Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı; Cyrillic Бакы), sometimes known as Baky or Baki, is the capital and the largest city of Azerbaijan. It is located on the southern shore of the Apsheron Peninsula, at 40°23′N 49°52′E. Modern Baku consists of three parts: the Old Town (İçəri Şəhər), the boomtown and the Soviet-built town. Population (January 1, 2003 census): 2,074,300. About 3 million people live in metropolitan area (due to large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons).

The layout of the oil-rich city is rectangular, only in the oldest part of the city within the fortress walls the streets are crooked and narrow. The boomtown, south of the old city, was built after massive petroleum exploitation began nearly a century ago and has interesting beaux-arts architecture. Fine arts, history and literature museums are located there, all housed in the mansions of pre-Revolutionary millionaires.

Modern Baku spreads out from the city walls, its streets and buildings rising up hills that rim the Bay of Baku. Greater Baku is divided into 11 districts (Azizbayov, Binagadi, Garadagh, Narimanov, Nasimi, Nizami, Sabail, Sabunchu, Khatai, Surakhany and Yasamal) and 48 townships. Among these are townships on islands in the bay and one island town built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 50-100 km from Baku proper (the so-called Oil Rocks).

The history of Baku dates back to 1st millennium BC. The first written reference to Baku dates from 885.

The city became important after an earthquake destroyed Shemakha and in the 12th century, ruling Shirvanshah Ahsitan I made Baku the new capital. In 1501 shah Ismail I Safavi laid a siege to Baku. At this time the city was however enclosed with the lines of strong walls, which were washed by sea on one side and protected by a wide trench on land. In 1540 Baku was again captured by the Safavid troops. In 1604 the Baku fortress was destroyed by Iranian shah Abbas I.

Coat of arms of the Baku governorate.

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Coat of arms of the Baku governorate.

On June 26, 1723 after a lasting siege and firing from the cannons Baku surrendered to the Russians. According to Peter’s the Great decree the soldiers of two regiments (2,382 people) were left in the Baku garrison under the command of Prince Baryatyanski, the commandant of the city. In 1795 Baku was invaded and destroyed by Aga Muhammad khan Kajar and the tsarist Russia began maintaining a policy of subduing Azerbaijan to itself. In the spring of 1796 by Yekaterina II’s order General Zubov’s troops started a large campaign in Transcaucasia. Baku surrendered after the first demand of Zubov who had sent 6,000 militants to capture the city. On June 13, 1796 the Russian flotilla entered the Baku bay and a garrison of the Russian troops was placed in the city. General Pavel Tsitsianov was appointed the Baku's commandant. Later however Pavel I ordered to cease the campaign and withdraw the Russian forces back. In March, 1797 the tsarist troops left Baku but a new tsar, Alexander I began to show a special interest in capturing Baku. In 1803 Tsitsianov reached an agreement with the Baku khan to compromise, but the agreement was soon annulled. On February 8, 1806, after the city was surrendered, under the accompaniment of the retinue Huseyngulu khan left the city to present the city’s keys to Sisianov.

In 1813, Russia signed the Treaty of Gulistan with Persia, which provided for the cession of Baku and most of the Caucasus from Iran and their annexation by Russia.

Oil boom

Since 1873 an oil belt of Baku began to be formed which was known as a Black City. Within a short period of time departments and representations of Swiss, English, French, Belgian, German and American firms were established in Baku, among them were the firms of the Nobels and Rothschilds. By the beginning of the 20th century almost half of the oil reserves in the world had been extracted in Baku.

World War II

Baku was the cradle of the Soviet oil industry, and as such, the major supplier of oil and oil products. In 1940 22,2 million tons of oil were extracted which comprised nearly 72% of all the oil extracted in the entire USSR. During the Soviet-German War ten defense zones were built around the city to prevent possible German invasion. Taking into consideration the growing demand for oil, the Baku workers reached the record level of oil extraction in 1941 – 23,482 million tons. Never before such amount of oil had been extracted and up to now, this record has not been surpassed yet.

In the summer of 1942, the threat of attack became so strong that the Soviet authorities decided to terminate drilling operations to evacuate the most valuable machinery and equipment further East.

Historical city core

The centre of Baku is the old town, which is also a fortress. In December 2000, the Inner City of Baku with the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower became the first location in Azerbaijan classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Most of the walls and towers, strengthened after the Russian conquest in 1806, survived. This section is picturesque, with its maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings. Wander the cobbled streets past the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, two caravansaraies (ancient inns), the Maiden Tower (nice view of the harbor), the baths and the Djuma Mosque (it used to house the Carpet and Applied Arts Museum, but now is a mosque again; the carpets got moved to the former Lenin museum). The old town also has dozens of small mosques, often without any particular sign to distinguish them from the next building.

In 2003, UNESCO placed the Inner City on the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing damage from a November 2000 earthquake, poor conservation as well as "dubious" restoration efforts. The Martyrs' Cemetery, formerly the Kirov Park, is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives during the Nagorno-Karabakh War and also to the 137 people who were killed on Black January, 1990.

[Source: Wikipedia]