ABSTRACT
All civilized societies have had their cities—ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia as well as ancient Greece and Rome, medieval China and India as well as medieval Europe. Cities were centres of government, fortified places that contained the court of a monarch or a great nobleman, the palace of a bishop, or some great temple or mosque or monastery that exercised power over the surrounding country. They were also marketing centres, serving at first only a small region, then extending their influence as their produce reached more distant provinces or foreign kingdoms. They were also centres of crafts or small industries, of sculpture and painting, and if they were the seat of some rich or powerful court, of literature and learning too.
