Since the 18th century, many studies in different countries have led to the rediscovery of what we know today as the "lost cities" of the world. The reasons why these cities have been lost in time and forgotten over the centuries include the complete abandonment of the city by its inhabitants, climate change, massacres, conquest and natural disasters. Today, many of them are considered some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. Below are twenty-five cities lost in time:
25. Timgad
Timgad, a Roman colonial city located in Algeria, was founded by Emperor Trajan in 100 AD. When it was attacked by vandals in the 5th century and then two centuries later by the Berbers, the thriving city disappeared from history until it was discovered during excavations in 1881.
24. Mohenjo-Daro
This city was built in 2600 BC in what is known today as Pakistan. It was one of the most ancient urban settlements ever created in the world and is commonly referred to today as the “city of the Indus Valley Metropolis”. Around 1700 BC, the city disappeared from history until it was discovered in the 1920s.
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23. Great Zimbabwe
Greater Zimbabwe, a complex of stone ruins, was built by the Bantu people in the 11th century. At its peak, it had about 18,000 inhabitants, but due to a significant decline in political stability and trade, as well as severe climate changes, its inhabitants decided to leave the city.
22. Hatra
Hatra was a huge fortified city that existed during the rule of the Parthian Empire. It successfully withstood several conquests by the Romans because of its height, thick walls and towers. In 241 AD, it fell to the mercy of the Iranian Sassanid Empire and was completely destroyed.
21. Sanchi
It took over a thousand years to build this city. It began in the 3rd century and continued until the 13th century. The city began to decline as Buddhism disappeared in India. This city was re-discovered by a British officer in 1818.
20. Hattusa
This city was formerly the capital of the Hittite Empire in the 17th century. By 1200 BC it was destroyed as the Bronze Age collapsed until its 40,000-50,000 inhabitants were completely abandoned. Hattusa was rediscovered only at the beginning of the 20th century.
19. Chan Chan
Chang Chan, the largest city in pre-Columbian America, is a huge city with buildings adorned with patterned arabesques. This city was named adobe city because adobe bricks were the building material for its buildings. Built in 850 AD by the Chimu people, the city was conquered by the Inca Empire in 1470 AD.
18. Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde, located in southwestern Colorado, used to be home to the ancient Anasazi Indians. It was here that this people built their dwellings under an overhanging rock in shallow caves. The inhabitants left the city in 1300 for unknown reasons, but its ruins have remained perfectly preserved to this day.
17. Persepolis
The ancient capital of Persia, this city was formerly the ceremonial center and capital of the Persian Empire. The city was famous for its beauty, and during its peak, some of the most beautiful works of art in the world could be seen here. Persepolis was burned to the ground by Alexander the great as he sought to conquer the Persian Empire in 331 AD.
16. Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna, one of the most famous cities in the Roman Empire, was once located in what is known today as Libya. It was a wealthy city that served as a center for Mediterranean and Saharan trade. The city began to decline during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus, until it fell into complete desolation in 642 AD.
15. Urgench
This city used to be located on the Amu Darya River in Uzbekistan. It was one of the greatest cities between the 12th and 13th centuries, and even became the capital of Khwaream, in the Central Asian Empire. In 1221, Mongol soldiers turned young women and children into slaves and massacred the rest of the population.
14. Vijayanagara
At its peak, this city was home to approximately 500,000 people. It was one of the largest cities in the world between the 14th and 16th centuries, during the reign of the Vilayanagar Empire. The city was destroyed after the victory of the Muslim armies, which were in a state of enmity with the empire.
13. Calakmul
Calakmul, one of the largest Mayan cities, was a powerful and wealthy city that challenged the rule of Tikal. When it was rediscovered, it was hidden in the Campeche jungle. The city experienced a decline in population after the battle started by Tikal in 695 AD, which led to the collapse of the Maya.
12. Palmyra
Palmyra was a wealthy city located between Persia and the Mediterranean ports of Roman Syria. Known as the "City of Palm", the city began to experience a decline in its trade in 212 AD following the occupation of the Tigris and Euphrates by the Sassanids. In 634 AD, the city was captured by the Muslim Arabs, after which it turned into an oasis village.
11. Ctesiphon
This city existed during the 6th century and was known as one of the largest cities in the world. Due to the fact that it was one of the most famous cities of ancient Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia), the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire (Byzantine Empire) tried to take over the city until it was captured by Muslims in 637 AD during the Arab conquests (Islamic conquest).
10. Hvalsey
Hwalsi was one of the three largest Viking settlements in Greenland in 985 AD. These were mainly farms that Norwegian farmers who came from Iceland used for settlements. This city had 4,000 inhabitants, but this number declined in the middle of the fourteenth century, after the collapse of the Western Settlement.
9. Ani
Ani, known as one of the most prominent cities in the 5th century, used to be the capital of Armenia in the 10th century. Many churches were built in the city during this period, including some of the most impressive examples of medieval architecture. When a devastating earthquake shook the city in 1319, Ani was abandoned by its inhabitants and remained a forgotten world for centuries.
8. Palenque
The city of Palenque, located in Mexico, contains some of the most impressive sculptures and examples of architecture from the Mayan civilization. As one of the smallest Mayan cities, this city existed between 600 and 800 AD, however, its population declined in the 8th century as it began to be overgrown with forest.
7. Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku is located off the southeastern shore of a lake in Bolivia known as Lake Titicaca. Between 300 BC and 300 AD, this city served as a cosmological center for many people, which made it famous among the people who made pilgrimages and its population reached 30,000 people. However, after a sharp change in climate, residents of the city gradually left it.
6. Pompeii
When a nearby volcano erupted on August 24, 79 AD, the city of Pompeii was severely damaged and was completely covered in ash and soil. The city was rediscovered in the 18th century after a series of excavations.
5. Teotihuacan
Built in the 2nd century BC and located in the Valley of Mexico, this ancient city has suffered a massive decline in its population since the 6th century. At the moment, the pyramids of this lost city, which used to be revered by the Aztecs, are used as a place of pilgrimage.
4. Petra
Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabataea Kingdom, is a huge city located on the side of the Wadi Musa Canyon in southern Jordan. In ancient times, the city was the place where the ancient Chinese often looked for silk and spices. A series of earthquakes destroyed the city's water management systems, leaving its population abandoned in the 6th century. It was rediscovered by a Swiss traveler in 1812.
3. Tikal
Tikal existed between 200 and 900 AD and was the largest Mayan city. Its estimated population was between 100,000 and 200,000, but it lost most of its inhabitants between 830 and 950 AD.
2. Angkor
In this sprawling temple city located in Cambodia, you can see the remains of the Khmer Empire, which ruled the area from the 9th to the 15th century. Among the most popular attractions visited by tourists in this famous lost city is the Angkor Wat Temple. Today it is known as the largest religious monument in the world.
1. Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu)
Considered one of the most famous lost cities in the world, this city lay hidden for centuries in the upper Urubamba Valley until it was rediscovered by a Hawaiian historian named Hiram in 1911. Machu Picchu, known as the "Lost City of the Incas", is surrounded by agricultural terraces and is completely invisible when viewed from below.