Since the hype that was built around the Bermuda triangle, I grew an infatuation for everything that could be lost whether they are cities or things For cities I did not know that the reason could be natural and environmental circumstances like rains, storms, droughts, and volcanoes are the major reason behind the disappearance of many cities.
10 Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, a Mesopotamian city, used to be one of the largest cities in the whole world. It was captured by the Roman military and the Byzantine military several times. Later on, it was captured by the Muslims in 637 and then it continued to decay till it disappeared.
9 Ani
Once the capital of Armenia in the 5th century AD, Ani was a very popular and unique city. About 200.000 was the number of population of the Armenian capital. The moniker “City of 1001 Churches” was called because of the great number of churches built there. After the Mongol invaded it in the 13th century, they have changed trade roads that people left the city and it became forgotten.
8 Palenque
In Mexico, Palenque used to exist between 600 and 800 AD. It was home for some of the ancient monuments of the Mayan nation. The architecture of these monuments was so unique that it is considered a loss that this city declined.
7 Tiwanaku
The Inca empire had Tiwanaku as one of its headquarters. It is located over the Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Tiwanaku was a religious center towards which people used to make their pilgrimages. As the city was a major producer of food, it disappeared when the food sources declined.
6 Pompeii
Excavations in the 1700s century resulted in the discovery of the remains of Pompeii. The city was found under ash. Members of the excavation process had even found home furniture like tables and jars. The city was lost because of a great volcano that erupted and ruined everything and every creature. The following pictures are not sculptures though, they are the last moment in the life of the Pompeii people!
It is from The Garden of Fugitives, one of the historical place now known, and it is where the city inhabitants ran to escape the volcano’s lava.
5 Teotihuacan
As it is clear by now that resources play a major role in the fate of the name of a city, whether to keep it or erase it, Teotihuacan is another example. Mexico saw the rise and demise of one of the most famous and declined civilizations in the history of mankind. After a long drought hit the city, people started to leave it until it became completely derelict in the 6th century AD.
4 Petra
In Wadi Musa of Jordan, Petra used to be the capital of the Nabataean kingdom. Jordans valued this city as it was an important link between Egypt, India, China, Greece, and Rome. However, the city was plagued by a powerful earthquake that nobody survived.
3 Tikal
With a good number of Mayan population, around 100.000, Tikal was another center for the Mayan civilization. The Mayan inhabitants in Tikal mad themselves a disservice when they gradually defrosted their own city. They soon had then to abandon it or they would die.
2 Angkor
In Cambodia, the Angkor temple stands. This historical temple is home for great monuments of the Khmer Empire. The Angkor Wat temple, the Bayon temple are among these monuments. The reason of the Angkor disappearance is different as the it has been sacked around 1431. Only the Angkor Wat remained in place.
1 Memphis
The city was founded by king Menes around 3100 BC, which was his own shelter. The city’s ruins includes some of the greatest historical monuments in the world like the great temple of Ptah, statue of Ramses II and the Pyramids of Saqqara not so far from it.
