City names today?

[MrWhipple]

Does a list exist of the modern name of the cities? I know some and can guess a few, but before I embark on a lot of research, I'd like to know if I am reinventing the wheel.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Ancient Name - Modern Name

Corduba - Cordoba (if you look, it's also in MTW. Cordoba Castle)
Massilia - Marseille
Aelisia - Paris
Deva - Chester
Byzantium - Istanbul
Syracuse - I think it's Syracusa
Ancrya - Ankara
Massina (scipii town on sicily) - Messina
Carthage - Tunis (i think)
Patavium - Venice
Alexandria - Alexandria
Damascus - Damascus
Mediolanium - Milan (i think)
I think Lemonum - Lyons
Tingi - Tangei
Chersenosos - Sevastopol
Armenian capital (can't remember it's name - Kutaisi
Kydonia - Iraklion
Tanais - Rostov-na Danu
Larissa - Larisa
Thessalonica - Thessaloniki
Capua - Napoli
City on Corsica - Cagliari
Palma - Palma

That's all i can get. But remember, some of the cities might not be right, as i was looking for cities closest to their ancient counterparts or with similar names, and some of the cities from the former U.S.S.R may have had their names changed, since i was using world map from 1984.

[drone]

Cathargo Nova became Cartagena.

[Byzantine Prince]

Sparta - Sparti
Athen - Athina
Apolonia - Fier
Rome - Roma
Mediolanum - Milano
Lundinium - London
Masilia - Marseille
Miletus - Izmit
Antioch - Antakya
Alexandria - Al Iskandria

I have a lot more but Im too lazy right now.

[Baiae]

Eburacum - York
Trier - Trier (odd that...)
Seleucia is opposite Baghdad on the other bank of the river

[R3dD0g]

I spent a good amount of time searching for the cities north of the Black Sea. A lot of them Googled out to this site

When I was watching Troy, I had my R:TW map at hand to get an idea of the area.

Completely off subject - How long would it have taken the Spartans to sail to Troy? Where did they embark? Sometimes reading the history on this site is as much fun as playing the game.

[RJV]

Ancient Name - Modern Name

Carthage - Tunis (i think)

Yes, Carthage is now a suburb of modern day Tunis.

Tara = Dublin

[Proletariat]

What the hell could 'Londinium' have turned out to be?

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Actually Tunis is a city near Carthage. It is 15km. north and I do not think it is around anymore. The Romans did a bit of a number on it and then Tunis took over trade and such....

[lars573]

[QUOTE=Mikeus Caesar]Ancient Name - Modern Name

Patavium - Venice
[QUOTE]

Actually Patavium was destroyed by the Huns. As in burned to the ground and most of the people massacured. The survivors moved to the Po river delta and founded Venice.

Tarentum =Taranto
Segesta =Genoa
Arretium =Arezzo
Croton =Crotone
Ariminum =the city state of San Marino
Caralis =Cagliari
Lepcis Magna =Tarhunah
Cyrene =Benghazi
Lemonum =Poitlers
Lugunum =Lyons
Alesia =Orleans (Paris is too far north)
Thapsus =El Djem
Bordesholm (if it's not made up) =Kiel
Sparta =Sparti
Corinth =Korinthos
Tarsus =Tarsus
Sinope =Sinop
Porrolissum =Tirgu-Mures
Capua =Capua
Kydonia =Khania
Sidon =Sayda
Salamis =Salamis
Tingi =Tangier
Siwa =Siwah

And that's all I can find with my huge ass (size of the book) 1988 edition Rand-McNally atlas.

[hrvojej]

Segestica = Sisak
Salona = Solin

[conon394]

R3dD0g
About Sparta and sailing to Troy…
Do you mean as part of the Trojan War?

If so, the Greek fleet gathered at Aulis in Boeotia, and it was supposedly stuck there by the will of Artimis (who favored Troy) until Agamemnon scarified his daughter.

He did, so the Greek fleet of had a roughly 380 km voyage with favorable winds. Their vessels as described by Homer would have been Pentekonters (open, 50 oared ships. Thucydides in his description of the revolt by Mytilene provides some information about how fast two different Athenian Triremes traveled from the Piraeus to Mytilene (about 340 km), in conditions of good wind and seas. The first ship traveled in normal fassion, stopping for lunch and at night; the second leaving a day later, with specific orders to overtake the first, made no, stops and made all possible speed.

