of a clan to the other. So strong is the clannish feeling among the Turkmen that it has been said that a child of a very early age can distinguish the sub-division of the clan to which it belongs. And in the second place it may be due to the fact that, though the Turkmen can engage in a foray and execute it in an unequalled manner, he cannot commit a petty larceny — more especially against one of his own kin. The very hostility between the clans makes the connection between all the members of each clan the more binding; and thus it is that a village of marauding Tekes is as tranquil as and less disturbed by domestic strife than many a hamlet in this broad England. In this fact, and in the high opinion English officers have formed of the personal characteristics of the Turkmen, an opinion not more favorably expressed by Conolly and Burnes more than forty years ago than by Butler and Napier the other day, lies a reply to those who would assert that the man-hunting Teke is an irreclaimable savage. His faults are exposed to the light of day, and they are those which incur the most strongly adverse sentiment of a civilized and free people; but it should be remembered as a point in his favor that once the evil has been cured by giving him a settled career in place of that to which he has been brought up, there remains no exhaustive process to be carried out of eradicating innumerable evil propensities.

When it is said that the Turkmen is a man-hunter and a robber, everything that can be said against him has been said. It may without hesitation be asserted that that is a fault which admits of easy remedy. On the other hand, the Turkmen possesses great merits. He is honorable and sincere in his dealings; and up to a certain point he possesses courage. It would be a mistake to suppose, however, that at the present moment the Turkmen is a very formidable antagonist. He will never attack even a caravan except in overwhelming numbers, and on several occasions the best men of the Tekes have been worsted by a small band of regular Persian troops or armed villagers. Against the Russians they have, with one exception, been uniformly unsuccessful. In 1872, 1873, 1875, 1876, and 1877, the Akhals have been assailed by Russian troops advancing into their territory, and on each occasion they appear to have had much the worst of it, except in the last-mentioned year, when General Lomakine, after occupying Kizil Arvat, was forced to beat a retreat, either through want of supplies or some other cause. But that was a solitary instance, and this has been more than redeemed by the successful operations of the same general in 1878.

With regard to the Akhal Tekes, it may be here useful to state that they are divided into two sections, the Tokhtamish and the Utamish, which are bitterly hostile to each other. The former are the more numerous, and generally have been supreme; but the Utamish have not rendered a very willing obedience. After a vain attempt in 1875 to reconcile these rival sections by the election of a common head, the Akhal clan broke up into several fragments; and when Lomakine advanced upon their line of forts, it was with a disunited clan that he had to deal. It is more than probable that the Russian general succeeded in establishing some kind of relationship with the Utamish branch of the Tekes, and that the resistance of the Akhals— of which the Russian press makes no mention — collapsed early in the last campaign. The main body of the Tekes must be discouraged by the disasters incurred by the Akhals, and it is far from improbable that they may, failing the discovery of any ally, strive to come to an understanding with the Russians whereby Merv may be saved and their independence for a short time prolonged.

Upon the action of the main body of the Tekes undoubtedly depends the future of all the Turkmen who are still independent. These, perhaps, can bring thirty thousand fighting-men into the field, half of whom would be mounted. The line of the Murghab, and the position of Merv itself, is strong, and can be made stronger by inundating the country. On the other hand, the Turkmen possess no artillery, and are proverbially bad fighters behind walls. Their valor in the field has been questioned, but this may have been by unfriendly critics. It will be admitted, however, by their greatest admirer, that they are most formidable in the open. At the present moment it is our object to consider rather whether they would offer any opposition to the advance of a Russian army than to discuss the probable result of that resistance, which can be better considered in the next chapter.

Turkmen Part 1 - Turkmen Part 2 - Turkmen Part 3 - Turkmen Part 4 - Turkmen Part 5 - Turkmen Part 6 - Turkmen Part 7 - Turkmen Part 8 - Turkmen Part 9 - Turkmen Part 10 - Turkmen Part 11 - Turkmen Part 12

London, W.H.Allen & Co., 1879 8vo. 2 vols.

As seen on: http://books.google.com/books?id=cKABAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA223&dq=teke+salor#PPA221,M1

A special note this is drawn from Boulger's England and Russia in Central Asia. I have taken to edit it and standardize spelling. For instance Boulger mentioned two spellings Turkmen or Turcomans and proceeded to use Turcomans. I elected to change it to Turkmen since it is the more correct usage today. If this bothers you please read some other version since I am doing this or me rather than for you.