Urbanization (Prehistoric Era to 600 CE)

Introduction

• A plentiful supply of food and water is the most crucial factor in the establishment of cities, but there are other considerations as well.

• In the ancient world, it was typical for cities to be located close to rivers and coasts.

  • Examples of these are:
  • Mesopotamia's Tigris and Euphrates Rivers,
  • China's Yellow and Yangtze Rivers,
  • India’s Indus River, and
  • Egypts’s Nile River.

• Other factors can also explain the location of cities.

  • Because of its strategic location, Constantinople grew into a thriving city despite the lack of good local farmland or freshwater.
  • Aqueducts and massive cisterns were constructed to bring water in from afar.

• Important cities should have an army.

  • The following ancient sites could withstand invasion:
  • Tyre, a Phoenician city situated on an island;
  • Greece's Corinth had an acropolis atop a tall hill overlooking the harbor, and
  • Petra, which is situated in a desert and is only accessible via a strenuous journey through a pass.
  • Chang’an, the ancient capital of China, was secured by surrounding mountain routes that kept roving intruders at bay.

• Even cities without natural defenses could endure, for instance:

  • Sparta, a plains-based city, or
  • Rome, was insufficiently protected by its seven hills above the Tiber River.

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Protective Walls and Monuments

• Walls and fortifications serve as protection in most ancient cities.
  • Jericho (7000 BCE): One of the oldest cities in the world, it was a significant settlement for its time, with 2,000 inhabitants, and was mentioned in the Bible for its supposedly unbreakable walls that protected its occupants.
• Some cities also build innovative towers, gates, and moats that safeguard the people from enemies.
  • Mycenae (Agamemnon’s capital), is known for its famous Lion Gate (1200 BCE).
  • Babylonia, which is known for its great Ishtar Gate (550 BCE).
  • Pataliputra (Mauryan’s capital), had 570 towers and a moat.
  • As early as 250 CE, moats were used as Maya cities as well.
• In order to demonstrate their dominance and dazzle citizens and guests, rulers adorned their capital cities with monuments and public works.
  • Teotihuacan (450 CE) colossal complex — found near Mexico City.
  • There were 600 pyramid temples in the city and 200,000 inhabitants.
  • It was called the "Place of the Gods" by the Aztecs.
  • The massive bas-relief sculptures of Nineveh depicted strangers cowering in fear before Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
  • The Giza pyramids in Egypt were built to reinforce the pharaoh's reputation as the protector of maat, or cosmic equilibrium.
  • Pericles constructed the Parthenon in the fifth century BCE to highlight Athens' dominance over other Greek city-states.
• A sufficient number of men were needed to support the armies and workers who guarded the cities.
  • Many powerful nations employed slave labor for public works projects and mercenaries to man their defenses.
  • Building walls, canals, and roads were one of the most intolerable demands made by the first emperor of China, who united the nation in 221 BCE.
  • Similar to this, the biblical king Solomon enslaved locals and taxed his people into poverty in order to build a temple, several palaces, and other enormous projects in the city of Jerusalem.
  • By 100 BCE, slaves made up one-third of Rome's population, and the city depended heavily on their labor.

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Cities of Myth and Origins

• Ur (5000 BCE)
  • It was located alongside the Euphrates River.
  • It housed a famous ziggurat tower and served as a long-standing Mesopotamian religious hub.
  • It was cited in the Jewish Bible as the homeland of Abraham.
  • Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (2300 BCE): Cities on the banks of the Indus River and a tributary were ****in what is now Pakistan.
  • Both had developed with an urban plan and were densely populated.
• In China's middle Yellow River basin, where the soil is fertile and silt-rich, the Shang dynasty established its capitals.
  • Ao, one of its capital, was enclosed by a wall that took 19,000 men, 18 years to construct, working 330 days per year, 30 feet high, and 65 feet wide.
  • Memphis and Thebes on the Nile were ruled by the pharaohs, and their urban monuments served as evidence of Egypt's strength and prestige.
• The Americas, specifically the coastal plain of Peru, the Andes Mountains in the center, and Mesoamerica, were home to some of the most magnificent ancient urban centers.
  • Each city had a mythological story to commemorate its founding.
  • If a city was recently established, it might assert continuity with some other well-known divine figures and traditions to support its bid for respect.
• People chose to live in cities for a variety of reasons, and they engaged in discussions about how to plan cities to foster the "good life."
  • Cities provided solutions for numerous human needs.
  • They offered the possibility of elevating public life or they may serve as the womb of demagoguery, decadence, and illness.
  • How to develop an excellent city inspired Zecharia, Plata, and Kautilya to give points and education about handling good cities.

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