Niyazabad

Niyazabad was a port of Shirvan on the western Caspian, between Baku and Derbent. Ships and caravans connected it with the inland markets of Shamakhi and with ports across the sea. It figured in the accounts of European travelers and diplomats who followed the Volga-Caspian route in search of trade with Persia.

During the Ottoman occupation of Shirvan in the late sixteenth century, vessels were built at Niyazabad for service on the Caspian. The port offered a route across the sea towards Central Asia at a time when Russian fortresses obstructed northern land approaches. Silk from Shirvan was among the commodities sought by merchants moving along these routes, joining the coastal town to a network stretching from Iran to Russia and beyond.