Before the advent of the British and Russian Empires and what Kipling called the "Great Game" that was played between them for control of access to the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkmen tribesmen (Tekke and other) were believed to number about 2,000,000. Their Argamaks numbered at least 50,000 and probably many, many times that number. However, after 1800, external politics contrived to almost completely eliminate their magnificent horse.

It had always been the intention of the Tsars that Russia would have an influence over affairs in the Middle East. One of the important things that Russia for the most part lacked was a seaport which could be counted upon to be ice-free the year round. Russia had her eyes on the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, as a gateway to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Standing in their way was the British Empire. India, the "Jewel in the Crown," was jealously guarded by the British, and any movement south toward Afghanistan or Persia, or West toward Syria and the Suez, was regarded by the British as a threat to India. The British concentrated on defending the sea route (Suez) to India, and so the Russians took their chances with Persia.

At that time, the northern border of Persia reached much farther north than it does today; it included all of present-day Turkmenistan as well as much other territory. The first Russo-Persian war did not accomplish very much, but the second ended in 1828 with the Treaty of Turkmanchai. Persia lost all its lands north of the southern tip of the Caspian Sea to Russia, and agreed that only Russia had the right to maintain naval fleets in the Caspian. What this meant to the Turkmen, and particularly the Tekke, was that the most profitable-and nearby-raiding areas were now under heavily armed Russian control. This forced a major change on the population. They had either to conduct raids to the east (Russia controlled northern Persia/Iran though it had not annexed it), going much further and leaving their encampments undefended for too long at a time, or they had to forgo their traditional lifestyles and become settled farmers. Gradually, the need for the war horse lessened, and the Turkoman's numbers went into decline.

There was, of course, another reason for the Turkoman's decline. The Tekke-Akhal-Kahn and the Yamoud peoples particularly wanted nothing to do with Russia-except to expel the Russians from their homeland. The Russians were determined to stay. By dint mainly of superior firepower, the Tzarists subdued first the Yamoudi, and then the Tekke, and slaughtered vast numbers of their horses to immobilize and demoralize them.

Things became very much worse in the 1860s to 1870s. With the American Civil War, cotton export to Russia came to a halt. With the closest thing Russia had to cotton-growing territory being Turkmenistan, those farmers who had settled were forced to change from growing grain crops to growing cotton. This resulted in starvation, of both Turkmen and their horses (and the formation of the Turkestan National Liberation Movement). The Russians themselves saw that the great power of the Turkmen guerillas lay in their horses: "The Turkoman and his horse are inseparable," said General Grodekoff, campaigning for the Tsar in Turkmenistan. "Take away the horse from a Tekke and he no longer possesses the power of terrorizing over his neighbor. Hence, if we ever conquer Merv, besides imposing a monetary contribution, we ought to take from the Tekke all their best mares and stallions. They would then at once cease to be formidable."

By the 1880s, Russia began settling Turkmenistan with native Russians, and Chinese nationals who had been brought in to help in building a railroad. In 1885, the entire area inhabited by the Tekke was put under martial law. The fortress which later became the city of Ashkabad was built. It was estimated that by 1900, less than 100 "pedigree" horses-Akhal-Tekes and Yamouds, among some others such as the Dseichu whom we no longer know-remained.

The British foresaw some of what was going to happen. In 1881, Marvin wrote:

The Battle of Goek-Tepe or "Blue Hill," was a decisive one for the Russians and one which still sticks in the craw of many Turkmen. The details of this battle are too extensive to go into here, but it ended in many Tekke Turkmen being forced to flee, with their horses and cattle, to Afghanistan and especially into Iran.

The Tekke and other Turkmen who now lived under Russian rule no longer tried to revolt, and despite the fact that many of their best horses fell into Russian hands or were killed, a few tried to keep their horse-breeding heritage alive. Mr. Bek Nazar, who had no actual settled home, was one of the most famous breeders of the time, and three of his horses, Bek Nazar Dor, Bek Nazar Al and Posman, have had a tremendous influence on the Akhal-Teke breed.

Merv, The Queen of the World, and the Scourge of the Man-Stealing Turcomans, by Charles Marvin, W.H. Allen & Co 1881