10 Cities That Were Once Capitals

Cities are amazing, and as the world continues to urbanize (quite rapidly), they're going to come under continued scrutiny by historians (as well as social and physical scientists). Cities are places where humans gather to live, work, innovate, eat, consume, travel, indulge in leisure, and learn. Cities are also reflections of the geography around them. Thus some cities are better for farming, others for living, and yet others for trading or governing. The art of governing is trickier than you might think. Throughout history, many cities have served as seats of government power, and many more have fallen out of favor as the center of political life.