JBO'C's Historical Reference

The Road to Merv by Rawlinson Page 182

Proceedings of the 
Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain)
Norton Shaw, Francis Galton, Clements Robert Markham, William Spottiswoode, Henry Walter Bates, John Scott Keltie
Published by, 1879

The Road to Merv. By Major-General Sir H. C. RAWLINSON, K.O.B.

(Read at the Evening Meeting, January 27th, 1879.) 

Page 182

The Russian invasion of the Turkmen country which is now pending may be thus briefly described. During last spring, a strong force was landed at Krasnovodsk, a portion of which made a reconnaissance towards Kizyl-Arvat, while a large detachment was sent south to Chikishlar.

The northern column was subsequently marched southward, and the whole force concentrated at Chikishlar in July. The letters just read describe the march from Chikishlar to Khoja-Kileh in August and September; shortly afterwards, owing to failure of grain food, the Turkmen having cut off a caravan bringing up stores and provisions from Krasnovodsk, and the Persian supplies promised from Bujnoord not having arrived, Llomakin was obliged to retire, pursued and pressed by the enemy, from Khoja-Kileh to Chat, and subsequently to withdraw a great part of his force to Chikishlar, where it still remains. He held his ground, however, at Chat, where a permanent fortified post is now being established, and preparations on a large scale are also going on upon the sea-coast for resuming the invasion in the early spring. In the meantime the Turkmen have reoccupied Khoja-Kileh, and having taken heart from their success in the autumn, will probably offer a very determined resistance when the Russians again advance.

The country of the Teke (Tekke) Turkmen commences at Kizyl-Arvat, and continues in a more or less connected line the whole way to Merv, the distance by the nearest line being about 400 miles; but it is hardly possible that any disciplined army could follow this direct desert route. The only convenient line for the march of a Russian force would be along the foot of the hills the whole way round to Serakhs, and then across the desert at its narrowest point by the high road from Persia to Bokhara, a detour which would increase the distance from 400 to about 450 miles.

JBOC Notes: Kizyl-Arvat is the last oasis along the western end of the Kopat Dag ridge. It is north west of Ashgabat on M37 going towards the Caspian Sea. The mountains act as a verticle reservoir supplying water for the Turkmen. For the rugs of the Teke please see: Guide to Teke / Tekke Rugs & Carpets. The Russians had built forts at Krasnovodsk and Chikishlar in 1869 in preperation for the attack first on Khiva and then the rest of Central Asia. Time Line H. C. Rawlinson Major General Sir Henry Creswicke "H.C." Rawlinson 1810–95 British army officer, diplomat, Biblical scholar, geographer and noted linguist and archaeologist. Rawlinson was a mainstay of the Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain). He was instrumental in deciphering cunifotrm scrolls and relating them to the Bible.

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