What are some characteristics about city-states?

Answer 1

A city-state is an independent entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government. Where as nation-states rely on a common heritage, be it linguistic, historical, economic, etc., the city-state relies on the common interest in the function of the urban center. The urban center and its activity supplies the livelihoods of all urbanites inhabiting the city-state. Examples include the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth), the Phoenician cities of Canaan (such as Tyre and Sidon), the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia (such as Babylon and Ur), the Maya of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including sites such as Chichen Itza and El Mirador), the central Asian cities along the Silk Road (which includes Samarkand and Bukhara), and the city-states of Italy (such as Florence, Genoa, Siena, Venice and many others) and Croatian city-state of Ragusa (Dubrovnik).

-Charles K-