An urban map of the largest cities in the world, by population, in the early 1700s looked almost empty by today's standards.
Only five cities had more than 5 lakh inhabitants, as per the Financial Times estimated statistics, while just 34 crossed the 1 lakh mark.
The biggest urban centres were concentrated largely in Europe and Asia.
Beyond these regions, the principal cities of the Spanish and Portuguese empires dominated Central and South America, while North Africa had important Muslim centres like as Algiers, Fez, Meknes, Tunis and Salé-Rabat.
India, too, had several sizeable urban centres in the 18th century with Ahmedabad making it to the list till the 1720s with a population of 2.8 lakhs. Other biggies were: Aurangabad (2 lakh), Dacca (1.5 lakh), Srinagar (1.25 lakh) and Patna (1 lakh), while Benares (75,000), Agra (70,000) and Delhi (60,000) remained below the 1 lakh mark.
1. Istanbul: 7 Lakhs
With an estimated 7 lakh inhabitants, this enchanting city where two continents met across the waters of the Bosphorus, was considered the largest metro at the beginning 18th century.
2. Edo: 6.88 Lakhs
Known today as Tokyo, Edo had an estimated population of 6.88 lakhs placing it among the world's biggest urban centres in the start of the 18th century. It was and still is one of the prettiest too.
3. Peking: 6.50 Lakhs
Today's Beijing, was one of the world's largest urban centres in 1701. Majestic Peking's population was estimated at 6.50 lakh, placing it among the handful of cities with more than half a million residents. And this rapidly grew to over 9 lakhs by mid-century.
3. London: 5.50 Lakhs
Another giant of the 1700s was stately London. Imagine London in 1700: No Tube, no towering skyline and no sprawling suburbs, yet 5.50 lakh people were already packed into the city.
5. Paris: 5.30 Lakhs
Paris had already become one of Europe's great population centres by the 1700s, with an estimated 5.30 lakh people living in the gorgeous French capital.
6. Ahmedabad: 3.85 Lakhs
Long before India's modern textile mills transformed its fortunes, Ahmedabad had already made a name for itself as a city of enterprise.
With an estimated 3.85 lakh residents in 1700, it was larger than many of Europe's leading cities.
