If you’re looking for an up and coming Central Asian country, the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku may well be an ideal destination for you. In the last decade the giant, global oil companies have descended on this area West of the Caspian Sea and contributed massive amounts to the economy and the five star hotels and luxury poker tables are flourishing.
Azerbaijan Map
History
The name Baku is though to be derived from the old Persian name for the city which is Bad-kube – this means “wind-pounded city” and is an apt description of Baku. Strong winds are commonplace all year round but fiercest in winter. Other explanations for the name have been put forward – Baku is similar to the word for hill in Turkish and the Lak language (derived from the North Caucauses and what is now Dagestan).
By European standards, Baku is not especially old; the first records date from about 2000 years ago. Baku became the capital of this region from about the 12th century after the destruction of the former capital, Shamakhy, in an earthquake. Baku itself has something of a violent history, having been under siege several times in the 800 years or so since its naming as the capital.
Among the sieges over the centuries have been campaigns by Safavid Shah Ismail I in
Baku's Walled City
1501, Safavid again in 1540 and Safavid Shah Abbas I in 1604. Peter the Great, at the head of a Russian contingent, captured Baku in 1723 and in 1795 the Aga Mohammed Khan occupied Baku to defend against Tsarist Russia’s southwards ambitions. Then followed 20 years or so of Russian indecision as to whether they actually wanted Baku or not before they finally annexed Azerbaijan and much of the Caucausas from Iran in 1813.
Perhaps the Russians were aware of the presence of oil underneath Baku two hundred years ago but this was more of a strategic move in the upcoming battle for Central Asia between Tsarist Russia and the British Empire. The ‘Great Game’ was about to begin.
Part Two follows……