In the past many large cities were called metropolitan due to their size or importance; such as: Alexandria, Angkor, Antioch, Athens, Babylon, Baghdad, Beirut, Benares, Byblos, Carthage, Constantinople, Corinth, Damascus, Ephesus, Great Zimbabwe, Harappa, Jerusalem, Kangla, Nanjing, Nineveh, Macchu Picchu, Mohenjo-Daro, Rome, Sarai, Side, Syracuse, Tenochtitlan, Teotihuacan, Tikal, Tyre, Xian and Ur.
ɪ n ð ə WORD_BOUNDARY p æ s t WORD_BOUNDARY m ɛ n i WORD_BOUNDARY l ɑ ɹ d̠ʒ WORD_BOUNDARY s ɪ t i z WORD_BOUNDARY w ɜː WORD_BOUNDARY k ɔ l d WORD_BOUNDARY m ɛ t ɹ ə p ɑ l ɪ t ə n WORD_BOUNDARY d uː WORD_BOUNDARY t ə WORD_BOUNDARY ð ɛ ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY s aɪ z WORD_BOUNDARY ɔ ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ m p ɔ ɹ t ə n s WORD_BOUNDARY s ʌ t̠ʃ WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ z WORD_BOUNDARY æ l ɪ ɡ z æ n d ɹ iə WORD_BOUNDARY æ ŋ k ə ɹ ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY æ n t iː ɑ k WORD_BOUNDARY æ θ ɪ n z WORD_BOUNDARY b æ b ɪ l ə n WORD_BOUNDARY b æ ɡ d æ d WORD_BOUNDARY b eɪ ɹ uː t WORD_BOUNDARY b ɛ n ɛ ɹ z WORD_BOUNDARY b aɪ b l oʊ z WORD_BOUNDARY k ɑ ɹ θ ɪ d̠ʒ WORD_BOUNDARY k ɑ n s t ʌ n t ɪ n oʊ p ə l WORD_BOUNDARY k ɔ ɹ ɪ n θ WORD_BOUNDARY d ʌ m æ s k ə s WORD_BOUNDARY ɛ f ɛ s ə s WORD_BOUNDARY ɡ ɹ eɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY z ɪ m b ɑ b w i WORD_BOUNDARY h æ ɹ æ p ə WORD_BOUNDARY d̠ʒ ə ɹ ɹ uː s ə l ə m WORD_BOUNDARY k æ ŋ ɡ l ə WORD_BOUNDARY n æ n d̠ʒ ɪ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY n ɪ n ɪ v ə WORD_BOUNDARY m æ k uː WORD_BOUNDARY p ɪ k uː WORD_BOUNDARY m oʊ h ɛ n d̠ʒ oʊ d æ ɹ oʊ WORD_BOUNDARY ɹ oʊ m WORD_BOUNDARY s æ ɹ aɪ WORD_BOUNDARY s aɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY s ɪ ɹ ʌ k j uː s WORD_BOUNDARY t ə n ɑ t̠ʃ t ɪ t l ɑ n WORD_BOUNDARY t ɪ ɑ t ɪ h j uː æ k ə n WORD_BOUNDARY t ɪ k ɑ l WORD_BOUNDARY t aɪ ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY z aɪ ə n WORD_BOUNDARY æ n d WORD_BOUNDARY ɜː WORD_BOUNDARY