List of former national capitals

Throughout the world there are many cities that were once national capitals but no longer have that status because the country ceased to exist, the capital was moved, or the capital city was renamed. This is a list of such cities, sorted by country and then by date. Where a city name has changed, the name of the city when it was a capital is listed first, followed by its modern name in brackets.

Africa

Northern Africa

Old capital city

Country

Today a part of

From

Until

Change, reason

Fustat

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central Africa

Old capital city	Country	Today a part of	From	Until	Change, reason
Jamba	Angola, Democratic People's Republic of	Angola	1975	1976
Jamba	Angola, Democratic People's Republic of	Angola	1979	2002
Halã-Vala, Bimbe-Katapi	Bailundo	Angola	c. 1700	1903
Cabinda	Cabinda, Republic of	Angola	1975	1976
Boma	Congo Free State	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	1886	1908
Boma	Congo, Belgian	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	1908	1926	moved to Léopoldville
Stanleyville	Congo, People's Republic of the	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	1964	1965
Quinguele	Kakongo	Angola	?	1885
Njimi	Kanem	Chad	fl. 11th century	c. 1396	lost to Bulala invaders
Élisabethville	Katanga, State of	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	1960	1963
São Salvador	Kongo, Kingdom of	Angola	1483	1915
Lumbala N'guimbo	Mbunda Kingdom	Angola	c. 1500	1917
Cabaça	Ndongo, Kingdom of	Angola	?	1657
Bakwanga	South Kasai	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	1960	1962
Kasongo	Utetera, Sultanate of	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	1860	1887
Cuíto	Viye	Angola	1750	1890
Ganda-a-Caué	Wambu	Angola	c. 1650	1902
Huambo-Cabral Moncada	Wambu	Angola	1902	1903
Malabo	Equatorial Guinea	Equatorial Guinea	1968	2026

Asia

Central Asia

Old capital city	Country	Today a part of	From	Until	Change, reason
Semey	Alash Orda	Kazakhstan	1917	1920	Entity named Kyrgyz ASSR established, capital moved to Orenburg
Bukhara	Bukhara, Khanate of	Uzbekistan	1533	1551	moved to Samarqand
Bukhara	Bukhara, Khanate of	Uzbekistan	1556	1756
Bukhara	Bukhara, Emirate of	Uzbekistan	1785	1920
Bukhara	Bukharan SRR	Uzbekistan	1920	1924
Kandahar	Durrani Empire	Afghanistan	1748	1772	moved to Kabul
Ghazni	Ghaznavid Empire	Afghanistan	977	1163	moved to Lahore
Ghazni	Ghurid dynasty	Afghanistan	1170s	1215
Bactra	Greco-Bactrian Kingdom	Afghanistan	3rd century BC	2rd century BC
Herat	Herat, Emirate of	Afghanistan	1793	1863	Annexation of the country to the Emirate of Afghanistan
Kandahar	Kandahar, Principality of	Afghanistan	1818	1855	Annexation of the country to the Emirate of Kabul
Alma-Ata	Kazakh SSR	Kazakhstan	1936	1991
Alma-Ata	Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	1991	1993	city renamed Almaty
Almaty	Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	1993	1998	moved to Astana
Khiva	Khiva, Khanate of	Uzbekistan	1511	1920
Khiva	Khorezm SRR	Uzbekistan	1920	1924
Kokand	Kokand, Khanate of	Uzbekistan	1709	1876	Annexation of the country to the Russian Empire
Asadabad	Kunar, Islamic Emirate of	Afghanistan	1991	1991	Fall of the state.
Bagram	Kushan Empire	Afghanistan	1st century AD	1st century AD
Maymana	Maimana Khanate	Afghanistan	1747	1892	Annexation of the country to the Emirate of Kabul, preceded by the sacking of the city
Zaranj	Mihrabanid dynasty	Afghanistan	1236	1537
Omsk	Russia	Russia	1918	1920	White Movement defeated by Reds
Samarkand	Timurid Empire	Uzbekistan	1370	1405	Capital moved to Herat.
Zaranj	Saffarid dynasty	Afghanistan	861	1002
Herat	Timurid Empire	Afghanistan	1405	1507	Invaded by Muhammad Shaybani.
Gurganj	Khwarazmian Empire	Turkmenistan	1077	1212	moved to Samarqand
Iasy	Uzbek Khanate	Kazakhstan	1469	1471
Samarkand	Uzbek SSR	Uzbekistan	1925	1930	moved to Tashkent
Alexandria in the Caucasus	Yavana Kingdom	Afghanistan	180 BC	AD 10

