MAJOR CITIES IN THE WORLD THROUGHOUT HISTORY

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.