Shemakha Governorate[a] was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its administrative center in Shemakha (Shamakhi). Following the earthquake of 1859, the capital was transferred and the province became known as the Baku Governorate.

Shemakha Governorate
Шемахинская губерния
Coat of arms of Shemakha Governorate
Map of the Shemakha Governorate (1846–1859)
Map of the Shemakha Governorate (1846–1859)
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
Established1846
Abolished1859
CapitalShemakha
(present-day Shamakhi)
Area
 • Total
57,444 km2 (22,179 sq mi)
Highest elevation4,466 m (14,652 ft)
Population
 (1851)
 • Total
603,006
 • Density10/km2 (27/sq mi)
Preceded byCaspian Oblast
Succeeded byBaku Governorate

History

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The governorate was formed by the imperial decree of Tsar Nicholas I on 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1846, whereby the Caucasus Viceroyalty was divided into four governorates: Shemakha, Tiflis, Kutaisi and Derbent.[1]

Following the catastrophic 1859 Shamakhi earthquake, the capital of the governorate was transferred from Shemakha to the fast-growing city of Baku, for-which the governorate's name was changed accordingly.[1][2]

Administrative divisions

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Shemakha Governorate consisted of five counties (uezds). 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.[3] 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:[citation needed]

District Russian name Male population
Baku Бакинскій уѣздъ 22,380
Shemakha Шемахинскій уѣздъ 82,989
Lenkoran Ленкоранскій уѣздъ 43,198
Nukha Нухинскій уѣздъ 65,952
Shusha Шушинскій уѣздъ 105,404

Governor-generals

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Notes

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  1. ^

References

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  1. ^ a b "Азербайджанские земли в составе Российской империи" (in Russian). Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  2. ^ Мильман, Арон Шмульевич (1966). Политический строй Азербайджана в XIX-начале XX веков: административный аппарат и суд, формы и методы колониального управления (in Russian). Азербайджанское гос. изд-во. p. 156.
  3. ^ Keppen, Peter (1857). "Шемахинская губернiя" [Shemakha Governorate]. Изслѣдованiе о числѣ жителей въ Россiи въ 1851 году [Study on the number of inhabitants in Russia in 1851] (in Russian). Vol. 62. Saint Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences. p. 154.

40°37′49″N 48°38′29″E / 40.63028°N 48.64139°E / 40.63028; 48.64139