Page 64 - The Stans of Central Asia: Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan

• Time Zone: Turkmenistan is nine hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). When it
is noon in Washington D.C., it is 9pm in Ashgabat.

National Holidays: Turkmenistan

In addition to the holidays listed below, 03/08 Turkmen Woman’s Day
Turkmenistan celebrates a number of
03/20 Nowruz Bayram (Sping Festival)
national holidays that follow a lunar
calendar, such as Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al- 05/09 Victory Day
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during these holidays, please visit www. 06/27 Day of Turkmen Workers of
timeanddate.com/holidays. Culture and Art

01/01 New Year’s Day 10/06 Day of Commemoration and
National Mourning
01/12 Geok Tepe Memorial Day
10/27 Independence Day
02/19 State Flag of Turkmenistan Day
12/12 Day of Neutrality

Historical Overview of Turkmenistan

Imperial Conquest and the Silk Road

Turkmenistan’s early history was shaped largely by imperial conquest and its position along
the Silk Road. Due to its strategic location between Central Asia and the Middle East, the area
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in the third century BC, Turkmenistan gained value in its own right with major trade centers
such as Merv (Mary) and Urgench (Konye-Urgench) located directly on the route from Iran
to China.

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the Achaemenid conquest of Turkmenistan, the area was divided into three distinct satrapies:
Margiana, Khorezm, and Parthia. Alexander the Great seized control from the Persians in the
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Kingdom established its capital in Nisa—located a few miles outside of the present-day capital
of Ashgabat. Over the course of the next several centuries, Turkmenistan remained under
Persian rule, transferring hands from one dynasty to the next.

Arabs conquered Turkmenistan in the seventh century AD. As time passed, Turkmenistan
played an increasingly important role in their newly established empire. At one point in the
ninth century, the region now known as Turkmenistan was considered the capital of Greater
Khorasan—an Arab province spanning northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.
As Arab rule declined around the middle of the eleventh century, the Turkmen-ruled Seljuk
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under the Seljuks. In fact, some historians cite Merv as being the world’s largest city for a
brief time toward the end of Seljuk rule in Turkmenistan.

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