The City in History

Th-102
Course Co-ordinator: Prof. Siddhartha Kodoru Submitted By: Mona Malhotra M.Arch. 3rd -Sem

The various factors and their influence in laying the seed of evolution of a city
Cities - An Introduction
Cities, with their concentration of talent, mixture of peoples, and economic surplus, have provided a fertile ground for the evolution of human culture: the arts, scientific research, and technical innovation. They serve as centers of communication, where new ideas and information are spread to the surrounding territory and to foreign lands. The city, in a wider modern sense, is a major centre for institution, administration and organization, cultural life, social contact, place for the residence and work of the various citizens from all strata of the society. Lewis Mumford states that the city is not only the point of maximum concentration for the power and culture of a community but also the reflection of its social needs.1

Origin of cities
The most widely accepted theory of the emergence of cities was originally presented in the late 1930s by the archaeologists V. Gordon Childe and later developed by the historian Ralph Turner that urbanization requires the development of technological skills sufficient to produce a surplus food in order to support a settled population. In ancient Mesopotamia (where the first cities e.g. city of Ur, emerged in the fertile river basins of Southern Mesopotamia along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers), the farming system based upon irrigation was capable of producing such a surplus. These are called cities today because they were relatively permanent and densely populated settlements that included some specialized non agricultural workers.2 It has been easily established that any town or city has originated because of certain specific causes. The contributing forces for the origin of towns and cities can be broadly divided into two categories namely, topographical and functional.

Topographical Features
1) River Valleys with Favorable Environmental Conditions - Since even the best technology is helpless without suitable conditions, the first urban settlements arose where abundant water was available for irrigation by gravity flow, and where at the same time the climate was dry, sunshine plentiful, winter mild, soil renewal possible, and transport relatively unimpeded. A mild climate would prevent domestic animals from freezing or

1 2

Source: Curl James Stevens. European Cities and society, A Study of the Influence of Political Climate on Town Design The history of cities

starving in winter. With abundant water and irrigation, crop growth could be renewed from silt laid down by irrigation or from mud grubbed up from lake and swamp bottoms. Transport could be achieved by water or by animal or human carriers over well built roads or trails. Therefore the ancient cities arose in tropical latitudes, on alluvial plains near rivers or lakes, with dry climates and access to a wide area.

The rivers and favorable climatic conditions played a key role in the emergence of ancient China, the Indus Valley civilization, Mesopotamia, and ancient Egypt.

2) Hilly Areas as strategic defensive and religious centers Topography of the site played a vital role in the origin of cities. Hilltop locations were generally preferred by most of the ancient settlements worried about their defenses as they served as natural barriers against the foreign invasions. The citadel is usually poised on the high ground where it can overlook the town below. In the first phase, the citadel is the town in itself. There is only one circuit of defense. It then attracts people to itself resulting in development of settlement on the adjacent sloping site, which in time have to be contained in its own ring of walls. The lower town gradually becomes the residential core, and the citadel will be restricted to the role of an administrative center. The citadel and town of Aleppo (Syria) in the mid 18th century The origin of cities of ancient Greece was based upon religion, defense, commerce and administration as agglomerating forces. These were in turn necessary to be represented as the dominant physical features in the city. Hence a defensive hill-top was preferred in the plain which could be a strong religious and political center. This, the acropolis (high town), would be fortified and here would be the residence of the king and the religious temples. Below them was the agora, the market place and the assembly. The city grew about these generative elements.

Athens an ancient Greek city grew on a plateau surface, with a series of rocky hills arising from it.

