Curated category
Holy cities
- JérusalemThe name Jerusalem first appears in Egyptian Execration texts from the 19th century BCE as Rušalimum. Archaeological evidence points to a settlement near the…
- MeccaThe word Mecca appears in the 741 Byzantine-Arab Chronicle, placing the region midway between Ur and Harran rather than in the Hejaz.
- CanterburyThe Roman settlement of Durovernum Cantiacorum occupied the location of an earlier British town whose ancient name has been reconstructed as Durouernon…
- EphesusHumans had begun inhabiting the area surrounding Ephesus by the Neolithic Age, about 6000 BC. Excavations at the nearby höyük of Arvalya and Cukurici have…
- Acre, IsraelThe earliest discovered settlement at Acre dates to around 3000 BC during the Early Bronze Age. This initial community appears to have been abandoned after a…
- LuoyangIn 2070 BC, the Xia dynasty king Tai Kang moved his capital to an intersection of the Luo and Yi rivers. He named this new settlement Zhenxun.
- Vatican CityThe name Vatican first appeared in the time of the Roman Republic. It described a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber River.
- AntiochSeleucus I Nicator chose a spot near the Orontes River on the 22nd day of Artemísios in his twelfth year, which equals May 300 BC.
- Salt Lake CityIn July 1847, a group of Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley under the leadership of Brigham Young. They sought refuge from persecution in the…
- AlexandriaAlexander the Great arrived at the western edge of the Nile River Delta in April 331 BC to establish a new city. He chose the site of an ancient Egyptian…
- IstanbulGreek colonists from Megara established Byzantium on the Sarayburnu promontory around 657 BCE. These settlers built an acropolis adjacent to the Golden Horn…
- ConstantinopleOn the 11th of May 330, Emperor Constantine the Great stood before a crowd of tens of thousands to dedicate his new capital.
- RomeArchaeological evidence places human presence in the Rome area approximately 14,000 years ago. Stone tools and pottery fragments found at the site attest to…
- Vladimir, RussiaThe year 990 stands as the official founding date of Vladimir, Russia. Local historians and city administration support this claim through reinterpreted…
- KyivThe name Kyiv comes from a legendary figure named Kyi, one of four brothers who supposedly founded the city. The Primary Chronicle tells this story…