Niyazov was born on 19 February 1940 in Gypjak (or Kipchak), just outside Ashgabat in the Turkmen SSR. He was a member of the influential Teke tribe of the Turkmens. According to the official version of his biography, his father Atamyrat Niyazov died in World War II fighting against Nazi Germany, while other sources contend that he dodged fighting and was therefore sentenced by a military court. The other members of his family were killed in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake that caused extreme damage and a high number of casualties in the city. His mother Gurbansoltan Eje was part of the cult of personality later. He grew up in a Soviet orphanage before the state put him in the custody of a distant relative.