3) Transportation nodes or natural crossroads facilitate terrestrial or sea trade Cities also grew up around marketplaces, where goods from distant places could be exchanged for local products. Throughout history, cities have been founded at the intersections of transportation routes, or at points where goods must shift from one mode of transportation to another, as at river and ocean ports. Earliest Babylon was a collection of villages. Later it became an economic town with an important caravan and river trade. Commerce from the four quarters of the ancient world entered there and Babylon flourished into a city. Trade itself required little space but instead profited from a concentrated market. Marketplaces at the meeting place of several roads, attracted a class of trading specialists, and developed into cities. One or two villages in a wide region by virtue of their location on trade routes or near scarce resources would become the centers of specialized production and trade. Tepe Yahya, for instance, was well located to be a central place in trade between resource poor Mesopotamia and resource rich Persia. It itself was a production center of chlorite pottery which was also exported to Mesopotamia.

The ancient city of Babylon as a major trade center

Origin of cities on strategic crossroad point

In Europe, Fairs established at various intersection nodes of the settlements, provided a marketplace freed from many of the duties and these were the foundations of the growth of various capitalist cities. The Urban origin in Europe was in response to trade, the opportunities for which was created by the stirrings and movements of the repeated crusades to the Holy Land. The favorable geographical location of the city-states (Venice, Naples, Pisa, and Genoa) for sea trade along the Italian peninsula (Italy juts out into the Mediterranean Sea) was a major contributing factor in the origin and growth of these cities. Constantinople (the capital of the Byzantine Empire) was a prosperous center of trade. Its strategic location (on the Bosporus Strait) gave the Byzantine Empire control of key trade routes between Europe and Asia.

The market place at Netherlands, which facilitated the evolution and growth of this city.

Favorable geographical location of Naples and Venice for trade

4) Sea or Ocean fronts The cities originated at sea or Ocean fronts not only for the transportation or trading purpose but also for defense. For example, the site for London city was originally selected because it afforded easy transportation of troops and supplies down the Thames River and because it could be easily defended. In fact, it was ideally situated for defense, with Thames River to the south, a marshy meadow to the north and easily monitored plains to the east and west. Alexandria was founded in 303 B.C. on the seashore due to safe political climate, free from raiders.
Map of London in 12th century

Ancient London city

4) Access to valuable raw material The location and origin of few cities were determined by its access to some valuable resource material like coal mines, fur etc. For Instance Montreals early history rested heavily on its colonial fur trade.

Montreal city

Functional aspects responsible for the origin of cities

1) Religious Elements Religion played an important part in the origins of the ancient city and a dominant force in the selection of sites for cities. Religious beliefs have been crucial in origin of Islamic cities. Ancient people had sacred places, often associated with cemeteries or shrines, around which cities grew. Many medieval cities were built near monasteries and cathedrals.

Mecca (Saudi Arabia), The Kaba- The settlement lay on ancient trade routes, and the site of the kaba was the goal of the pilgrims, long before the coming of Islam. The city started developing around the shrine.

Madurai (South India)is depicted in this 18 th century plan as a concentric pattern of walls, open spaces and city blocks organized around the sacred kernel of its temple precinct.

Religious centers as the origins of cities

2) Political or Administrative Powers The administrative coming together of several proximate villages to form a city is called synoecism. The beneficiary often happened to be a ruler or an institution of some kind. Synoecism gave birth to many cities like Athens, the Tuscan city of Siena (Italy), Venice etc. Rome was also found in the eighth century B.C. by the organization of tribal settlements on traditional neighboring hills into a political unit under an elected leader who acted as military commander, priest and judge. The location of these hills was favorable for defense, and for the beginning of a strong settlement. Situated about eighteen miles from the mouth of the Tiber, they were far enough removed from the sea to be secure from the attacks of the pirates that infested these waters; while the river afforded an easy highway for commerce. The southern group comprised three hillsthe Palatine, the Caelian, and the Aventinearranged in the form of a triangle, with the Palatine projecting to the north.

