RUSSIAN EMPIRE ARCHIVE’S WRITTEN SOURCES ON THE MEDIEVAL HISTORICAL-ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF GANJA CITY

The main aim of the scientific paper is the investigation of the different archival materials, their great importance in the study of the historical past, and the rich architectural heritage of Azerbaijan. Especially, the various archives of the Russian Empire have precise information about the history of this country. One such archive is the Russian State Military History Archive (RSMHA). The documents of the archive are important historical sources in the study of the material culture and architectural past of Azerbaijan during the period of the Ganja Khanate. For the first time, various written documents such as these archival sources have been investigated as important sources in the study of the historic-cultural and architectural heritage of Ganja city. Information about fortress walls, palaces, caravanserais, baths, houses, bridges, and other buildings of Azerbaijani cities is preserved in the archive. There are many documents in the archive about the history of the Ganja Khanate. The official military documents of the former Russian Empire contain detailed historical information about the economy, culture, demography, and political history of the city of Ganja and the Khanate. The materials in the funds of different archives, together with other sources of the researched period, allow us to objectively illuminate the study of the history, as well as the cultural heritage of the Ganja Khanate and this ancient city. In addition, individual written documents, including maps and images of various architectural monuments of the investigated historical period, contain unique information that contributes to a more in-depth study of the cultural life, economic situation, and, of course, the architectural and construction heritage of the city and the Ganja Khanate as a whole. Thanks to the above-mentioned documents, the study acquired applied significance with the content of historical facts that were little known until now.