What is "trans-caspia"

Trans-Caspia is an old name for the region lying to the east of the Caspian Sea. It can mean either Turkmenistan in particular or Central Asia in general. It was used by the nineteenth century Russians because their main forces were in the Caucasus and they approached the area by crossing the Caspian Sea. After the conquest of Turkmenistan they established a Transcaspian Oblast.

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 the British sent the Malleson Mission (1918-1919) to Trans-Caspia.