BAKU, or Badku, the chief town of the government of the same name, in the Russian province of Transcaucasia (Daghestan), situated in the peninsula of Apsheron, on the west coast of the Caspian, and possessing one of the most spacious and convenient ports in that sea. Long. 49° 53' E., lat. 40° 23' N. It is built in the form of an obtuse triangle, on the slope of an arid hill, and is defended by a double wall and ditch constructed during the reign of Peter the Great. The general appearance of the town is decidedly Oriental, with its flat-roofed ho ιses rising one behind the other, often in so close proximity that the top of the one forms the courtyard of the next. The hill is crowned by a castle, which dates from the 15th century, and the mosque of Shah-Abbas, still in good preservation. At the entrance of the harbour stands the Maiden’s Tower, now used as a lighthouse, which derives its name from a tragedy like that of the Cenci. Baku is not only a principal station of the Russian fleet, but it carries on a very extensive trade, exporting naphtha, iron, linen, and woollen goods, and receiving in return cotton, grain, fruits, &c. The numerous naphtha wells in the neighbourhood, and the remarkable escape of inflammable gases, rendered Baku a favourite resort of the fire-worshippers, who for long maintained their temples in the district ' r but, though the natural phenomena display themselves as abundantly as ever, they are now almost entirely deserted by devotees. The Arabian Masudi, in the 10th century, is supposed to be the first to mention “Baki” and its fire-breathing mountain; and the naphtha wells are probably those alluded to by Marco Polo. In 1509 it was taken by the Persians, who lost it to the Turks, but recovered it under Shah-Abbas. Captured by the ...