 Starting in 1905, there were attempts by the region's ethnic Armenians to separate the highland areas (commonly known as Mountainous Karabagh) from the rest of Elisabethpol.Another attempt to create an independent Armenian state in the region was the Republic of Mountainous Armenia in 1921.On the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, Elisabethpol Governorate was renamed Ganja Governorate.