Taps Coogan – December 19th, 2021

After a long hiatus, we bring a new installment to our ongoing series featuring historical video-maps from around the web. We present ‘The Largest Cities Throughout History,’ by YouTube creator Ollie Bye. 

The following video shows the most populous cities in the world from 3000 BC to today, of course based on increasingly uncertain estimates the farther back in time one goes.

An interesting anecdote is the story of the city of Merv in present day Turkmenistan. In the early 1200s AD, it was the third most populous city in the world according to the video above, though according to some estimates it may have been the world’s most populous city at the time. First founded in 3,000 BC, it became the capital of the Seljuk Empire at their peak in the late 12th and early 13th century AD as Europe was still recovering from the tail end of the ‘Dark Ages.’ As the Mongols began to invade Seljuk territory, the city became a recipient for the region’s refugees, swelling its population to perhaps one million people. As the Mongols reached Merv in 1221 AD, the city opened its gates to the invading forces, hoping for mercy. Tolui, at Genghis Khan’s request, had the entire city and its refugees slaughtered, amounting to one of the deadliest events in human history.

Arab historian Ibn al-Athir described the events as following (via Wikipedia):

“Genghis Khan sat on a golden throne and ordered the troops who had been seized should be brought before him. When they were in front of him, they were executed and the people looked on and wept. When it came to the common people, they separated men, women, children and possessions. It was a memorable day for shrieking and weeping and wailing. They took the wealthy people and beat them and tortured them with all sorts of cruelties in the search for wealth … Then they set fire to the city and burned the tomb of Sultan Sanjar and dug up his grave looking for money. They said, ‘These people have resisted us’ so they killed them all. Then Genghis Khan ordered that the dead should be counted and there were around 700,000 corpses.”

The city was subsequently rebuilt, though never attaining its prior prominence. It was captured by the Emir of Bokhara and razed to the ground yet again in 1789 with the population being deported to a region in present day Uzbekistan where they supposedly retain some degree of ‘Mervi’ identity to this day.

To see other interesting historical maps check out:
The History of the Greeks
Every Year of the Roman Empire
Every Other Day of the Napoleonic Wars
Every Day of World War I
Every Day of World War II
Everyday of World War II in the Pacific
The History of the World Every Year
The Five Largest Cities Throughout History
Every Major Plague Epidemic in History
The Evolution of Modern Government
The Rise of Religions Throughout History
The History of Communism Since 1850
The History of Urbanization
The History of South America
How the World Got Obese
The History of North America
The History of Africa
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Every Year in The History of the Ottoman Empire
The History of the Middle East
The Loss of Native American Lands Within the US Every Year
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The Results of Every US Presidential Election in History
Every Week of the American War of Independence
The Rise and Fall of the Mongol Empire
The Population of Every Civilization in Europe Every Year Since 400 BC
The Rise and Fall of the French Empire
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire
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The History of the Reconquista
The History of South Asia
The Great Turkish War
Every Other Day of the Russian Civil War
Every Year in the History of the British Isles
Every European Country’s Maximum Extent
The French Invasion of Mexico
Every Ruler of Russia and Its Borders Since 880 AD
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Every Ten Days of the Chinese Warlord Era
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Every Day of the Mexican-American War
The Spread of Buddhism from 500 BC to 1200 AD
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Ur, Babylon, and the Ancient Middle East – Every Year
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Every Year in the History of Armenia
Every Year in the History of the Byzantine Empire
The History of European Writing and Alphabets
The History of Christianity in Europe
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The Exploration of the World
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