The Saryk () are a tribe of Turkmens in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. The Saryk mostly live in the valley of the Marghab River (the ancient Margiana).

Etymology

Suggestions for the etymology of ''Saryk'' (also ''Sarik, Saryq'') are the

Middle Turkic Middle Turkic is a term used by linguists to refer to a group of Karluk languages, Karluk, Oghuz languages, Oghuz and Kipchak languages, Kipchak languages spoken during much of the Middle Ages (c. 900–1500 CE) in Central Asia, Iran, and parts o ...

''saryγ'' ("yellow") or the Kipchak root ''saryq'' ("sheep").

History

In the early 19th century the Saryk lived in the

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

region, but from 1830 they were driven further up the Marghab valley by the Teke. Bala Murghab and the Panjdeh became their main settlements. In 1881, the Saryk came under Russian control after the Battle of Geok Tepe and the creation of the

Transcaspian Oblast The Transcaspian Oblast, or simply Transcaspia, was an oblast of the Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of the 19th century until 1924. It was bounded to the south by Iran's Khorasan Pro ...

. In 1885, the Saryk population was estimated at 65,000. They continued under Russian rule through the Soviet period. Today most live in modern

, with some living over the borders in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Art and culture

Like other Turkmen tribes, the Saryk are known as carpet-makers and have their own distinctive style: dark red-brown carpets with the pattern picked out in fine, thin lines. They use a symmetrical (Turkish) knot, like the Yomut do. The Saryk are also famed for their

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

. File:Turkmenistan or Afghanistan, Saryk tribe, 19th century - Turkmen Main Carpet - 2006.201 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Saryk carpet, 19th century File:Turkmenistan, Saryk tribe of the Turkmen people (1850-1899), 19th century - Turkmen Bag Face - 2008.223 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Saryk carpet, 19th century File:"Siawosch Azadi" Saryk Ensi.png, Siawosch Azadi Saryk Ensi. circa 18th century

References

{{Turkmen tribes Ethnic Turkmen people Ethnic groups in Turkmenistan Turkmen tribes

Etymology

History

Art and culture

See also

References