The origins of the Turkmen may be traced back to the Oghuz confederation of nomadic pastoral tribes of the early Middle Ages, which lived in present-day Mongolia and around Lake Baikal in present-day southern Siberia.

Known as the Nine Oghuz, this confederation is composed of Turkic-speaking peoples who formed the basis of powerful steppe empires in Inner Asia.

In the second half of the eighth century, components of the Nine Oghuz migrate through Dzungaria into Central Asia, and Arabic sources locate them under the term Guzz in the area of the middle and lower Syr Darya in the eighth century.