10 Of The World’s Greatest Ancient Cities

2. Thebes: Mausoleum Of The Great Pharaohs

General View of the Back of the Temple of Karnak, by Henri Bechard, late 19th Century, Detroit Institute of Arts.


General View of the Back of the Temple of Karnak, by Henri Bechard, late 19th Century, Detroit Institute of Arts
Thebes eventually replaced Memphis as the capital of ancient Egypt, becoming one of the most powerful ancient cities in the world. As early as 3200 BC, Thebes was an incredibly important city due to its worship of Amon, one of Egypt’s most prominent gods. In around 2055 BC, a Theban aristocrat named Mentuhotep II conquered and united Egypt, moving the capital to Thebes. 
When Mentuhotep II took over, he began to increase the grandeur of Thebes. The massive Temple of Karnak was one of Thebes’ most breathtaking monuments and has never been surpassed as the world’s largest religious structure. Thebes was displaced as the capital by the controversial Pharaoh Akhenaten in 1345 BC but was restored by his famous son Tutankhamun.
As some of Egypt’s greatest Pharaohs ruled from Thebes, a vast necropolis began to form on the western bank of the Nile – the Valley of the Kings. The mortuary complexes also included those of Ramesses II as well as the huge mausoleum of Queen Hatshepsut. The city itself hugged the eastern bank, becoming famous for its beautiful buildings and temples. At its height, Thebes probably contained around 80,000 people.
Thebes was sacked by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in 663 BC during his invasion of Egypt. He had the city rebuilt, and it continued to be one of Egypt’s most important cities. But in the 1st Century AD, the Romans arrived and destroyed Thebes, leaving the once-great city a ruined husk.


3. Nineveh: Infamous Bastion Of The Assyrians



The Monuments of Nineveh, by Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1853, via Royal Collection Trust.

Under the Neo-Assyrian empire, Nineveh became one of the most infamous ancient cities in Mesopotamia. During the early periods of Assyrian rule, the city sprawled across the east bank of the River Tigris and was a wealthy, important urban center. 

King Sennacherib made Nineveh the Assyrian capital in 705 BC and expanded the city. 15 monumental fortified gates were built to protect the city, which also boasted advanced infrastructure such as aqueducts. As the empire reached its peak, wealth and slaves flooded into Nineveh. 
But it was Sennacherib’s most ambitious project that most epitomized the grandeur of the capital – the “Palace Without Rival”, also known as the Southwest Palace. Each of the palace’s 80 rooms was decorated with intricate carvings depicting Sennacherib’s triumphs and scenes illustrating Assyrian life. Statues of winged lions with human heads, also known as “lamassu”, guarded the palace’s doorways.
Sennacherib’s grandson, Ashurbanipal, devoted even more attention to the city. He built an immense library complex, where he hoped to collate writings from across Mesopotamia. Ashurbanipal’s collection may have boasted as many as 30,000 clay tablets. Scholars were sent to scour Assyrian lands, collecting various cuneiform texts for the library. 
But after Ashurbanipal’s death, Assyria’s brutally oppressed subjects seized their chance for revenge. A coalition of Babylonians, Medes, and Persians destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC. Most of the survivors were massacred and the city was torched, bringing an end to Assyrian rule.