"ملخص لمراسلات، إلخ، تتعلق بشؤون آسيا الوسطى، بلوشستان، بلاد فارس، إلخ، ١٨٧٥-١٨٧٧. مع ملاحق." [و‎‎٢‎٠‎٢] (٥٦٢/٤٠٨)

[ xlvii ]
Anow is eight miles beyond Ashkabad. A tribe of TWlr* t i
Persia, but the Turkomans of the Akhal combined to drive thTm f' 7 her e, subject to
was surrounded and besieged, but, being a place of some strPnofK u i ! f P ace ^ and An ow
and during that time the Turkomans built a fort within unn ° Ut for two years,
where they mounted one gun and fired constantly on the rdace Wi pu’ m P T the strea m,
starved out, the Persians sent a force from’Meshed and wifhrlr! u the J , 0f l rks were nearly
Peragez, and since that time, four years ago, Anow has remairwl T ^ inhabltants to near
maos by whom it was taken, and the encampment which they not kre tumberslootelte' 1 " 0 '
Gavers is an encampment of 100 tents belonoW fn^
the east, and here the Akhal districts end. & ^ ^ llbe y eight miles further to
Gavers is isolated to a great extent from the main body of the
attack they cannot rely upon getting aid or support from the rest of H,, * 1 ,,:,“"' m 01,86 of
profess a sort of allegiance to the Persians, ami cultivate the adil 'i' r hey, therefore,
cent, of the produce to Allahyar Khan, the Persian Chief of Derag,Iz™" ' a ” d ’ pl '- ) " n = 10 P er
Gavers is thirty-five miles by road from Derao-ez
Beyond this point onto Merve is a barren waste, with scarcely n„v „ t
important encampments. On the Tejjen there are no Tekkcs now. " ' ter ’ and no
When migrating from the Akhal country, they occunied fho ^ i p
hat their cattle having suffered from the ‘
m 8 H I“t- S ont n M’er:e. en P ‘’ mCe G ° TCm0r ° £ Kh —' thTplt t
The road through the Akhal territory is perfectly easy for the passage of o. uns and
waggons and for any military force wh.ch can defend itself against undisciplined horsemen
armed with guns, pistols, swords and lances The Turkomans have, of course, no bZeh
kadmg arms. Those of the Akhal possess only one piece of artillery, which the; took from
Jaffer Koolee Khan, Shadillo, fifteen years ago, when they defeated him at Karee Kala Thev
have workmen among them who can repair thoroughly their rifles and guns, and can even make
nUe barrels, and amongst the Tekkes of Merve they have learned to make percussion locks
and now nearly all their flint guns have beeen altered and fitted with these. They make o^od
gunpowder, and the percussion caps and other ammunition required are obtained from Khiva
and Bokhara.
The Tekke Turkomans of Merve possess twenty-eight pieces of artillery. Pour of
these were taken from the Khan of Khiva, and twenty-four were captured from the Persians
in 1861 .
In the event of war with a powerful enemy, the Tekkes of Merve and Akhal would
mutually assist each other, but the latter, having a large extent of country to defend, could not
furnish a contingent of more than 1,000 horse; while the former, if not attacked from Bo
khara at the same time that the Akhal country was threatened, could furnish 3,000.
The Tekkes of Akhal appear to have formed a plan of operations for themselves in the
event of their being attacked by a .Russian force, which is to leave garrisons in Kizl Ervad
and Boormeh, and having withdrawn their encampments to Guk Tuppeh or other suitable places
further east, to assemble their horse, and by sudden attacks on their exposed points endeavour
to cut off the Russian supplies and communications.
Noor Verdy Khan is considered by the Turkomans the best man they have - to lead them
m such an emergency. He is about fifty years of age, strong and active, and, being of a very
determined character, has acquired great influence over all the branches of the Tekke tribes,
both in the Attek and at Merve.
I may mention here that, besides the passes noted in the annexed paper, there are three
leading from the Akhal country into Persia which are practicable for artillery—the Kaplan
Keiya, the Khormend or Kozlok, and the Anow defiles.
On the southern side of the Attek Hills are a number of villages mostly ruined, but which
are well supplied with water and all that is requisite to make the region productive and
valuable.
These begin with Chunder and Soont, where there is a good stream; then Karee Kala,
now in the hands of the Goklans; next, Khojeh Kalasse, between Karee Kala and Kizl Ervad
and Bend Hassan.
Beyond Bend Hassan, proceeding eastward, is the village of Nokhor, where 500 Toork
families reside. They are not loyal to Persia, and are in league with the Turkomans, to whom
% convey speedy intelligence when any Persian expedition is directed against them, and
whose raids in Khorassan they facilitate as much as possible.
The next eight villages are likewise in ruins. They are Keraee, Khojeh Kalasse (second
of this name), Kala Boogdebaee, Koolar Meshedee, Daeeneb, Rastighan, Saook Soo, and Aiab
kalasse, which is opposite the kelateh of Noor Verdy Khan on the Akhal side.
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