In the early years of our ancestors, humankind discovered that banding together in small groups made hunting, gathering, and caring for the vulnerable far easier. Above all, living in groups boosted survival odds, and as agriculture took hold, those groups swelled into settlements that could become true powerhouses. Today we’ll tour the ten legendary metropolises that once ruled the ancient world.
10 Cities Once: A Glimpse at Ancient Capitals
10. Venice Italy
During the fourth century A.D., as the Western Roman Empire crumbled, Europe fell into chaos. Germanic tribes, Huns, and other marauders pillaged towns of northeastern Italy. With no hills to retreat to, the Italians fled to the marshy islands off the Adriatic coast.
These islands offered a temporary refuge but were ill‑suited for permanent habitation. Fresh water was absent, yet the refugees discovered that boiling seawater produced drinkable water and salt – the latter dubbed “Edible Gold” – a vital lifeline for the fledgling colony.
Realizing the islands were safer than the war‑torn mainland, they faced another problem: the soggy mud and sand could not support sizable structures. The first Venetians drove hundreds of wooden piles deep into the ground, creating a solid foundation for homes, businesses, and palaces.
Island life proved perfect for the Venetians, who quickly became master seafarers and shipbuilders. Powered by the lucrative salt trade, Venice blossomed into a Mediterranean trade hub and the wealthiest city in Western Europe – especially after its famed sack of Constantinople.
9. Palembang Indonesia
Like Venice, Palembang on Sumatra thrived thanks to a prime trading spot. The Indian Ocean Trade linked Africa to China via the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, dwarfing the overland Silk Road in scale. Unlike European commerce, prices were set by merchants themselves, and apart from occasional piracy, trade sailed peacefully without armed escorts.
This environment birthed the Srivijaya empire (7th–13th century). Controlling the Strait of Malacca, the empire flourished, and Palembang, its capital, lay close to the vital waterway. Early on, the city absorbed Indian culture and religion; later, Islam spread as Muslim traders frequented the strait.
After Srivijaya’s decline, Palembang fell under Majapahit rule, later managed by Chinese merchants until the 16th century, and eventually became the seat of the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate. Today, Southeast Asia houses 62 percent of the world’s Muslim population – a legacy of the Indian Ocean Trade and Palembang’s strategic position.
8. Eridu Iraq
The ancient Sumerians hailed Eridu – the “Home of the Gods” – as humanity’s first city. Founded around 5400 B.C. on the fertile banks of the Euphrates in southeastern Iraq, Eridu now lies in windswept desert ruins.
Eridu appears in the Eridu Genesis (c. 2300 B.C.), which tells of Tagtug the Weaver, punished by the god Enki for eating forbidden fruit, and of Utnapishtim, who built a massive boat to preserve the “Seed of Life” against a cataclysmic flood. Archaeologists have uncovered a 2.5‑meter layer of silt dating to 2800 B.C. around the city.
The great Ziggurat of Amar‑Sin at Eridu’s core is often linked to the biblical Tower of Babel. Historian Berossus seemed to describe Eridu when writing about Babylon. For reasons still debated, the city was abandoned around 600 B.C., yet many scholars think Eridu served as a prototype for later civilizations.
7. Thebes Egypt
Ancient Egypt never ceases to awe historians and casual readers alike. Its civilization produced countless artifacts now displayed worldwide. Nestled along the Nile in northeastern Africa, the Egyptians reached cultural and economic zeniths while mammoths still roamed the Earth.
The Egyptians were a formidable social and economic force. Though governments and religions shifted over time, Thebes remained the cultural heart. This city, home to both the living and the dead, dazzles with temples and monuments honoring the sun god Amon. Known today as Luxor, Thebes served as Egypt’s ancient capital, adjacent to the famed Valley of the Kings and the imposing Karnak Temple complex. While some debate its primacy among Egyptian capitals, Thebes undeniably housed both sacred and secular institutions, leaving a lasting imprint on Egyptian history.
6. Karakorum Mongolia
The Mongols, a once‑mighty nomadic people, forged an empire unlike any other in East Asia. Riding herds of horses, they lived in yurts and traversed the continent from the comfort of their saddles. By age three, Mongol children were already riding and shooting bows.
After Genghis Khan united the tribes and created the largest land empire in history, he ordered the construction of Karakorum in A.D. 1220 as his main base. Initially, the capital comprised yurts and wooden houses, its location near the Orkhon River (360 km southwest of modern Ulaanbaatar) being more crucial than its design. Situated on the Silk Road, Karakorum offered security and a sacred site, as the Orkhon Valley held spiritual significance for locals.
By the 1230s, after Genghis’s death and his son Ögedei’s rise, Karakorum expanded beyond simple tents. Ögedei erected a wall and a palace surrounded by 64 wooden columns. Franciscan William of Rubruck described the city as a modest settlement of about 10,000 inhabitants, yet a vital hub for trade and craft. Artisans from across the empire were summoned, and Rubruck noted twelve temples—Shamanistic, Confucian, and Buddhist—alongside two mosques and a Christian church.
When Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan Dynasty and Genghis’s grandson, shifted the empire’s capital to Khanbaliq (now Beijing) in A.D. 1267, Karakorum’s influence waned, ultimately being destroyed by the Chinese in A.D. 1388.
5. Great Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
Africa, the cradle of humanity, still harbors many mysteries. Deep in the heart of present‑day Zimbabwe, about 550 km from the eastern coast, archaeologists uncovered an immense stone complex. Early explorers mistakenly credited Muslims, Persians, Indians, or even Chinese with its construction, assuming native Africans couldn’t have built it.
Recent research points to the Shona people as the architects. Around A.D. 1100, the Shona erected Great Zimbabwe, which served as the kingdom’s capital for four centuries. The very name “Zimbabwe” derives from a term meaning “stone houses,” showing the country took its name from the site, not vice‑versa.
Modern finds, such as a copper Muslim coin, link Great Zimbabwe to the Indian Ocean Trade. The city likely thrived on resources like wood, ivory, gold, and rhino horns, shipped down the Limpopo and Save rivers to the coast, then onward to Arabia, India, or China.
At its peak, over 25,000 people inhabited the ruins, but it was later abandoned. Scholars debate the cause—famine, political unrest, or depleted gold mines—but Great Zimbabwe endures as a testament to Africa’s hidden historical treasures.
4. Hattusa Turkey
In the era of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the Hittite empire reached its zenith. While Troy endured Agamemnon’s siege, Hattusa, the Hittite capital, buzzed with trade and travelers from distant lands.
Hattusa was inhabited by the local Hatti people as early as 2400 B.C. After the Hatti were defeated, King Hattusili rebuilt the city, making it the empire’s capital in 1700 B.C. Over centuries, Hattusa clashed with the Mittanians, Assyrians, and Egyptians. Around 1274 B.C., after the famous Battle of Kadesh, King Muwatalli II and Pharaoh Ramses II signed a peace treaty on clay tablets, a landmark accord now displayed at the UN headquarters.
In the 12th century B.C., Phrygians sacked and burned Hattusa. It wasn’t until between the 7th and 9th centuries A.D. that the site saw any restoration, but the city never regained its former glory.
3. Chan Chan Peru
Chan Chan served as the capital of the Chimu kingdom, which dominated northern Peru. It was the largest pre‑Columbian city in the Americas, constructed almost entirely of adobe bricks. Its origins trace back to A.D. 850, lasting until A.D. 1470 when the Inca conquered the Chimu capital.
Located in one of the planet’s harshest deserts, Chan Chan’s central plaza featured nine walled citadels, each boasting its own temples, palaces, gardens, cemeteries, and water reservoirs. The city’s residential area spanned 20 square kilometers, with each citadel functioning as a self‑contained community.
Confident in their military superiority, the Chimu prepared for battle against the Inca, a clash that never materialized. Over time, inhabitants migrated to the Incan capital of Cuzco, leaving Chan Chan deserted. When the Spanish arrived, they discovered treasures such as a silver‑covered doorway now valued at over $2 million, and they established mining enterprises to strip the site of its riches. Today, erosion threatens the adobe structures, putting the historic city at risk of disappearing.
2. Xi’an China
As one of six ancient Chinese capitals, Xi’an stands out for hosting the Han and Qin dynasties. Emperor Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin Dynasty, curated the famed terracotta warriors.
Ancient China’s closed society fostered rapid development, yet eventually contributed to its decline. While much of the world languished in squalor, China pioneered philosophy, science, and technology—introducing paper, gunpowder, currency, and many other innovations we now take for granted.
The Silk Road, named after China’s invention of silk, linked East to West and sparked Xi’an’s rise. Caravans set out from the city laden with goods, ideas, and technologies that elevated global standards of living. By the eighth century, Xi’an’s population hit a world‑record two million citizens.
1. Pataliputra India
When Alexander the Great pushed his empire from Greece to modern‑day India, he inspired the Indian prince Chandragupta to forge his own empire. Chandragupta suppressed local tribes, expanding his realm to cover most of present‑day India, Pakistan, and eastern Afghanistan. He expelled the remaining Greeks and founded the Mauryan empire in 326 B.C., selecting Pataliputra as its capital.
Travelers and ambassadors—Greek and Chinese—described Pataliputra as a lavish, crime‑free city where Hindus and Buddhists coexisted peacefully. Hospitals treated everyone, even the poorest. Early structures were wooden, but under Emperor Ashoka (273–232 B.C.) stone buildings emerged. Ashoka banned sport hunting and introduced animal hospitals, cementing the city’s reputation as a cultural hotspot comparable to Rome and Xi’an.
Today, Pataliputra’s legacy endures as a testament to Indian ingenuity and influence, echoing the grandeur of ancient capitals that once ruled the world.