Topographical features of the site selected for origin of strong Roman Empire

The northern group comprised four hills, arranged in the form of a crescent or semicircle. These two groups of hills became the seats of two different settlements. Of all the hills on the Tiber, the Palatine occupied the most central and commanding position. It was, therefore, the people of the Palatine settlement who would naturally become the controlling people of the seven-hilled city. 3) Migration Population growth in agricultural communities established in a terrain where cultivable land was necessarily limited in extent, brought about a pressure of people upon land which was most easily solved by emigration. The valley of Teotihuacan was occupied during the formative period by a rural population living in small settlements located along the slopes of the valley. The process of densification and nucleation was slow through the formative period and was characterized by a gradual migration of the settlements toward the alluvial plain. Between 100BC and AD100 an urban centre nucleated half or more of the population of the valley in one permanent settlement possibly as a consequence of increased social differentiation and changes in the use of land. Health diseases like plague or other disasters like famine, floods etc. also forced the people to migrate from their villages or settlements and form a new settlement in healthier environments. This movement often led to the evolution of a new city. 4) Military encampments Under certain conditions, an attack resulting in conquest can also encourage the development of cities. In the Roman Empire, for example, military encampments in conquered territories eventually became cities as the conqueror set up markets and administrative centers. Paris, London and many other great European cities began in this way.

Ancient city of Rome

The valley of Teotihuacan

The city of Paris

5) Colonization The word colony or colonization are conventionally used to describe the poleis or settlements established during the extension of the Greek world from its Aegean homeland both to east and west. They were founded primarily to provide raw materials for processing and consumption in the homeland, and maintained in a subject condition. They were not only new but independent foundations having no tributary relation to the mother city. In general it was a westward directed movement which resulted in the establishment of settlements linked by the sea and by trade. For example, Sicily, Catalonia, Miletus, Priene etc. were all colonial cities.

The colonial cities of Sicily and Priene on major sea trade routes

6) Centers of government - In particular, the emergence of the great nation-states of Europe between 1400 and 1800 led to the creation of new capital cities or the investing of existing cities with expanded governmental functions.

Conclusions
Hence it can be concluded that besides environmental factors (climatic conditions, topography, geographical locations etc.) social, economic, cultural, religious and political factors also played a critical role in laying the seeds of evolution and growth of historic cities.

The Planning Process of Nile River Valley Civilization and Impact of Social Cultural Conditions on the Physical form of the City
Nile River Valley Civilization - An Introduction
The Nile River Valley Civilization started at the northern most peak of the Nile River at the time of the Neolithic Revolution. This early civilization formed down the lush fields of the Nile River. Protected by the water and desert, the civilization was able to grow into Egypt and surrounding colonies.

Chronological Civilization

Development

of

Nile

River

Valley

In the Palaeolithic Period, the Nile valley was virtually uninhabitable either because for three months of every year it was under water, or because it was otherwise covered with thick vegetation and supported teeming wildlife. The earliest inhabitants were hunters who lived on the Nile River valley civilization desert spurs and made forays into the valley to pursue their game. However, as the floor of the valley became drier, the people began to move down and to live together in settlements. Some time between 5200 BC and 4000 BC farming developed, and the people began to support themselves by growing grain, domesticating animals, and continuing to pursue, increasingly infrequently, the wild animals. Recognising the geographical fact, gradually, villages and towns developed into two distinct kingdoms - Nile Valley was Upper Egypt, whereas the northern area, the Delta, was Lower Egypt. Each had its own king, who was the most powerful of the local chieftains in the area. The Two Lands were therefore distinct regions, but were nevertheless interdependent, joined together by the unifying force of the Nile. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history. The fertile flood plain of the Nile gave humans the opportunity to develop a settled agricultural economy and a more sophisticated, centralized society that became a cornerstone in the history of human civilization.

