• About Us
  • Readers Write
  • Our People
Carthage Magazine
  • Home
  • Things to Do
    • Leisure
  • Food & Drinks
    • Taste Tunisia
  • People
    • Interviews
    • No Sugarcoating
    • Environment
  • Style & Travel
    • Attractions
    • Trip Planning
      • Travel Information
      • Hotels in Tunisia
      • Cost of Living
      • Tunisia’s Language
      • Tunisia’s Weather
      • Tunisia’s Currency
      • Tunisia’s Visa
    • Transport in Tunisia
      • Traveling Around
      • Local Transport
      • Flights to Tunisia
      • Ferries to Tunisia
      • Tunisia Overland
  • Local History
    • Museums
    • Monuments
    • Heritage Sites
    • Historical Figures
  • Education
  • Tech & Startups
  • Editors’ Picks
Editors' PicksLocal History

Countries That Once Hosted The Largest City In The World2 min read

By Contributing Editor November 26, 2021
Written by Contributing Editor November 26, 2021
Countries That Once Hosted The Largest City In The World

Carthage was at one point the largest city in the world!

Today, Tokyo is the world’s most populous city; for the majority of the twentieth century, it was New York. London was the world’s major city a century ago, and Carthage three millenniums before that.

Similar Read: How Carthaginians Helped Shape What We Eat Today

Numerous cities have held this title throughout human history. From Jericho in 7000BC to Tokyo in AD2000, this map depicts 48 cities throughout history that were each estimated to have been the world’s largest at one point in time.

Largest cities throughout history
Cities that were at one point the largest in the world.

It is difficult enough to determine when a settlement becomes a city, where its true borders are, and how to count its population in modern cities, let alone ancient cities. This map is based on historical data compiled by four different researchers and is not intended to be exhaustive. Having said that, it does provide an overview of the world’s great cultural centers and their evolution over time.

Suggested Reads:

  • Carthaginian Trade: Trade Routes of Ancient Carthage
  • The Battle of Cannae: Carthage Vs. Rome (216 B.C.E.)

The earliest population centers on Earth exhibit a greater degree of geographic diversity than one might expect. Only three of the ten oldest cities on the map were located in Mesopotamia, which is widely regarded as the “cradle of civilization.” The remaining seven cities are located in modern-day Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, and the West Bank. That is not to mention the Indus Valley civilization, located in modern-day India/Pakistan and argued to be the world’s oldest by some.

In the Mediterranean basin, Carthage, Rome and Fez top the list of the largest cities throughout history. Carthage was founded as a colony of the Phoenicians trading empire, and after Alexander the Great destroyed Tyre, the capital city of the Phoenicians trading empire, in 332 BC, Carthage grew in power and filled the power vacuum. They eventually gained prominence in the Mediterranean, which inevitably pitted them against the Roman Republic.

Source: Wikipedia


If you would like to comment on this article or anything else you have seen on Carthage Magazine, leave a comment below or head over to our Facebook page.

And if you liked this article, sign up for the monthly features newsletter. A handpicked selection of stories from Carthage Magazine, delivered to your inbox.

Support Carthage Magazine
0 comment
3
FacebookTwitterEmail
Contributing Editor

Contributing Editor account at Carthage Magazine. Tunisia's premier English general-interest Magazine with thousands of page-views per month and over 200,000 social media followers.

previous post
The National Arbor Day in Tunisia 🌳
next post
Founder Institute Tunisia Calls for Applications for the 7th Cohort of Startup Launch

Related Articles

Hedi Nouira: The Architect of Tunisia’s Economic Renewal...

March 7, 2023

Fort Santiago Chikly: Tunis’ Most Mysterious Monument

February 21, 2023

Testour, Tunisia’s Beacon of Religious Tolerance and Coexistence

February 19, 2023

Tunisia’s Magic Carpets: Margoum

January 30, 2023

Tabarka & Ain Draham: Reconnecting with Nature

January 24, 2023

BioNTech Acquires Tunisia-Founded AI Startup InstaDeep for $684m

January 11, 2023

The Ancient Roman Swimming Pools of Gafsa

January 3, 2023

The Land of Harissa, Dates, and Olive Oil...

January 2, 2023

Life in Tunisia: What It’s Really Like —...

December 5, 2022

Tunisia’s Harissa Gets UNESCO Heritage Status

December 1, 2022

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Flavors of Tunisia

Taste-Tunisia-Tunisian-Cuisine-3

Want more top stories?

