History of Cities

“The first cities emerged in various parts of the world, mostly independently, starting from the middle of the 4th millennium BC, and despite some setbacks, their growth has continued to the present day. Cities emerged as new forms of human settlements, where their inhabitants lived under conditions quite different from those of their predecessors and rural contemporaries. Despite the fact that for a long time they housed only a small minority of the world's population, they had profound effects on the societies in which they were born.” The History of Cities tells the story of the rise and development of urban centers from antiquity to the 21st century.

It begins with the establishment of the first cities in the Near East in the 4th millennium BC and continues by examining urban growth in the Indus Valley in India, as well as the regions surrounding Egypt and the Mediterranean. Athens, Alexandria, and Rome stand out both politically and culturally. With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, European cities entered a long period of decline and decay.