The Start of Influential Cities in the History of Western Civilization

10,000 BCE

Damascus, Syria

Legend has it that on a journey from Mecca, the Prophet Mohammed cast his gaze on Damascus. But he refused to enter the city because he wanted to enter paradise only once, and that was when he did when he died.
5400 BCE

Eridu

Eridu is an ancient Sumerian city in what is now Iraq. It was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still believed to be the oldest city in the world. It was established by fishermen, peasants, and nomads, birthing the first major settlement in human history.
3800 BCE

Ur

Ur was a city in Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia. According to biblical tradition, Ur was named after the man who founded the first settlement there, though this has been disputed. The city’s other biblical link is to the patriarch Abraham, who left Ur to settle in Canaan. Whatever its biblical connections may have been, Ur was a significant port city on the Persian Gulf which began, most likely, as a small village in the Ubaid Period of Mesopotamian history.
3000 BCE

Olympia, Greece

In western Peloponnese, known as the “Valley of Gods,” is were they celebrated sanctuary of ancient Greece. And it is even the birthplace of the most important athletic event of all time, the Olympic Games. Billions of people turn their attention to this city during the ceremony of the lighting of the Olympic flame before each Olympics.
3000 BCE

Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem, a city in central Israel, west of the Dead Sea, has been a place of pilgrimage and worship for Christians, Jews, and Muslims since the biblical era. The Old City retains a significant religious site. It includes the Temple Mount compound and the Western Wall, sacred to Judaism, and the Dome of the Rock, a seventh-century Islamic shrine with a gold rotunda.
3000 BCE

Athens, Greece

Birthplace of Western civilization, Athens is the most influential city ever in the fields of philosophy, architecture, politics, science, and free thinking, as well as the original home of what is considered the most ideal system of government: democracy. Some of its most famous citizens include giants such as Socrates, Plato, Solon, and Pericles.
2300 BCE

Babylon

The ancient city of Babylon served for nearly two millennia as a center of Mesopotamian civilization. Hammurabi, one of its early rulers, and created the first recorded system of laws.
2000 BCE

Mecca

Mohammed become the founder of Islam, a mighty monotheistic religion that has over a billion adherents. It is a religion that would come to exert a great influence on civilization and human history in general. Today, more than fifteen million Muslims visit Mecca each year, including several million during the annual Hajj, the pilgrimage all Muslims are required to take at least once in their lifetime.
1325 BCE

Tenochtitlán

This Ancient Aztec empire capital was located in what is now modern day Mexico City. It was founded in 1325 BCE. It was set up in the marshes of Lake Texcoco. The population in 1519 had about 400,000 people, making it one of the largest residential concentrations in Mesoamerican history.
900 BCE

Carthage, Tunisia

It is believed that the Phoenician Queen Dido founded Carthage around 900 BC. The Romans ultimately brought the Carthaginian Empire to ruin as a result of the Punic Wars. Because of its central location, however, they realized that is was a necessary strategic location in their empire. Under Julius Caesar, the city was revived and ultimately flourished as a colony.
762 BCE

Baghdad, Iraq

Baghdad is Iraq’s largest city and one of the most populous urban areas in the Middle East. The city was founded as the capital of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, and for the next five hundred years, it was the most significant cultural center of Arab and Islamic civilization.
753 BCE

Rome,Italy

Rome is synonymous with the most famous empire in human history, lasting for hundreds of years, and dominating most of the known world of antiquity. It is also the home of Catholicism and the pope’s base, with millions of religious tourists visiting every year.
332 BCE

Alexandria, Egypt

Named after the most famous king of antiquity, Alexander the Great, Alexandria was the symbol of the union of two of the greatest civilizations: Greek and Egyptian. During the Hellenic period, the city became home to the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria.
59 BCE

Florence, Italy

Florence is the capital of Italy. It's region is the birthplace of the Renaissance, and home to masterpieces of modern art and architecture. One of its most iconic sites is the Florence Cathedral, which is considered one of the most gorgeous man-made constructions in the world.
52 BCE

Paris, Italy

Paris has been the center of European culture and fashion since the Middle Ages. The city influenced modern Europe like no other, and remains to this day the most visited city in the world
50

London, England

London has been the capital of the British Empire for over three hundred years now. Home of the Royal Society and modern science, London has been one of the most influential cities in the world for the past half millennium.
330

Constantinople

Constantinople was founded by the ancient Greeks as Byzantion, which is today known as Istanbul. The city was known for its architectural masterpieces such as the Greek Orthodox cathedral , Hagia Sophia, which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the sacred Imperial Palace, where the Byzantine emperors resided.
400

Venice, Italy

As a prominent Italian city-state, the Most Serene Republic of Venice was one of the world’s longest-lived democracies. As a merchant nation, it exerted enormous influence throughout the Mediterranean and was able to hold colonies and serve as a stopping-off point for goods flowing from the Far East to Western Europe.
1147

Moscow, Russia

Moscow gradually grew at the beginning of the fourteenth century. It was the capital of Great Russia from 1340 to 1547 before 1712, when the capital was moved to Saint Petersburg. It also became the capital of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991.
1237

Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany’s capital and cultural center, dates to the thirteenth century and reached its peak during World War II when Hitler used it as the base of the Nazi regime. It remains one of the most economically powerful cities in the world but is better known for its art scene, nightlife, and modern architecture than anything else.
Sep 26, 2018

Sources