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Cities of Great World-Over Historical Signifigance

Bitter Creek

Heisman Candidate
Apr 24, 2008
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Which ones come to mind:

Rome? Jerusalem? Cordoba? Boston?

Is it a bit Over-the-top "American" to think of Boston in those terms?
 
What do you mean? Great World-Over Historical Significance?

Rome and Jerusalem, as far as world/historical importance, IMO, are light years ahead of Cordoba and Boston...
 
What do you mean? Great World-Over Historical Significance?

I was re-watching the History channels program, "Mankind, the Story of Us" and it made think about what cities have had the greatest impacts on recorded history.
 
I was re-watching the History channels program, "Mankind, the Story of Us" and it made think about what cities have had the greatest impacts on recorded history.
Ah, well in that case..

Rome, Jerusalem, Cairo/Memphis/Thebes, Athens, Istanbul/Constantinople, London, Berlin, Paris, Babylon, Xi'an, Alexandria, Luoyang, Baghdad, Angkor, Venice, Vatican City, Florence, Vienna, Peking/Beijing, New York, Kyoto, Tokyo....

I mean there are a TON of historically significant cities to me. Many have different reasons for being significant to history. Some are there strictly for their importance to the developments to the worlds of antiquity (language, architecture, manuscript, etc.). Others are for religious purposes. Industry. Fine Arts. Economical capitals. War. Capitals of Empires. A bunch of reasons, those are just the largest I can think of right now.
 
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In the modern era (after 1700), in terms of global financial, political, and cultural influence:

1. London
2. Paris
3. New York City
4. Beijing
5. Tokyo
6. Chicago
7. Berlin
8. Amsterdam
9. Cairo
10. Tehran

Probably missing something obvious.
 
In the modern era (after 1700), in terms of global financial, political, and cultural influence:

1. London
2. Paris
3. New York City
4. Beijing
5. Tokyo
6. Chicago
7. Berlin
8. Amsterdam
9. Cairo
10. Tehran

Probably missing something obvious.

Possible inclusions:
- Moscow
- Hiroshima (for a single event)
- Boston (since it was core to the founding of the U.S. and the establishment of the current U.S. democracy)
- Washington DC
- San Francisco
- Jerusalem

Not sure why Chicago or Cairo would be included.
 
Possible inclusions:
- Moscow
- Hiroshima (for a single event)
- Boston (since it was core to the founding of the U.S. and the establishment of the current U.S. democracy)
- Washington DC
- San Francisco
- Jerusalem

Not sure why Chicago or Cairo would be included.
Moscow is the big one I missed, and would place them instead of Cairo or Tehran. I included Cairo because I couldn't decide between it and Tehran. Chicago is on there because of the global influence made on finance (creation of modern commodity exchange, stock yards), architecture and planning (first skyscrapers, Burnham's master plan, Mies), culture (electric blues, 20th century novels), manufacturing (railroad hub, most steel mills anywhere in the world til 1970s), political culture (the en vogue slur "Chicago style politics"), social activity (Chicago School of sociology, Jane Addams, labor stuff like Pullman and Haymarket Riot), etc.
 
Los Angeles... the American film industry has had and continues to have an incredible impact on culture across much of the world. I realize that the industry has become more dispersed over the last few decades, but LA is still at the heart of it.
 
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Moscow is the big one I missed, and would place them instead of Cairo or Tehran. I included Cairo because I couldn't decide between it and Tehran. Chicago is on there because of the global influence made on finance (creation of modern commodity exchange, stock yards), architecture and planning (first skyscrapers, Burnham's master plan, Mies), culture (electric blues, 20th century novels), manufacturing (railroad hub, most steel mills anywhere in the world til 1970s), political culture (the en vogue slur "Chicago style politics"), social activity (Chicago School of sociology, Jane Addams, labor stuff like Pullman and Haymarket Riot), etc.
I really like Chicago, but just don't see it getting up there with the rest of them. Kind of in the same field perhaps as Singapore, Sydney, Dubai, Seoul, Shanghai, Baghdad, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, Vatican City, Mumbai, Bangkok, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Miami, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, ...

Actually, Singapore and Dubai may be in the top tier list, although Dubai is quite recent in its prominence and influence to be included "historically."

And, Hong Kong probably deserves to be in the top tier list also.

Not sure where Dallas and Houston fit yet. Probably in that second tier or into the third.
 
Marathon Greece (democracy as we know it hung on the battle there)

Nicaea Turkey (New Testament constructed)

Alexandria Egypt (the epicenter of the worlds knowledge within the infamous library).
 
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