Cities that Shaped the Ancient World

John Julius Norwich takes you on a grand tour of forty monumental cities that laid the foundations for the ancient world and its civilizations - cities that have profoundly influenced our modern urban existence. These ancient metropolises were the birthplaces of architectural and political innovations that are integral to cities as we know them today. But what was daily life like in such places as Babylon, Carthage, or Teotihuacan?

Spanning nearly three millennia of human history, from the earliest cities of Mesopotamia to the awe-inspiring urban monuments of the Maya in Central America, the cities explored in this work represent the pinnacles of achievement for their respective cultures. Not only do they exemplify the heights scaled by these ancient peoples, but they also shed light on the forces that precipitated their eventual declines. Eminent historians and archaeologists with firsthand expertise of each site breathe life into these silent ruins, transporting us back to when they buzzed with the hustle and bustle of state-of-the-art metropolises.