Map showing Upper and Lower Egypt

Planning Process of Nile River Valley Civilization

The inhabitants of the Nile River Valley Civilization depended heavily on farming. Close proximity to the Nile allowed easy access to water needed for crops. Seasonal flooding fertilized the land for the next year's crops. Agriculture was essential for survival, growth, and economic success. Egypts settlements arose along narrow strip of land made fertile by the river. Along the upper Nile constant rain prevented the Nile from being able to grow crops, hence instead of growing crops people fished for food.
Fertile banks of Nile River

Defensive Location -The vast and forbidding deserts on either side of the Nile acted as natural barriers between Egypt and other lands. They forced Egyptians to stay close to the river, their lifeline, which reduced their interaction with other peoples. At the same time, the deserts also shut out invaders. For much of its early history, Egypt was spared the constant warfare. Egypt would develop mostly in isolation and therefore, a culture that was quite unique. Trade Opportunities and its cultural impact - The Nile was not just an agricultural boon for Egypt -- it also was the country's most important roadway, serving as the main thoroughfare to encourage travel and communication capabilities. This function helped to connect outlying portions of Egypt to the capital, enabling trade and communication. At various times in their history, the ancient Egyptians set up trade routes to Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Punt, SyroPalestine, and Nubia. With the wealth from new trade, the kings undertook various public projects like canals, temples, monumental Pyramids etc. Egypt blended the cultures of the Nile Valley peoples with the cultures of peoples who migrated into the valley from other parts of Africa and from the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia. Egypt thus was a land of cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity throughout its 3,000-year history.

The Nile also provided its people to travel along the river by boat. This made it very easy to travel from one settlement to another. Winds helped boats travel against the current of the river and kept boats running along the Nile.

Nile influenced the religious beliefs and social structure of the Egyptians - Many people attribute the Egyptians optimism (eternal life) on the good fortune of its geography. The Egyptians believed so much in the Nile's importance that a god was created that was representative of the Nile. The god's name was Osiris. Religion brought much importance of the Nile to its people because if it werent for the Nile those ancient people probably wouldnt have survived. The rise and fall of the Nile's life-giving waters inspired the ancient Egyptians to view it as a cycle of death and rebirth.

The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a Pharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs Planning Strategy of Egypt The Egyptians experienced so much success cultivating the Nile that the area became densely populated. The dwellings and public buildings were constructed along the fertile lands of Nile River, though at a distance due to threat of floods. The fertile river banks were mainly utilized for agricultural purpose. The desert areas which were unfit for cultivation were integrated into the city design by utilizing the unused area for building royal tombs (Pyramids). Hence the deserts surrounding the valley were converted to cities of the dead. Society was organized to produce these giant structures and complexes of houses for those no longer alive, to protect them from the natural elements, wild beasts and living. Moreover these giant structures stood remote and mysterious in the sand, signifying the Pharaohs link with heavens.

Development along Nile River

The Nile River provided resources for all aspects of a person's life. The growing political awareness and development in these pre-dynastic times was mirrored in a major advancement in the technological, artistic and religious spheres, and the artefacts, especially the painted pottery and metalwork, show an increasing ability to handle materials.

Impact of Social Cultural Conditions on the Built Form of the City

1) Social structure - Like the grand monuments to the kings, Egyptian society formed a pyramid. The very top of Ancient Egyptian social is the Pharaoh since he controls basically everything, the Army, the Politics etc. The second highest lies the nobles since every noble was related to the Pharaoh, there were also the priests and the pharaohs trusted man which is the Viziers. The third highest of the Ancient Egyptian population are the traders, shopkeepers, scribes and artisans. The scribes were the only Egyptians who knew how to read and write, standing out from the surrounding illiteracy by their command of the secret skills of reading and writing. The Fourth least important of the Egyptian social structures were the farmers herders and workers. At the bottom of all the different classes of people in ancient Egypt are the slaves and unskilled workers. They represent a percent of the Egyptian population. They support all the classes above them which is why they are at the base of the Social structure Social hierarchy in Ancient Egypt Impact on Built Form The social hierarchy had an impact on the dwellings of the inhabitants i.e. the higher the status, the bigger the house with large courtyards, pools and gardens. The dwellings of powerful people were built of durable stone while mud bricks were used for the dwellings of the middle and poor class.

Plan of an average Egyptian house

View of a nobles house

A wealthy mans house in the city of Ancient Egypt

2) Religion: The early Egyptians were polytheistic, believing in many gods. The most important gods were Ra, the sun god, and Horus,the god of light. The most important goddess was Isis, who represented the ideal mother and wife. In all, Egyptians worshiped more than 2,000 gods and goddesses.

