Timeline: Turkmenistan

A chronology of key events

6th century BC - Area of what is now Turkmenistan forms part of the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great.

Showpiece buildings dominate Ashgabat's skyline Founded in 1881 as Russian military outpost Largely destroyed in 1948 earthquake Population: 605,000 2002: Turkmenistan's gilded poverty

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

7th century AD - Arabs conquer Central Asia, including Turkmenistan, and introduce Islam.

10th-13th centuries - Nomadic Oghuz Seljuk tribes - the ancestors of present-day Turkmens - and Mongol immigrate from northeast; Genghis Khan conquers the region, including Turkmenistan.

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

Russian rule

1881 - Area of present-day Turkmenistan incorporated into Russian Turkestan after Battle of Gok Tepe.

1916 - Turkmens join other Central Asians in violently opposing Russian decree conscripting them for non-combatant duties.

Independence day parade: Living standards dropped in the post-Soviet years

1918-21 - Turkmens fight against Bolshevik forces during Russian civil war.

1921 - Turkmenistan forms part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR).

1925 - Turkmenistan becomes a fully-fledged constituent republic of the USSR.

1920s and 1930s - Sporadic armed resistance and popular uprisings in response to Soviet programme of agricultural collectivisation and secularisation.

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

1960-67 - Turkmen cotton production expands dramatically following the completion of the Lenin Kara-Kum Canal.

1985 - Saparmyrat Niyazov assumes leadership of the Turkmen Communist Party, replacing Muhammad Gapusov, who had held the post since 1971.

1989 - Turkmen intellectuals set up Agzybirlik people's front, which is banned by the Turkmen Communist Party the following year.

Independence

1990 - Turkmen legislature, or Supreme Soviet, declares economic and political sovereignty and elects Saparmyrat Niyazov as its chairman, making him in effect state president.

Niyazov's book, the Ruhnama, is required reading in schools 2005: Turkmen book 'blasted into space' 2002: Turkmen live by leader's book

1991 - Saparmyrat Niyazov supports attempted coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but declares independence just before the collapse of the USSR; joins Commonwealth of Independent States.

1992 - Turkmenistan adopts a new constitution making the president head of government as well as head of state and giving him the option to appoint a prime minister at any time; President Niyazov re-elected in direct popular ballot in which he stood unopposed.

1993 - Turkmenistan introduces the manat as its national currency, begins programme of cautious economic reform and encourages foreign investment in its oil and gas reserves.

1994 - Referendum approves extending President Niyazov's term until 2002 without the need for an election.

1997 - Turkmenistan legalises private ownership of land.

1998 - Natural-gas pipeline to Iran opens.

President for life

1999 - Parliament votes Saparmyrat Niyazov president for life. Death penalty abolished.

2000 - President Niyazov announces that he will step down by 2010, after reaching the age of 70.

2004 parliamentary poll: There were no opposition candidates 2004: Turkmenistan poll turnout 'low'

2000 - President Niyazov announces plans for a 2,000 sq km artificial lake, to be built in the Karakum desert. The lake would aim to guarantee water supplies, but scientists warn the plan could wreck the local environment.

2002 August - President Niyazov renames the months of the year after himself, his mother and his spiritual guide, the Ruhnama.

2002 November - President Niyazov unhurt as his motorcade comes under fire in capital. Authorities blame "mercenaries" acting for exiled opposition leaders who in turn accuse Niyazov of staging incident as excuse to crack down.

Opposition activist and former foreign minister Boris Shikhmuradov is soon arrested, accused of being mastermind and sentenced to life imprisonment. More than 40 others convicted and jailed.

2003 April - President Niyazov visits Moscow. Agreement signed with Russian Gazprom under which Russia will buy 60bn cubic metres of Turkmen gas annually.

President Niyazov decree cancels 1993 dual citizenship agreement with Russia, sparking diplomatic row with Moscow.

Ashgabat trade centre's Fountain Monument

2004 August - President Niyazov orders the construction of a giant ice palace in the desert.

2004 November - Turkmen and Uzbek presidents sign friendship declaration, agreement on water resources.

2005 February - President Niyazov undergoes eye operation. Suggests closing hospitals other than those in capital.

2005 May - Deputy Prime Minister Elly Kurbanmuradov, a senior figure in charge of the energy sector, is sacked. He is subsequently jailed for 25 years on charges which include corruption.

2005 July - Rejep Saparov sacked as head of presidential administration and sentenced to 20 years in jail for corruption.

Energy deals

2006 January - President Niyazov orders substantial cuts to state pensions saying he wants to "bring order" to the system.

The late President Niyazov tolerated no dissent Obituary: Saparmurat Niyazov Turkmenistan mourns late leader In pictures: Niyazov's cult

2006 April - Agreement signed with Beijing on building pipeline to supply Turkmen gas to China.

2006 September - Russia's Gazprom agrees to pay 54% more for supplies of Turkmen gas.

Radio Liberty journalist and human rights activist Ogulsapar Muradova dies in prison. Her family reports suspicions as to the cause of death but the authorities insist that it was from natural causes.

President dies

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

2007 14 February - Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is declared the winner of presidential elections.

2007 July - Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan agree to build new pipeline north of the Caspian Sea which will ensure Russian access to Turkmen gas.

2008 January - Turkmenistan cuts gas supplies to Iran, blaming a technical fault and Iran's failure to pay for supplies. Iran reacts angrily, saying its neighbour wants to double the price.

2008 April - Turkmenistan reverts to old calendar with Turkic and Russian names as President Berdymukhamedov abolishes the names of days and months introduced by his predecessor.

2008 May - President orders removal of rotating gold statue of his predecessor at Ashgabat.

New constitution

2008 September - People's Council approves new constitution that replaced it with larger, directly-elected parliament and promise of multi-party system.

2008 December - First elections held under new constitution, still dominated by pro-government candidates.

2009 April - Turkmenistan accuses Russia of causing explosion on main gas pipeline by suddenly cutting imports. Russia denies the allegation.