LogFAQs > #964326288

darkknight109 posted...

3) Beijing - China was, for centuries if not millennia, one of the most technologically and culturally advanced nations in the world and its influence in the Far East cannot be overstated.

The importance of China cannot be overstated, but for most of Chinese history Beijing was neither the capital nor the most significant for any other reason. Beijing is the wrong Chinese city to have on the list.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_capitals_of_China

7) Washington D.C. - Basically the same status as Paris. D.C. is unquestionably the most important city on the planet *today*, but the US as an entity has really only been a major global player for maybe a 100 years. It doesn't have the historical reach of most of the others on this list, which were cultural, scientific, and/or political centres for centuries.

What? DC isn't even the most important city in USA today, on the global scale today it's not much more important than any other minor city where a random government happened to throw it's capital. Centers for arts, trade, transport, commerce and technology shaped and built our world as much or more than government, and DC is known for none of those.

10) New York - I have no idea why this is even on the list. For its financial clout, I guess? Bern is probably the better choice for that. Honestly, if we were to comprehensively list out history's most important cities, I'm not even sure New York would be in my Top 25.

It's probably the most significant American city, and this is a very American and Weatern-centric list. The likes of Tokyo would blow it out of the water though.

Other cities that probably deserve mentions: Edo/Tokyo, Moscow, Berlin, Kyiv, Ankara, Babylon, Athens, probably a couple other really obvious ones that aren't coming to me right now.

Alexandria, Timbuktu, Nanjing, Jakarta, and Istanbul are a few that would likely make the top 50.