The city served as the ruling center of the Ganja Beylerbey under the Safavids in the 1700s and the capital of the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918. Ganja handed the baton over to Baku in the 20th century, however, given the importance of the oil industry. The city, which is divided by the River Ganja, was called Elizavetpol under the Russian Empire and Kirovabad during the Soviet period.