Editing Capital city (section)

== Origins ==
[[File:The Forbidden City - View from Coal Hill.jpg|thumb|[[Beijing]], as the last of the [[Historical capitals of China|Four Great Ancient Capitals]] of [[China]], has served as the country's political centre for most of the past eight centuries.]]
Historically, the major economic centre of a state or region has often become the focal point of political power, and became a capital through [[Conquest (military)|conquest]] or [[federation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kinooze.com/what-does-a-capital-city-mean/|title=What does a Capital City Mean?|date=5 December 2012|access-date=9 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531161615/http://kinooze.com/what-does-a-capital-city-mean/|archive-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> Historical examples are [[Babylon|ancient Babylon]], [[ancient Athens]], [[ancient Rome]], [[Baghdad#History|Abbasid Baghdad]], [[Constantinople]], [[Chang'an]], and [[Cusco|ancient Cusco]]. The modern capital city has not always existed: in medieval Western Europe, an [[itinerant court|itinerant (wandering) government]] was common.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/capital-city-relocation-1435389|title=Where Next: The Reasons Why (Some) Countries Move Their Capitals|access-date=9 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010151019/https://www.thoughtco.com/capital-city-relocation-1435389|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>

The capital city attracts politically motivated people and those whose skills are needed for efficient [[Administration (government)|administration]] of national or imperial governments, such as [[lawyer]]s, [[political scientist]]s, [[banking|banker]]s, [[journalist]]s, and [[public policy (law)|public policy maker]]s. Some of these cities are or were also [[Holy city|religious centres]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_aMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA22|title=Capital Cities in the Aftermath of Empires: Planning in Central and Southeastern Europe|first1=Emily Gunzburger|last1=Makas|first2=Tanja Damljanovic|last2=Conley|date=4 December 2009|publisher=Routledge|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010151840/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=M_aMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=religious+centres+capital+cities&source=bl&ots=VEfFJF9hdI&sig=PtLmMxFTErkNm-Qor7fGibCfr6g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirz6OC3rDUAhVIVbwKHWM_B_AQ6AEITTAL#v=onepage&q=religious+centres+capital+cities&f=false|archive-date=10 October 2017|isbn=9781135167257}}</ref> e.g. [[Constantinople]] (more than one religion), [[Rome]]/[[Vatican City]] (the [[Roman Catholic Church]]), [[Jerusalem]] (more than one religion), Babylon, Moscow (the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]), Belgrade (the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]), Paris, and Beijing. In some countries, the capital has been changed for [[Geopolitics|geopolitical]] reasons; [[Finland]]'s first city, [[Turku]], which had served as the country's capital since the Middle Ages under the Swedish rule, lost its position during the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] in 1812, when [[Helsinki]] was made the current capital of Finland by the Russian Empire.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Turku |title=Turku, Finland – Britannica |access-date=1 August 2021 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711193234/https://www.britannica.com/place/Turku |url-status=live }}</ref>

The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal. Traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals as is the case with [[Nanjing]] by [[Shanghai]], [[Quebec City]] by [[Montreal]], and several [[US state capitals]]. The [[societal collapse|decline]] of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its capital city, as occurred at Babylon<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Cl4BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|title=Babylon: Legend, History and the Ancient City|first=Michael|last=Seymour|date=29 August 2014|publisher=I.B.Tauris|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010153333/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=6Cl4BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=extinction+babylon&source=bl&ots=hoHWZ95wMC&sig=Q12hEn29qFcbg6YrAtc84Xts-1g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk05-P37DUAhWCgLwKHbIcBOsQ6AEILjAC#v=onepage&q=extinction+babylon&f=false|archive-date=10 October 2017|isbn=9780857736079}}</ref> and [[Cahokia]]. "Political nomadism" was practiced in [[ancient Near East]] to increase ties between the ruler and the subjects.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bahadori |first1=Ali |last2=Miri |first2=Negin |title=The So-called Achaemenid Capitals and the Problem of Royal Court Residence |journal=Iran |date=2021 |volume=62 |pages=1–31 |doi=10.1080/05786967.2021.1960881|s2cid=238840732 }}</ref>

Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no such legal designation, including [[Bern]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Lisbon]], [[London]], [[Paris]], and [[Wellington]].{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} They are recognized as capitals as a matter of convention, and because all or almost all the country's central political institutions, such as government departments, supreme court, legislature, embassies, etc., are located in or near them.