Impact on Built Form 1) They built huge temples to honour the major deities. The lineage of the gods extended to the pharaoh himself who had absolute power and was revered as a god. Egyptians believed that their king ruled even after his death. He had an eternal spirit, or ka (kah), which continued to take part in the governing of Egypt. In the Egyptians mind, the ka remained much like a living king in its needs and pleasures. His surroundings must be worthy of a god, the word pharaoh big house at first. Thus, he must also possess a magnificent house after death, which was the beginning of the pyramids. The Old Kingdom was the great age of pyramid building in ancient Egypt.
The Pyramids symbolized the pharaohs power and his closeness to the sun

Large numbers of temples were built in the city

god

Since the Egyptians believed in life after death, people of all classes planned for their burials, so that they might safely reach the Other World. Kings and queens built great tombs, such as the pyramids, and the others built smaller tombs. Egyptians preserved a dead persons body by mummificationembalming and drying the corpse to prevent it from decay. 3) Egyptian Writing As in Mesopotamia, the development of writing was one of the keys to the growth of Egyptian civilization. Crude pictographs were the earliest form of writing in Egypt, but scribes quickly developed a more flexible writing system called hieroglyphics the Egyptians soon invented a better writing surface. They used another gift of the Nile, the tall stalks of the papyrus reeds that grew in the marshy delta.

Mortuary temple of a priest

The art of Hieroglyphics was used in interior decoration of the pyramid walls. 4) Symbolism Ancient Egyptians used to interpret their religious/ superstitious beliefs in the built form. For example the pyramidical form of the pyramids have symbolism too besides the inherent strength of the structure i.e. The triangular elevation is a symbol of vulva and phallus, mountain, fire, water, rays of sun; both the Various motifs in the built form of Egyptian buildings superimposition on the base which is a square is even more are inspired from nature significant. Four was the sacred number to the Egyptians, and was related to the four winds, the four directions of heaven, the four faces of god, the four parts of Egypt, the four columns on which sky rested, and the four jars for the internal organs of embalmed bodies. Pyramids were made monumental as they not only symbolised power but also contact between earth, man, sky and deity. Papyrus plant had a lot of significance for the Egyptians. These were symbolized in the carving techniques of the buildings.

5) Arts and Crafts - Egyptian craftsmen were highly skilled. They learned their trade from their fathers and, in turn, taught their sons. They used simple techniques and tools to make all sorts of useful things. The Pharaoh, government or temples often employed them. They worked on the decorations for tombs and temples.

Skilled craftsmen were employed for decoration of tombs and temples

6) Education and Technological advancements Practical needs led to many Egyptian inventions. In order to assess and collect taxes, the Egyptians developed a system of written numbers for counting, adding, and subtracting. Farmers used an early form of geometry to survey and reset property boundaries after the annual floods. Mathematical knowledge helped Egypts skillful engineers and architects as well. Builders needed to make accurate calculations and measurements to construct their remarkable pyramids and palaces. Egyptian architects were also the first to use stone columns in homes, palaces, and temples. Geometry, numeric system on base 10 (decimal), was first used by Egyptians in stone columns. The literacy of the ancient Egyptians is thought to be developed with the help of Egypts technologies at the time. They created paper with papyrus, which is a plant that is used to create many useful items for the Ancient Egyptians. Egyptians used geometry to build pyramids as tombs for the pharaoh

Conclusions
Egyptians perhaps held the clearest idea of their collective destiny and focussed upon one main objectivethe building and completion of a monumental burial place for their king, which would withstand the ravages of time and robbery, which would facilitate the god-kings safe passage into eternity, and thus, vicariously, would ensure survival beyond death for all his subjects. This common goal welded together, in religious, cultural, architectural and political unity, a country which, geographically, was difficult to rule. It also inspired great advances in technology and artistic expression, and indeed, few if any of the later periods produced such originality.