khanate · Caucasus
Baku Khanate
Origins
After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747, Mirza Muhammad Khan I, of a local family of governors, made Baku and the Absheron peninsula an independent khanate within the walls of the old Shirvanshah city. The town, with its Maiden Tower and palace, was small but well fortified and had a busy harbour.
Rule and society
The khans controlled Baku's harbour and the oil wells and salt pans of Absheron, whose products were exported across the Caspian to Persia and Russia; oil revenues were a key source of income. The khanate was too small to stand alone and between 1768 and 1789 depended on Fatali Khan of the Quba Khanate.
Decline and legacy
In 1806 the Russian commander Pavel Tsitsianov was killed at the gates of Baku while accepting its surrender from Huseyngulu Khan. Russian troops occupied the city later that year, and the Russian Empire annexed the khanate, laying the ground for Baku's later oil boom.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Baku Khanate was a vassal of Quba Khanate1768 CE – 1789 CE
- Baku Khanate was conquered by Russian Empire1806 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Baku Khanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/baku-khanate
- MLA
- “Baku Khanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/baku-khanate. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Baku Khanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/baku-khanate.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Baku Khanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/baku-khanate (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