Sovereign Cities

In this work, Geoffrey Parker examines various cities and city-states throughout world history, treating the city-state as a geopolitical form and exploring the constantly changing status of the city. He delves into the Greek polis, which Plato and Aristotle considered a perfect type of state, the Roman imperial capital, Venetian and Renaissance cities, the German Hanseatic League, and Russian and Baltic cities. Parker also discusses the political role attributed to the city in early Islamic society and reveals the development process of city-states, which began with their resurgence in Northern Europe but ended with the rise of the nation-state.

Sovereign Cities is one of the most powerful and comprehensive studies attempting to understand the role of the city in history, from the birth of Western civilization to the phenomenon of globalization in the 21st century.