Pre-Industrial Walled City Scale Comparison

Nineveh, 650 BCE
population c. 100,000
Nineveh 650 BCE map Babylon, 500 BCE
population c. 150,000
Babylon 500 BCE map Athens, 350 BCE
population c. 60,000
Athens 350 BCE map Rome, 200 BCE
population c. 200,000
Rome 200 BCE map Alexandria, 100 BCE
population c. 400,000
Alexandria 100 BCE map Jerusalem, 50 CE
population c. 70,000
Jerusalem 50 CE map Luoyang, 100 CE
population c. 400,000
Luoyang 100 CE map Rome, 300 CE
population c. 800,000
Rome 300 CE map Constantinople, 500 CE
population c. 500,000
Constantinople 500 CE map Chang'an, 700 CE
population c. 1,000,000
Chang'an 700 CE map Cordoba, 1100 CE
population c. 100,000
Cordoba 1100 CE map Merv, 1100 CE
population c. 200,000
Merv 1100 CE map Hangzhou, 1200 CE
population c. 600,000
Hangzhou 1200 CE map Milan, 1200 CE
population c. 100,000
Milan 1200 CE map Cairo, 1300 CE
population c. 400,000
Cairo 1300 CE map Fez, 1300 CE
population c. 100,000
Fez 1300 CE map London, 1300 CE
population c. 80,000
London 1300 CE map Granada, 1400 CE
population c. 100,000
Granada 1400 CE map Lisbon, 1400 CE
population c. 60,000
Lisbon 1400 CE map Paris, 1400 CE
population c. 300,000
Paris 1400 CE map Seoul, 1400 CE
population c. 100,000
Seoul 1400 CE map Beijing, 1500 CE
population c. 700,000
Beijing 1500 CE map Florence, 1500 CE
population c. 60,000
Florence 1500 CE map Naples, 1500 CE
population c. 100,000
Naples 1500 CE map Seville, 1500 CE
population c. 60,000
Seville 1500 CE map Tenochtitlan, 1500 CE
population c. 200,000
Tenochtitlan 1500 CE map Venice, 1500 CE
population c. 200,000
Venice 1500 CE map Vijaynagara, 1500 CE
population c. 300,000
Vijaynagara 1500 CE map Moscow, 1600 CE
population c. 100,000
Moscow 1600 CE map Beijing, 1800 CE
population c. 1,100,000
Beijing 1800 CE map

versions with modern rapid transit lines overlaid (where applicable)

Cities to show:
Nineveh 650 BCE
Babylon 500 BCE
Athens 350 BCE
Rome 200 BCE
Alexandria 100 BCE
Jerusalem 50 CE
Luoyang 100 CE
Rome 300 CE
Constantinople 500 CE
Chang'an 700 CE
Cordoba 1100 CE
Merv 1100 CE
Hangzhou 1200 CE
Milan 1200 CE
Cairo 1300 CE
Fez 1300 CE
London 1300 CE
Granada 1400 CE
Lisbon 1400 CE
Paris 1400 CE
Seoul 1400 CE
Beijing 1500 CE
Florence 1500 CE
Naples 1500 CE
Seville 1500 CE
Tenochtitlan 1500 CE
Venice 1500 CE
Vijaynagara 1500 CE
Moscow 1600 CE
Paris 1665 CE
Beijing 1800 CE
Burning Man 2015 CE
show all hide all

Scale: = 1 km (60 CSS pixels per km)

Population estimates extremely approximate. Please send any corrections or questions to threestationsquare at gmail dot com.

See also: rapid transit timelines - miscellaneous timelines and maps

By Alexander Rapp (CC-BY-SA) based on map data by OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) contributors and historical sources.