Both ships averaged about 5.9 knots, but the first took about 54 hours while the second only 31 or so (the difference is from the second’s lack of stopping).
Given the speed of a trireme and the quality of the Athenian navy, these numbers are probably about the best you could expect.

A pentekonter, loaded with extra soldiers and gear is unlikely to have rowed over the night, so I’d guess about 62 – 65 hours or so at the fastest from Aulis to Troy (assuming a maximum speed of 6 knots).

I don’t know where Homer has the Spartan fleet originate from, but in the Classical era Gytheum, was Sparta’s port and navel base (such as it was).

[Jay Tee]

Batavodurum = Nijmegen (it's not in the right place on the RTW map, should be more to the west).

[Akka]

Ancient Name - Modern Name
Aelisia - Paris

Wrong. Paris was Lutecia in Roman times.

I think Lemonum - Lyons

Nope. It was Lugdunum. And it's Lyon, without s :p

[Westland]

[QUOTE=lars573]

Ancient Name - Modern Name

Alesia =Orleans (Paris is too far north)

Nope, Alesia is called Alise-Sainte-Reine these days. Orleans was the Gallic town Cenabum. This town was destroyed bij Julius Ceasar by the way. Later the Romans made an new town which was called after emperor Aurelianus.

[lars573]

The map I was working from didn't show Alise-Sainte-Reine, but Orlenas was closest to Alesia on the map I had.

[Mikeus Caesar]

To all those people who are correcting me, thanks. Like i said, i was picking the towns which appeared to be closest to the ancient ones.

Nope. It was Lugdunum. And it's Lyon, without s :p

I didn't know whether it was Lugdunum or Lemonum, so i just wrote their names on a piece of paper and picked them out of a bag.

Tara = Dublin

I thought it might have been....anyways, it would be good if we could have more topics on the history of the game like this. They prove to be quite interesting and educational.

[Red Harvest]

Tarentum = Taranto

Lilybaeum = Marsala

[m4rt14n]

Didnt Patavium become the de-facto capital of western roman empire after some time? My history is pretty crappy.

[Tigran]

Artashat (Artaxata) is still Artashat same name same people

But the map is incorrect for Armenia, because it borders the Arax river to the east. In actuality Armenia extends east of that river. Matter of fact Artashat (Artaxata) is located east of the Arax river.

[Paul Peru]

Actually Tunis is a city near Carthage. It is 15km. north and I do not think it is around anymore. The Romans did a bit of a number on it and then Tunis took over trade and such....

Actually Carthage is currently in the suburbs of Tunis. The Romans had Bulla Regia as their main city in the area, AFAIR.

Aquincum is in the suburbs of Budapest.

Both of the sites have major excavated parts of the classical era towns open to the public, Aquincum only in summer though. (In the winter you can still see the town from the road, and visit the homeless people in the amphitheatre.)

[Herakleitos]

Batavodurum = Nijmegen (it's not in the right place on the RTW map, should be more to the west).

Nijmegen was called Noviomagus. There was a Lugdunum in the 'low countries' as well (modern day Leiden).

And of course Athens was called Athina at that time as well, and Rome has always been Roma, the way you write it pretty much depends on where you're from yourself...

(And yes, I am Dutch).

[Jay Tee]

Nijmegen was called Noviomagus. There was a Lugdunum in the 'low countries' as well (modern day Leiden).

Actually your right about Nijmegen.... but I am as well

http://www.livius.org/no-nz/nijmegen/noviomagus.html

[Khorak]

I think you'll find no-one even knows where Alesia is and you should talk about a site of a great Gallic victory instead.

Cookie for reference. :D

[hrvojej]

I think you'll find no-one even knows where Alesia is and you should talk about a site of a great Gallic victory instead.

Cookie for reference. :D

Let's talk about Gergovia instead.
Asterix.
Yum.

[Herakleitos]

Actually your right about Nijmegen.... but I am as well

http://www.livius.org/no-nz/nijmegen/noviomagus.html

So I see! I guess Nijmegen could just as easily have become 'Batadorp' then...

[MrWhipple]

Does anybody want to clean the list up and make a sticky in the guides section?

[hoom]

Themiskyra (city of the lost amazons ) is approximately modern Moscow

[Mikeus Caesar]

Themiskrya=Moscow? Could do. But there are lots of little cities in the area where Themiskrya once was. It could be anywhere.

[Quillan]

I thought Ariminum was modern day Rimini. I've got an Atlas of the ancient Roman world, and it's got a lot of modern names for the old cities listed, so I'll have to check.