Shemakha Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, with its administrative center in Shemakha (

Shamakhi Shamakhi (, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving its name to th ...

). Following the earthquake of 1859, the capital was transferred and the province became known as the

Baku Governorate The Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea p ...

History

The governorate was formed by the imperial decree of Tsar Nicholas I on , whereby the Caucasus Viceroyalty was divided into four governorates: Shemakha,

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

and

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

. Following the catastrophic 1859 Shamakhi earthquake, the capital of the governorate was transferred from Shemakha to the fast-growing city of

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, for-which the governorate's name was changed accordingly.

Administrative divisions

Shemakha Governorate consisted of five counties (''

uezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the ...

s''). According to the IX Census of Russia in 1851, the population of the governorate consisted of 319,923 men and 283,083 women, in total 603,006 people. Data on the total population were provided by the Transcaucasian Office of the Imperial Ministry of Finance. It was not possible to determine the exact number of women in each ''uezd'':

Governor-generals

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Alexander Yevstasyevich von Wrangel (1846–1850) * Sergei Gavrilovich Chilyaev (1850–1857) * Konstantin Davidovich Tarkhan-Mouravov (1857–1859)

Notes

References

. Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917) Governorates of the Caucasus History of Baku Modern history of Azerbaijan 19th century in Azerbaijan States and territories established in 1846 States and territories disestablished in 1917 1846 establishments in the Russian Empire 1917 disestablishments in Russia 1846 establishments in Asia 1917 disestablishments in Asia {{coord, 40, 37, 49, N, 48, 38, 29, E, display=title