The Baku Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Baku. Area: 34,4000 sq. versts, population: 789,659. The only foreign border of the governorate was Persia to the south. Within the empire, it bordered the Elisabethpol Governorate and the Dagestan Oblast.
The governorate was originally established in 1846 as the Shamakhi Governorate, replacing what had been several military precincts. After the 1859 Shamakhi earthquake, the capital of the governorate was transferred from Shamakhi to Baku. On July 12, 1859, the governorate's name was changed accordingly. The coat of arms of the governorate was instituted on July 5, 1878. Initially, the Baku Governorate included Karabakh, Zangezur, and the former Shaki Khanate. These areas were separated in 1868 to create the Elisabethpol Governorate.
The governorate was preserved until the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, when it was split into the Baku Governorate and the Lankaran General-Governorate.