Country history · Asia

History of Turkmenistan

23 recorded states lay in what is now Turkmenistan, from Massagetae (600 BCE) to Turkmenistan. 15 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)5 without a known seat not shownOpen in the atlas →

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

7th century BCE

  1. Massagetae600 BCE – 100 BCE · nomadic confederation

6th century BCE

  1. Dahae500 BCE – 200 BCE · tribal confederation
  2. Kingdom of Khwarazm500 BCE – 305 CE · kingdom

3rd century BCE

  1. Greco-Bactrian Kingdom256 BCE – 120 BCE · kingdom

4th century

  1. Afrighid Khwarazm305 CE – 995 CE · kingdom
  2. Chionites350 CE – 440 CE · nomadic confederation

5th century

  1. Hephthalite Empire450 CE – 560 CE · nomadic confederation

8th century

  1. Oghuz Yabgu State750 CE – 1055 CE · nomadic confederation

9th century

  1. Samanid Empire819 CE – 999 CE · emirate
  2. Tahirid dynasty821 CE – 873 CE · emirate

10th century

  1. Ma'munid Khwarazm995 CE – 1017 CE · kingdom

14th century

  1. Western Chagatai Khanate1347 CE – 1370 CE · khanate
  2. Sufi dynasty1361 CE – 1388 CE · emirate

16th century

  1. Khanate of Bukhara1500 CE – 1785 CE · khanate
  2. Khanate of Khiva1511 CE – 1920 CE · khanate

18th century

  1. Emirate of Bukhara1785 CE – 1920 CE · emirate

19th century

  1. Turkestan Governorate-General1867 CE – 1917 CE · colony

20th century

  1. Transcaspian Government1918 CE – 1919 CE · other
  2. Turkestan ASSR1918 CE – 1924 CE · republic
  3. Bukharan People's Soviet Republic1920 CE – 1924 CE · republic
  4. Khorezm People's Soviet Republic1920 CE – 1924 CE · republic
  5. Turkmen SSR1924 CE – 1991 CE · republic
  6. Turkmenistan1991 CE – present · republic

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of Central Asia and the Steppe → States of Mesopotamia and Iran → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Turkmenistan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/turkmenistan
MLA
“History of Turkmenistan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/turkmenistan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Turkmenistan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/turkmenistan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Turkmenistan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/turkmenistan (Accessed: ).