| Area Total Km2: | 7,540.79 |
| Established Date: | 1840 |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Extinct Date: | 1929 |
| Extinct Title: | Abolished |
| Mapsize: | 220px |
| Shemakha uezd | |
| Native Name: | Шемахинский уезд |
| Native Name Lang: | ru |
| Population As Of: | 1916 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Rural: | 82.82% |
| Population Total: | 161,552 |
| Population Urban: | 17.18% |
| Seat: | Shemakha (present-day Shamakhi) |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Settlement Type: | Uezd |
| Subdivision Name: | Russian Empire |
| Subdivision Name1: | Caucasus |
| Subdivision Name2: | Baku |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Viceroyalty |
| Subdivision Type2: | Governorate |
| Total Type: | Total |
The Shemakha uezd was a county (uezd) within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire, and then of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929. The county was located in the central part of the Baku Governorate, bordering the Javad uezd to the south, Baku uezd to the east, Geokchay uezd to the west and Kuba uezd to the north. The administrative centre of the county was the city of Shemakha (present-day Shamakhi).[1]
The prefectures of the Shemakha uezd in 1917 were as follows:
| Name | Administrative centre | 1912 population | Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdulyanskiy prefecture | Chernovodsk | 28,814 | 2055.28verst2 | |
| Kabristanskiy prefecture | Marazy (Gobustan) | 45,726 | 3121.22verst2 | |
| Koshunskiy prefecture | Shemakha (Shamakhi) | 53,734 | 1449.49verst2 |
The county was established in 1840 and was initially made part of the Caspian Oblast, and later became the capital of the Shemakha Governorate in 1846. But due to an earthquake in 1859, the city and most of the county suffered great damage. Subsequently, capital of the Shemakha Governorate was moved from Shemakha to Baku and the governorate was renamed Baku Governorate.[2]
According to the Russian Empire Census, the Shemakha uezd had a population of 121,842 on, including 64,732 men and 57,110 women. The majority of the population indicated Tatar to be their mother tongue, with significant Armenian, Russian, and Tat speaking minorities.[3]
| Tatar | 89,840 | 73.73 | |
| Armenian | 14,283 | 11.72 | |
| Russian | 11,275 | 9.25 | |
| Tat | 4,517 | 3.71 | |
| Jewish | 1,104 | 0.91 | |
| Persian | 149 | 0.12 | |
| Lithuanian | 143 | 0.12 | |
| Avar-Andean | 126 | 0.10 | |
| Polish | 101 | 0.08 | |
| Ukrainian | 86 | 0.07 | |
| Kyurin | 73 | 0.06 | |
| Kazi-Kumukh | 62 | 0.05 | |
| Georgian | 49 | 0.04 | |
| German | 13 | 0.01 | |
| Turkish | 9 | 0.01 | |
| Mordovian | 2 | 0.00 | |
| Belarusian | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Greek | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Other | 8 | 0.01 | |
| TOTAL | 121,842 | 100.00 |
|---|
According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Shemakha uezd had a population of 161,552 on, including 86,659 men and 74,893 women, 159,621 of whom were the permanent population, and 1,931 were temporary residents:
| Nationality | Urban | Rural | TOTAL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| Sunni Muslims | 8,605 | 31.01 | 68,569 | 51.25 | 77,174 | 47.77 | |
| Shia Muslims | 12,522 | 45.12 | 28,010 | 20.93 | 40,532 | 25.09 | |
| Armenians | 4,534 | 16.34 | 17,816 | 13.32 | 22,350 | 13.83 | |
| Russians | 1,737 | 6.26 | 17,656 | 13.20 | 19,393 | 12.00 | |
| Jews | 136 | 0.49 | 1,305 | 0.98 | 1,441 | 0.89 | |
| North Caucasians | 214 | 0.77 | 303 | 0.23 | 517 | 0.32 | |
| Asiatic Christians | 0 | 0.00 | 139 | 0.10 | 139 | 0.09 | |
| Other Europeans | 4 | 0.01 | 2 | 0.00 | 6 | 0.00 | |
| TOTAL | 27,752 | 100.00 | 133,800 | 100.00 | 161,552 | 100.00 | |
In 1926, the population of the county declined to 91,185.[4]