Taranto vs Derbent

Informations

Taranto (, also US: , Italian: [ˈtaːranto] (listen); Tarantino: Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; early Italian: Tarento;; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base.Taranto was founded by the Spartans in the 8th century BC. During the period of Greek colonization on the coasts of Southern Italy, the city was among the most important in Magna Graecia and it became a cultural, economic and military power, which gave birth to philosophers, strategists, writers and athletes, such as Archytas, Aristoxenus, Livius Andronicus, Heracleides, Iccus, Cleinias, Leonidas, Lysis, and Sosibius. The seven-year rule of Archytas marked the apex of Taranto's development and the recognition of its hegemony over the other Greek colonies of southern Italy.

During the Norman period, it became the capital of the Principality of Taranto, which covered almost all of the heel of Apulia. From the name of the city derives that of the species Lycosa tarantula, which originated the terms tarantella, tarantism and tarantula. Taranto is also known for the large population of dolphins and other cetaceans that historically live near the Cheradi Islands, located in front of the city. It is the third-largest continental city in southern Italy and an important commercial and naval port with well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, naval shipyards, and food-processing factories. Around 500 BC the city was one of the largest in the world with population estimates up to 300,000 people.

Source: Wikipedia

Informations

Derbent (Russian: Дербе́нт; Persian: دربند‎; Lezgian: Кьвевар, Цал; Azerbaijani: Dərbənd; Avar: Дербенд), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Population: 119,200 (2010 Census); 101,031 (2002 Census); 78,371 (1989 Census).Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south.

Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms. In the 19th century, the city passed from Iranian into Russian hands by the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813.

Source: Wikipedia