Caput Mundi is a
Latin phrase taken to mean "
capital of the world". (literally: "
head of the world", see
capital,
capitol). It originates out of a
classical European understanding of the
known world: Southern Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia. Because of the enduring power of the
Roman Republic and
Roman Empire, and the
Roman Catholic Church, in this sphere, the city of
Rome has been known for centuries as
Caput Mundi.
Rome
Rome's influence in the ancient world began to grow around the
Second Century
BC as the Republic expanded across Southern Europe and North Africa. For the next five centuries, Rome would govern much of the known world. The cultural influence of the local language of Rome (
Latin) as well as Roman Art, Architecture, Religion and Philosophy was immense.
Constantinople
Constantinople was built as the second
Rome by
Emperor Constantine in 330 AD.
The Byzantine Empire lasted for over a thousand years with the center always at Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was centered in the capitals of
Nicaea,
Trebizond, and
Arta. The city was seen as the "Capital of the World" because of its prime trading position in the center of the medieval world. Between 330 and 1453, one could see in Constantinople the faces of Ethiopians, Egyptians, Arabs, Franks, Italians, as well as the Chinese and Indians, who were a very rare sight in Europe for the time . The city was also the center of half of the Christian world as the seat of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox church. Thus as the world center for commerce, diplomacy, religion, education, it could well have been said that during the city's heyday, Constantinople was indeed the capital of the world.
Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted as saying, "If the Earth were a single state, Constantinople would be its capital."
London
Capital of the
British Empire,
London was seen as the heir apparent of
Rome.
Though the empire has since passed, London is one of the world's leading business, financial, and cultural centres, and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts all contribute to its status as a major global city. In addition London in time and on maps is the direct center of the world, with the
Prime Meridian running directly through
Greenwich (also known as the Greenwich Meridian), with its time zone as
GMT+0 (
UTC+0). The decision made at the
International Meridian Conference was due to the dominance of the
British Empire; only
France continued using the
Paris Meridian for a number of years afterward.
New York
New York City, the most populous city in the
United States, is sometimes referred to as a "
Novum Caput Mundi" (Latin: "New Capital of the world") or by the
English phrase "
Capital of the World". As well as being the largest
urban area in the United States, the New York area is also the second largest on Earth, surpassed only by
greater Tokyo, Japan.
Unlike Rome, which had direct political control throughout the
Republic and later the
Empire, New York City is not even the capital of
New York State, nor the United States. It does, however, host the
United Nations headquarters.
In addition to the UN, many national and international private
corporations have headquarters in New York City. The
New York Stock Exchange is also in the city. The global
cultural and
economic influence of these entities is massive. For these reasons, the trends set by New Yorkers exert a powerful, ongoing influence on people worldwide.
See also