Carthage Magazine Newsletter

Sign up today and you’ll get our latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Quizzes

Quiz: How Well Do You Know African Countries...

QUIZ: Think You’re a Know-It-All? Try Naming These...

Just For You

  • 1

    March 20th, Tunisia 🇹🇳 Celebrates Independence Day

    March 19, 2022
  • 2

    Poor Economy: Why Doesn’t Tunisia Print More Money for Itself?

    July 15, 2019
  • 3

    Alcohol in Tunisia: What Visitors Need to Know

    August 2, 2021
  • 4

    Tunisians Celebrate their Heritage with Magnificent Traditional Outfits

    March 13, 2022
  • 5

    Local Transport in Tunisia — Public Transport in Tunisian Cities

    June 22, 2021

Latest

  • 10 Delicious Tunisian Dishes for Ramadan

  • Tunisia Dismisses ‘Exaggerated’ EU Warnings of Approaching Collapse

  • Tunisia is Becoming the Leading DeepTech Hub of Africa

  • Tunisia’s Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine Resigns

Sections

  • Editors' Picks
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Food & Drinks
  • Local History
  • News
  • No Sugarcoating
  • People
  • Quizzes
  • Real Estate
  • Style & Travel
  • Tech & Startups
  • Things to Do
  • Videos

E᙭ᑭᒪOᖇE

Carthage Magazine

We’re on a mission to create content that inspires people about experiences, places, products and people in Tunisia!

 

— About Us

— Adverstising

— Transparency

— Contact Us

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube

ᗯᗩᑎT ᗰOᖇE TOᑭ ᔕTOᖇIEᔕ?

Carthage Magazine Newsletter

Sign up today and you’ll get our latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.

ᔕᑭᖇEᗩᗪ TᕼE ᗯOᖇᗪ

Spread the word

Our goal is to get these stories out in the public arena, and by doing this, keep promoting Tunisia and changing attitudes towards the MENA region.

 

— Ambassadors

— Readers Write

— What You Can Do to Help

EᗪITOᖇᔕ’ ᑭIᑕKᔕ

  • Fort Santiago Chikly: Tunis’ Most Mysterious Monument

    February 21, 2023
  • Tabarka & Ain Draham: Reconnecting with Nature

    January 24, 2023
  • BioNTech Acquires Tunisia-Founded AI Startup InstaDeep for $684m

    January 11, 2023

© 2019 - 2023 Carthage Magazine. Privacy Policy

Carthage Magazine
  • Home
  • Things to Do
    • Leisure
  • Food & Drinks
    • Taste Tunisia
  • People
    • Interviews
    • No Sugarcoating
    • Environment
  • Style & Travel
    • Attractions
    • Trip Planning
      • Travel Information
      • Hotels in Tunisia
      • Cost of Living
      • Tunisia’s Language
      • Tunisia’s Weather
      • Tunisia’s Currency
      • Tunisia’s Visa
    • Transport in Tunisia
      • Traveling Around
      • Local Transport
      • Flights to Tunisia
      • Ferries to Tunisia
      • Tunisia Overland
  • Local History
    • Museums
    • Monuments
    • Heritage Sites
    • Historical Figures
  • Education
  • Tech & Startups
  • Editors’ Picks
Carthage Magazine
  • Home
  • Things to Do
    • Leisure
  • Food & Drinks
    • Taste Tunisia
  • People
    • Interviews
    • No Sugarcoating
    • Environment
  • Style & Travel
    • Attractions
    • Trip Planning
      • Travel Information
      • Hotels in Tunisia
      • Cost of Living
      • Tunisia’s Language
      • Tunisia’s Weather
      • Tunisia’s Currency
      • Tunisia’s Visa
    • Transport in Tunisia
      • Traveling Around
      • Local Transport
      • Flights to Tunisia
      • Ferries to Tunisia
      • Tunisia Overland
  • Local History
    • Museums
    • Monuments
    • Heritage Sites
    • Historical Figures
  • Education
  • Tech & Startups
  • Editors’ Picks
© 2019 - 2023 Carthage Magazine. Privacy Policy

Read alsox

El Jem Amphitheatre — The Greatest Roman...

March 25, 2021

Old Harbor of Bizerte: Tunisia’s Forgotten Treasure

November 10, 2020

The Best Tunisian Grilled Salad — Salad...

October 28, 2020