MAJOR CITIES IN THE WORLD THROUGHOUT HISTORY
Added on: 17th Jul 2016
AYUTTHAYA
For more than four centuries the island of Ayutthaya was
considered the most beautiful city in the world by diplomats
who travelled there. Today it may only be a small touristic
site but in 1700 it was the world’s most populous city
with more than one million people.
BEIJING
Beijing has always been a huge city with millions of
residents and an incredible influence throughout China.
With a population of 22 million today, it is one of the
largest cities in the world, capital of China, and a global centre
of trade and business. Around 1500 it became the world’s
biggest city with more than a million people thanks to
its wealth and food resources.
KAIFENG
Kaifeng is known as one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China
under the short name Bian. For centuries, because of its
central location on four major canals, Kaifeng was the
capital for a huge swath of China and in AD 1200 it became
the largest city in the world with over a million people.
BAGHDAD
Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq, as well as the
coterminous Baghdad Province. As of last year the population
is approximately 7.5 million, making it the largest city in Iraq,
the second-largest in the Arab world (after Cairo), and the
second-largest in Western Asia (after Tehran). In the year
900, Baghdad was the centre of the Golden Age of Islam
and became the biggest city in the world with a population
of nearly one million living within its borders.
CONSTANTINOPLE
The city known today as Istanbul in Turkey was founded by
Greek colonists from Megara in 657 BC and was originally
named Byzantion after King Byzas of Megara. Eventually,
Byzantion was renamed Constantinople (after Constantine
the Great) and became the largest, richest, and most
powerful city in the world and capital of the Byzantine Empire.
It is also where Greek Orthodox Christianity originated.
ROME
Arguably the most famous empire in history, Rome became the
symbol of absolute power and dominance for centuries.
By AD 200 the city had reached the incredible size of 1.2 million
citizens through importing food from most of Europe and the
Mediterranean and taxing the individuals of its vast empire.
Of course, it proved an unsustainable position. By AD 273,
Rome had less than 500,000 inhabitants and the
“Dark Ages” could be seen looming on the horizon.
CARTHAGE
Originally a small port on the coast of northern Africa
(in modern-day Tunisia) established as a stop for
Phoenician traders to resupply or repair their ships,
Carthage grew to become the most powerful city in the
Mediterranean before the rise of Rome. At the time of its
glory around 300 BC it was the largest city in the world
with a population of over half a million people.
BABYLON
Babylon is the most famous city of ancient Mesopotamia.
Its ruins lie in modern Iraq fifty-nine miles (ninety-four kilometres)
southwest of Baghdad. The city owes its fame (or infamy) to
the many Biblical references and also to the fact that in
700 BC it was the largest city in the world with more
than 100,000 residents.
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