In the history of Civilizations in the world, many enchanting old cities were born and became legends and myths telling that these cities once existed but due to various reasons then disappeared without a trace. However, some of these cities have recently been rediscovered after a long search by researchers. These legendary cities originally disappeared for hundreds or even thousands of years due to several things such as extreme climate change, wars, and natural disasters. Well, this discovery is very interesting because historical evidence in the form of ancient building artifacts will later become the object of new research and will certainly increase our knowledge about events that have taken place in civilizations in the past.
1. Petra City
The city of Petra is the former capital of an ancient kingdom called Nabatea which developed around the 4th century BC to 106 AD. The city is located in the southern part of the country of Jordan where it became an important crossroads of the spice and silk trade which brought together many traders from all over the world.
In its journey by the National Geographic site, this city was once dubbed "The Lost City" because it had disappeared and was not found for hundreds of years. Peter Preskar in his Petra The Lost City of Jordan explains that Petra was founded around 300 BC and was made the capital of the Nabataean kingdom. The Nabataeans themselves are believed to be the term for the nomadic Arab tribes who arrived in the area as traders around the 4th century BC. Petra then developed rapidly due to two reasons, namely because it is a strategic trading location and is a source of fresh water in the vicinity. Petra reached its peak around the 1st century BC. Petra's government adhered to the Roman system which was then annexed by the emperor Trajan or Trajanus in 106 AD without any resistance at all and finally made it the capital of one of the provinces of the ancient Roman Empire, Arabia Petraia before then collapsed and disappeared in 363 AD after being hit by the great earthquake.
After that incident, Petra lost its position as a strategic trade route and was gradually abandoned by its inhabitants. Only later in 1812, the Swiss explorer Johan Ludwig Burchardt rediscovered this city and in 1985 the United Nations Organization UNESCO designated it a world heritage site. On July 7, 2007, the ancient city of Petra was crowned as The New Seven Wonders of the World or the site of the 7 Wonders of the New World.
2. Machu Pichu
Machu Pichu is one of the ancient cities hidden for centuries above a valley called Urumba in Peru, South America, and was rediscovered in 1811. This ancient city is located in the district of Machu Pichu, Urubamba Province above a sacred valley that is located 80 km northwest of Kusko is on a mountain ridge which is a saddle between two peaks of the Andes mountains with a height of about 7973 meters.
This site was built in 1450 by the Incas who were the last people to settle there before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the explorer, and discoverer of the Americas, but only left a century later with a history of mysterious disappearances. According to historian Piter Davy in his writings Outrage Rebuilding Machu Pichu, 2011 stated Machu Pichu was built in the style of ancient Inca architects with polished dry-stone walls and stone structures without mortar. In its heyday, this kingdom was the most important cultural, political, and religious center of the Inca civilization before they were conquered by the Spanish Empire which changed the history of this city until it disappeared from the surface of the earth. Today, the ancient city of Machu Pichu has declared a historic Peruvian state sanctuary and designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1983 until in 2007 it was selected as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in an internet poll.
3. Pompeii
For those of you who have watched the action film The Spartacus, this name is certainly very familiar to your ears, right? Yes, Pompei is a city in the Ancient Roman Empire located in Campania, Italy.
According to the British encyclopedia, the city was first written down in world history in 310 BC, when the second Samnite war took place. After that, Pompeii was turned into a city with magnificent architecture and a touch of ancient Roman art. In addition, this city is also used as a trading city. The city, which is known as the City of Sin, began to experience a decline in civilization in the first years of AD, and 79 AD became the year that truly ended the glitter of this city. Pompeii was completely buried from world civilization after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which caused the entire city to be covered in volcanic smoke and ash and then disappeared for 1600 years. Only in the 18th century this site was finally excavated and found extraordinary evidence of how the daily life of the people in this ancient Italian city.
4. Teotihuacan
The city of Teotihuacan is one of the oldest cities in Mexico which was founded around the second century AD. Although it has many pyramids, this city is very foreign, and not much is known by people. It is the oldest pyramid city on the American continent and became one of the most populous cities in the Mesoamerican civilization at that time. Scientists conclude at the beginning of its population peak until 500 BC it was the fifth or sixth most populous city in the world with a total population of about 125,000 inhabitants. Teotihuacan survived into the 7th and 8th centuries AD, but its main monuments were destroyed and burned in 550 AD. Its collapse is associated with extreme weather conditions around 535-536 AD.
Post a Comment