British Lieutenant Colonel H.C. Stuart reported in 1881 that the Ahal branch of the Teke tribe of the Turkmen ethnic group arrived in the area around 1830 and established several semi-nomadic villages ("auls") between what are now the city of Serdar and village of Gäwers, inclusive. One of these villages was named Askhabad. The first written reference to Ashgabat dates to 1850, in a document kept in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives listing 43 Ahal fortresses, "Ishkhabad" among them. It was described as a "typical Turkmen "aul"".