central Asia... not far from the original cradle of civilization. Important city in the Muslim world. For a time it was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. And it was a center for scholarship, worship and other things- but in the 12th century when it is said to have been the largest city in the world this was probably due mostly to it's place on the Silk Road.
I think you added some cities to this? I think the dates might extend back farther than they used to. Still no Akkad, Anyang or Uruk. This is much easier for me than the sports quizzes.
I still find it very interesting how it took almost 2000 years for a city to get well past 1 million people after Alexandria, despite the global population growing substantially during this time.
Well, Rome had about 1.2 million people as it surpassed Alexandria, unless you mean for a city to get into the multi-million people range. But even as the population of the world increased greatly, all civilizations remained predominantly agrarian, and the means didn't quite exist to support huge populations in the relatively small space of a city. It seems that around 1 million people was the sustainable spot until the late 1700s/early 1800s when the Industrial Revolution hit and changed everything.
Eastern capital of the Seljuk Empire at the time of its peak. Its prominence and status as a major city basically ended after it was destroyed by the Mongols in the early 13th century.
Oldest Cities by Country
But this may be the single most appropriate place to do so, the subject matter is so similar. And not everyone cares about ancient geography.
:::BOING!!!:::
Yaaaaaah!!!