Baku

Baku
Baku or Baky, capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, on the Abşeron Peninsula in the southeastern part of the country. A port on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, the city is close to major petroleum fields near the border with Iran, and oil refining is its chief industry. Pipelines carry oil products to Bat’umi, Georgia, on the Black Sea. Baku also has shipyards and factories producing metal cable and cotton, leather, and food products.

The old quarter (9th century) of Baku contains the large fortress of Icheri-Shekher (with narrow streets, mosques, and a minaret dating from 1078) and the khan's palace (17th century, now a museum). A subway system was opened in the city in 1967. Baku is the site of Baku State University (1919), an opera house, and several theaters and museums.

Petroleum was extracted in the Baku region as early as the 8th century. In the 12th century the city became the seat of the Shirvan khans. Baku was under Persian rule from 1509 until 1723, when it was captured by the Russians; it was returned to Persia in 1735. In 1806 the city was again incorporated into Russia, and by the late 19th century it had begun its rapid economic growth. From 1918 to 1920 Baku was the capital of an anti-Bolshevik regime. After the Soviet victory over the republic, the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was declared in 1922, with Baku as its capital. Baku served as the capital of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1920 to 1922 and from 1936 to 1991. In 1991 Azerbaijan became an independent republic. In 1994 Baku was the scene of terrorist attacks and large demonstrations against the government. Population (1999 estimate) 1,708,000.