A historian Ovez Gundogdyev, Professor, Deputy Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan is well known not only in our country. He, an inexhaustible explorer, is in continuing quest for bright and interesting discoveries which often turn out to be sensational. An amazing testimony of it is an expedition under his guidance that has been exploring Akdepe site located in Chandybil Etrap in the suburbs of Ashgabat for three months.
The expedition has discovered the Parthian (antique) platform, some coins that belong to the period of the Great Seljuk and the Khwarzemshahs, a head of the goddess – the maiden of the Middle Parthian period (1st century BC-1st century AD), some ceramic ‘kabur’ of ancient water supply networks, winemaking and jewellery workshops.
A notable event in the scientist’s life is the publication of a number of his scientific monographs on the history, culture and ethnogenesis of the Turkmen people that have appeared recently in bookstores and libraries throughout our country.
The first book The Combatant Path of the Teke Horse Regiment (1914-1918) tells about the military unit of heroic Turkmen warriors who fought valiantly on the side of the Russian army during World War I and passed through the crucible of the civil war as fate had willed.
For 70 years of Soviet rule it was forbidden to publish the materials about the Teke horse regiment and mention the names of the heroes who had demonstrated the miracles of courage on the battlefield. For over 20 years O. Gundogdyev has been searching for documentary materials in the depositories of the Central State Archives of Turkmenistan, the Russian State Military Archives (Moscow), the Russian Ethnographic Museum (St. Petersburg). He found the unique works of a Turkmen officer H. Hajiev Great Boyar and Atcapar in the libraries in Belgrade and San-Francisco and recorded recollections of the dzhigits’ relatives. The book contains the list of the officers and horsemen of the Teke horse regiment and the unique documents, including their letters, messages and reports which have never been published before.
The second book is The Turkmen and the Peoples of the World (Ethnic and Cultural Contacts). O. Gundogdyev has become interested in the ethnogenesis of the Turkmen people, their ethnic and cultural contacts with the peoples of Asia, Europe, Africa and America since he began his research activity. It turns out that inhabitants of Turkmenistan have been involved in wide inter-ethnic contacts since ancient times, and at different times and in different historical conditions these contacts had various forms which became worldwide in the IInd millennium BC are resulted in the emergence of ethnic substrata of the modern day Turkmen, Tajik, Iranian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Afghans and others.
Mary – a Gem of the East is the third book of Professor O. Gundogdyev co-written with O. Ekaev. Indeed, Mary – Ancient Merv has shone in the firmament of history of the East over many millennia. Ancient Merv, being one of the oldest cities in the world, is inscribed rightfully on the World Heritage List and was chosen as the cultural capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2012. The book tells about the history of the city, its remarkable architectural monuments, irrigation system and religious beliefs and revives the images of prominent scholars and poets.
The expedition has discovered the Parthian (antique) platform, some coins that belong to the period of the Great Seljuk and the Khwarzemshahs, a head of the goddess – the maiden of the Middle Parthian period (1st century BC-1st century AD), some ceramic ‘kabur’ of ancient water supply networks, winemaking and jewellery workshops.
A notable event in the scientist’s life is the publication of a number of his scientific monographs on the history, culture and ethnogenesis of the Turkmen people that have appeared recently in bookstores and libraries throughout our country.
The first book The Combatant Path of the Teke Horse Regiment (1914-1918) tells about the military unit of heroic Turkmen warriors who fought valiantly on the side of the Russian army during World War I and passed through the crucible of the civil war as fate had willed.
For 70 years of Soviet rule it was forbidden to publish the materials about the Teke horse regiment and mention the names of the heroes who had demonstrated the miracles of courage on the battlefield. For over 20 years O. Gundogdyev has been searching for documentary materials in the depositories of the Central State Archives of Turkmenistan, the Russian State Military Archives (Moscow), the Russian Ethnographic Museum (St. Petersburg). He found the unique works of a Turkmen officer H. Hajiev Great Boyar and Atcapar in the libraries in Belgrade and San-Francisco and recorded recollections of the dzhigits’ relatives. The book contains the list of the officers and horsemen of the Teke horse regiment and the unique documents, including their letters, messages and reports which have never been published before.
The second book is The Turkmen and the Peoples of the World (Ethnic and Cultural Contacts). O. Gundogdyev has become interested in the ethnogenesis of the Turkmen people, their ethnic and cultural contacts with the peoples of Asia, Europe, Africa and America since he began his research activity. It turns out that inhabitants of Turkmenistan have been involved in wide inter-ethnic contacts since ancient times, and at different times and in different historical conditions these contacts had various forms which became worldwide in the IInd millennium BC are resulted in the emergence of ethnic substrata of the modern day Turkmen, Tajik, Iranian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Afghans and others.
Mary – a Gem of the East is the third book of Professor O. Gundogdyev co-written with O. Ekaev. Indeed, Mary – Ancient Merv has shone in the firmament of history of the East over many millennia. Ancient Merv, being one of the oldest cities in the world, is inscribed rightfully on the World Heritage List and was chosen as the cultural capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2012. The book tells about the history of the city, its remarkable architectural monuments, irrigation system and religious beliefs and revives the images of prominent scholars and poets.
