What is this book about?
Published in 1922, Cities of the Dawn is part of Toynbee's monumental work, A Study of History. In this specific volume, Toynbee examines the historical trajectory of these twelve major Mediterranean and Near Eastern cities. He doesn't simply recount events chronologically but rather focuses on the cultural vitality of these cities during their 'dawn periods'—their most influential and creative phases. He analyzes the factors that allowed these cities to become centers of civilization, the reasons for their subsequent decline, and the recurring pattern of 'creative minorities' within these societies driving cultural and spiritual renewal.
