What if Paris and London were *villages* compared to 1700’s biggest cities?
How did Constantinople feed 700K without trains or trucks?
Let’s rewrite what you know about urban history.
The 1700 Population Powerhouses
- 🇹🇷 Constantinople, Turkey: 700,000
- 🇯🇵 Yedo (Tokyo), Japan: 688,000
- 🇨🇳 Peking (Beijing), China: 650,000
- 🇮🇳 Ahmedabad, India: 380,000
- 🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan: 380,000
- 🇮🇷 Isfahan, Persia: 350,000
- 🇯🇵 Kyoto, Japan: 350,000
- 🇨🇳 Hangchow, China: 303,000
Source: 4000 Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census
3 Shocking Truths Behind the Rankings
- Constantinople’s Hidden Collapse: Hit 700K in 1700… then crashed to 200K by 1800. Plagues + Ottoman decline = empty markets.
- Japan’s Triple Threat: Yedo, Osaka, Kyoto housed 1.4M+ combined. How? Rice stockpiling + feudal labor systems.
- Ahmedabad’s Forgotten Glory: India’s textile capital pre-British rule. 380K people = 2x contemporary London.
Why Ancient Megacities Worked (And Failed)
Pre-industrial urban survival required:
- Constantinople’s Aqueducts: 250-mile water network built by Romans. Collapsed by 1730 – city shriveled.
- Yedo’s Rice Banks: Samurai stored 3 years of rice. Burned in 1657 fire – 100K starved.
- Isfahan’s Silk Road Tax: 30% of trade revenue funded city. Routes shifted – population halved by 1750.
FAQs: What History Buffs Actually Ask
- “Where was Europe in these rankings?”
- London had 200K, Paris 180K. Tiny vs. Asia’s giants. Industrial Revolution flipped the script post-1800.
- “How accurate are these numbers?”
- Census? Rare. Historians use tax records, food imports, and housing maps. Margin of error: ±15%.
- “Why did Ahmedabad decline?”
- British smashed its textile industry. By 1850, population dropped 60%. Sound familiar, India?
The Silent Winner: Kyoto’s 1,200-Year Reign
350K people in 1700. Still 1.5M today.
Secret? No wars since 1603. Cultural preservation = steady tourism.
Meanwhile, Isfahan? Warred into oblivion. 2023 population: 2M. Priorities matter.
Bottom Line: Cities Rise and Fall on Logistics
Next time someone praises modern skyscrapers, ask:
– Can it survive a siege?
– Does it store years of food?
– What happens when the aqueduct breaks?
Because 700K people in 1700 wasn’t about height – it was about surviving tomorrow.
