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The appellation "city-state" is given to cities which are independent or possess a high degree of autonomy to transact their affairs. Although few of these exist in the modern world--Singapore is a notable example, Geoffrey Parker shows that they constituted important geopolitical units at various times in history, especially in the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia. He aims to explain the rise and fall of city-states, and their frequent conflicts with nation-states, empires, and imperial states. At times, city-states thrived under these political/territorial units, but most often they lost their independent status.
Parker organizes the book historically and focuses on the leading city-states at various periods. Their origins can be dated to the Philistines who occupied the eastern Mediterranean around the second millennium BC and founded cities such as Gaza and Ashkelon. Around the first millennium, the Phoenicians set the standard for most subsequent city-states when they became major long-distance traders. The remaining chapters examine the city-states of Greece, Rome, Venice; those of Renaissance Italy and later ones in Russia, the Hanse, Castile; also the city-states of the Netherlands and its predecessors, a return to the city-states of Russia, and the fall and rise of...