20. Kunya-Urgench



This ancient city in what is now Turkmenistan was once the capital of Khwarezm, part of the Achaemenid Empire and served as an important trading center from the 10th to 14th centuries. It even survived one of the bloodiest massacres in history, the 1221 invasion of Ghengis Khan and his forces. But Urgench bounced back. However, when the nearby Amu-Darya River suddenly changed course, trade decreased, and the city was abandoned by the 1500s. The modern city of Urgench is today in Uzbekistan, just beyond the border.

22. Calakmul




Tikal is the Mayan city that gets all the credit, but it maintained an intense rivalry with the city of Calakmul. The struggle for power between the two cities is usually understood as a struggle between the two superpowers of the Maya culture. From the 600s to the 700s, Calakmul triumphed, thanks to a network of allies, but Tikal rose again in a major battle in 695. But neither city could withstand the inevitable collapse of the Maya culture, and both cities were eventually abandoned.

24. Ctesiphon



Ctesiphon served as capital city for both the Parthian and Sassanid Empires, and is located on the Tigris River in Iraq. It was also the world's largest city from 570 to 637 CE, and today, its only remaining structure is the massive arch of Taq Kasra, the largest unsupported arch in the world up until modern times.

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