ABSTRACT
A central location appears to be most rational from the perspective of general economic principles. The economic theory generally predicts that a capital city should be centrally located to maximize tax revenue or improve governance. Physical geography — including the landscape and climate conditions — has always played a greatly important role in placing a capital city, affecting the nature of the populating process and creating the geometry that gives meaning to the concepts of centrality of intermediacy. Throughout the centuries, military considerations have been the biggest factor causing the deviation of capital cities from the geographic center. Cultural factors that may affect capital city siting are not inferable from or solely explained by the geographical location of the country. The concept of the disembedded capital is quite interesting and provides a valuable synthesis of the experience of Western Asian civilizations.
