The first organized cities appeared on the fertile banks of the large rivers of the Middle East, and then along the Nile. All of them were located at the intersection of the main trade routes.
How it all started
The ancestor of the first cities is considered the ancient settlement of Chatal-Huyuke (the territory of modern Turkey), built in 6500 BC. There were no streets, and the houses lacked windows and doors. Residents moved along the rooftops. From sun-dried bricks, they built dwellings, which formed a compact quarter. It was home to 5 thousand people.
About 10 thousand years ago in the Middle East, people who led a sedentary lifestyle, engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, founded villages (settlements). Some of them were quite large, such as Jericho in Palestine, erected around 7800 BC. e. in the West Bank.
During the excavations, a giant wall was discovered, which served as a support for the dwellings. Located at the intersection of major roads, Jericho was a trading city - salt was exchanged for semi-precious stones: turquoise and obsidian. According to archaeologists, the city was destroyed in the 13th century BC. e.
Sumerians
However, neither Jericho nor Chatal Huyuk were yet cities in the full sense of the word. The first organized cities appeared in the 4th century BC. e in the Sumerian kingdom. They appeared at intersections or along caravan routes. Traders stopped in cities and bought basic necessities from craftsmen. Weavers, potters and blacksmiths made the necessary things for the cities, while scribes and officials regulated the life of each inhabitant with the help of laws and regulations.
The main Sumerian cities are Eridu, Ur, Larsa, Uruk, Nippur, Lagash, Kish. Sometimes they entered into alliances, but more often they fought with each other for control of the most fertile lands and major trade routes.
City-states
The ancient city-states were ruled by a king, in whose hands political and economic power was concentrated. Usually from 50 to 400 thousand people lived in them.
Mari is a city-state in the center of Mesopotamia (the territory of modern Syria). It flourished in the years 2500-1700 BC. Connected by a canal to the Euphrates, Mari enriched himself through trade, as the townspeople controlled the river port.
Babylon was originally a small village. It became the capital of the empire under Hammurabi, in 1728-1686. Spreading on two banks of the Euphrates, Babylon was the most beautiful city of antiquity.
In the north of the Indian subcontinent in 2500-1700 BC. e. the other center of urban civilization developed. Mohenjo-Daro is the largest of the cities on the banks of the Indus River. Its disappearance has become a big mystery to archaeologists, who are still wondering why the thriving Indian civilization disappeared around 1700 BC. e.
