The name of Turkmen that was firstly used in a Sogut letter in the century VIII was used as a general identification name for the Turks and particularly the Muslim Oguz tribes that led a settled life since the century X. Nowadays, the name of Turkmen is used with a narrow sense for the Turks that live in the Republic of Turkmenistan and those are the members of Turkmen tribes living in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Anatolia. The most reasonable opinion about the etymology of this word is the opinion that states that the suffix of man, -men that were observed in the words such as Kuman, Karaman, Ataman, Kolemen, Kogmen, etc. were attached to the end of the word of Turk. Turkmen Turkic language belongs to the Oguz Turkish of the Turkish language together with Azerbaijani, Turkey and Khorasan Turkish languages.
Pursuant to Nadir Shah that was the Turkish ruler of the Safevi State, Turkmen people suffered from the attacks of the Iranians and Hive people. Then, they started to expand towards the region of Merv since the year of 1835. The Castle of Oraz was constructed in the banks of Tecend Darya River. However, they encountered the sudden attacks of the Persian and Hive people.