Dehistan, or otherwise known as the ruins of Mashat-Misserian, were first seen in 1830 by Lieutenant Arthur Conolly, an officer of the British East India Company. He was traveling from India to Moscow via the Caucasus and Iran, bypassing the Caspian Sea to the south, and with a caravan heading toward the Karakum Desert. Conolly did not reach his goal, but the young commander discovered the ancient, unknown city. The first information about Mashat-Misserian, along with the folk legends related to the city, are attributed to Conolly.

In the following forty years, only a few people left records about the ruins of the city, but they were brief and superficial. It wasn't until 1875, when Lieutenant Shetihin from Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashi) took photographs of the ruins and published them in the "Vsemirnaya Illiustratsiya" journal along with an artistic article, that the city began to attract significant interest.

The first photographs of Mashat-Misserian were taken by Alexander Komarov, the head of the Zakaspian region, who became famous for his works on Turkmenistan's archaeology, ethnography, and nature. Another set of photographs was taken at the beginning of the 20th century by Lieutenant Colonel Boris Kastalskiy, who later became a general and one of the renowned researchers of the history and archaeology of Central Asia.

The variety of drawings, photographs, and publications provides hope that modern restorers will be able to restore the ancient monuments in Dehistan to a high standard.

The importance of these testimonies is illustrated by a simple example. Lieutenant Shetihin, unable to read the Arabic inscription on a stone at the mosque ruins in 1875, mistakenly assumed it was a palace door. However, the inscription on the well-preserved part of the building turned out to be a rare historical document that helps determine who, when, and why the building was constructed. Later, the academic Alexander Semyonov in the early 20th century read the inscription and translated it into Russian. This led to the conclusion that the mosque was built during the reign of Khorezm Shah Muhammad II, in the years 1200-1220, when the capital of Khorezm was the ancient Gurganj.

Outstanding scholars of the 20th century, such as Vasily Bartold, Alexander Semyonov, and Mikhail Masson, have tirelessly worked to begin the study of the region's history.

The lands of Dehistan served people for about three thousand years, although this period was not continuous. The cultivated fields were abandoned, and over the centuries, there were periods of regeneration.

In the middle of the last century, archaeologist Vadim Masson identified three historical periods in the Dehistan oasis. The first is related to the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC) and lasts until the end of antiquity, up to the collapse of the Parthian state.

The second period is connected to the Sassanian Empire and spans the 3rd to 7th centuries AD. During this time, various nomadic tribes, including the ancient Turks, began to penetrate Dehistan. The remains of their settlements, now mounds, can still be seen today in the flat expanse of Mashat-Misserian.

The third period — up to the 14th century — left the most significant traces. The ruins from this time indicate the densely populated nature of the region.

Through Dehistan passed the caravan route from Khorezm to Persia, which in ancient times followed one of the branches of the Amu Darya River, which flows into the Caspian Sea.