Turkmenistan Timeline: 6th Century BC until 2012

6th century BC – The area of what is now Turkmenistan forms part of the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great.

4th century BC - Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquers Central Asia (including Turkmenistan).

7th century AD – Arab tribes conquer Central Asia (including Turkmenistan) and convert inhabitants to Islam.

10th-12th centuries - Nomadic Oghuz Seljuk tribes - the ancestors of present-day Turkmens - immigrate from northeast.

13th Century - Genghis Khan and Mongolian tribes conquer the region – destroying the ancient city of Merv.

14th Century – Amir Timur conquers the region and forms the short-lived Timirud Empire.

15th-17th centuries - Southern part of modern Turkmenistan comes under Persian rule, while the northern part is dominated by the Uzbek-ruled states of Khiva and Bukhara.

1881 – A section of present-day Turkmenistan incorporated into Russian territory after Battle of Geok Tepe.

1925 - Turkmenistan officially becomes part of the USSR.

1948 - Over 100,000 killed when earthquake devastates Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat.

1971 – Darvaza gas crater created after an attempt to burn of excess gas results in a still-burning enormous pit of fire known locally as the Door to Hell.

1985 - Saparmurat Niyazov becomes leader of the Turkmen Communist Party.

1991 - Turkmenistan declares independence from the USSR just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Saparmurat Niyazov is chosen by parliament as Turkmenistan’s first president.

1993 - Turkmenistan encourages foreign investment in its natural gas reserves. This leads to the construction of gas pipelines providing energy to countries such as Russia, Iran, India, and China – providing Turkmenistan’s main source of income to this day.

1999 - Parliament declares Saparmurat Niyazov president for life.

2002 - August - President Niyazov renames the months of the year. The new names include his own name, his mother’s name, and the name of his autobiography - the Ruhnama.

2002 - November - President Niyazov survives an assassination attempt. Niyasov blames opposition leaders, who in turn accuse Niyazov of staging incident as excuse to crack down. Opposition activist Boris Shikhmuradov is arrested, accused of being the mastermind behind the attack, and sentenced to life imprisonment. More than 40 others convicted and jailed.

2006 - 21 December - Death of President Niyazov from heart failure is announced.

2007 - 14 February - Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is declared the winner of presidential elections, in which no opposition candidate was allowed.

2008 - April - Turkmenistan reverts to traditional Gregorian calendar with the original month names.

2008 - May – The new President orders the removal of a rotating gold statue of his predecessor in Ashgabat.

2011 - May - In a move seen as designed to further restrict access to foreign media, President Berdymukhamedov says the number of satellite dishes in Turkmenistan will be limited.

2011 - October - Parliament supports a motion conferring the title "hero of the nation" on President Berdymukhamedov.

2011 - December - Transparency International names Turkmenistan as joint third most corrupt country in the world.

2012 - February – In the general election, President Berdymukhamedov wins a second term in office, standing against token candidates and securing over 97% of the vote.

Some pictures you might like to cut out and stick on, or do your own drawings of:

Boris Shikhmuradov Rotating gold statue of Saparmurat Niyazov

Map of Turkmenistan while part of USSR (Soviet Union)

Independent Turkmenistan