Eastern Asia

Old capital city	Country	Today a part of	From	Until	Change, reason
Anyang	Shang dynasty	China	c. 1600 BC	c. 1046 BC	moved to Chang'an - end of Shang dynasty
Chang'an	Zhou dynasty	China	c. 1046 BC	722 BC	moved to Luoyang
Luoyang	Zhou dynasty	China	771 BC	221 BC	moved to Xianyang - fall of Zhou dynasty
Xianyang	Qin dynasty	China	221 BC	206 BC	moved back to Chang'an - fall of Qin dynasty
Chang'an	Han dynasty	China	206 BC	25	moved back to Luoyang
Luoyang	Han dynasty	China	25	220	Fall of the Han dynasty marking the beginning of the Six Dynasties period
Chang'an	Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty	China	581	907	fall of the Tang dynasty marking the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Kaifeng	Song dynasty	China	960	1127	moved to Hangzhou
Hangzhou	Song dynasty	China	1127	1279	Kublai Khan integrated China into the Mongol Empire
Nanjing	Ming dynasty	China	1368	1421	moved to Beijing
Nanjing	China, Republic of	China	1928	1937	moved to Chongqing because of Japanese occupation
Ruijin	China, Soviet Republic of	China	1931	1934	moved to Shaanxi due to the Long March
Chongqing	China, Republic of	China	1937	1945	moved back to Nanjing
Nanjing	China, Republic of	China	1945	1949	moved to Taipei after the loss of the mainland which caused the nationalist government fled to Taiwan and made Taipei the temporary capital of the Republic of China. Beijing was proclaimed the capital of the People's Republic of China.
Hakodate	Republic of Ezo	Japan	1868	1869	Annexed by Japan
Middag	Middag, Kingdom of	Taiwan	?	1732?	Middag annexed by Qing dynasty
Tainan	Formosa, Republic of	Taiwan	1895	1895	Annexed by Japan
Tainan	Tungning, Kingdom of	Taiwan	1662	1683	Kingdom of Tungning conquered by Qing dynasty. Tainan remained the seat of government until 1885.
Asuka	Japan	Japan	?	694	moved to Fujiwara-kyō
Fujiwara-kyō	Japan	Japan	694	710	moved to Heijō-kyō
Heijō-kyō	Japan	Japan	710	784	moved to Nagaoka-kyō
Nagaoka-kyō	Japan	Japan	784	794	moved to Heian-kyō
Heian-kyō	Japan	Japan	794	1868	moved to Tokyo
Shuri	Ryūkyū Kingdom	Japan	1429	1879	Annexed by Japan
Wanggeom	Gojoseon	North Korea	194 BC	108 BC	fall of Gojoseon
Holbon	Goguryeo	China	37 BC	3	moved to Gungnae
Gungnae	Goguryeo	China	3	427	moved to Pyongyang
Pyongyang	Goguryeo	North Korea	427	668	fall of Goguryeo
Seorabeol	Silla	South Korea	57 BC	935	fall of Silla
Wirye	Baekje	South Korea	18 BC	476	moved to Ungjin
Ungjin	Baekje	South Korea	476	538	moved to Sabi
Sabi	Baekje	South Korea	538	660	fall of Baekje
Sanggyeong	Balhae	China	756	926	fall of Balhae
Gaegyeong	Goryeo	North Korea	919	1392	moved to Hanyang - fall of Goryeo dynasty
Seoul	North Korea	South Korea	1948	1972	de jure capital changed to Pyongyang in a new Constitution of North Korea

Southern Asia

Old capital city	Country	Today a part of	From	Until	Change, reason
Madurai	Pandya Empire	India	c. 6th century	1335	Capital moved to Tenkasi
Thanjavur	Chola Empire	India	c. 9th century	1279	Chola Empire is disestablished
Dacca (legislative)	Pakistan	Bangladesh	1962	1971	Country's constituent assembly should meet in East Pakistan due to the region's high population.
Mujibnagar	Bangladesh, Provisional Government of	Bangladesh	1971	1972	A provisional government was established and the leaders of Bangladesh swore their oaths in this town known as Baiydanathtala or Bhoborpara. This was later renamed to Mujibnagar in honour of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Hazrat Pandua	Bengal Sultanate	India	1352	1450	First and longest capital of the Bengal Sultanate.
Sonargaon	Bengal Sultanate	Bangladesh	1390	1411	Capital moved to Gaur
Gaur/Lakhnauti	Bengal Sultanate	Bangladesh	1450	1565	Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah changed the capital from Pandua to nearby Gaur, probably due to change in river course.
Tanda	Bengal Sultanate	India	1565	1576	Bengal Sultanate was defeated by the Mughal Empire in 1576, but Tanda remained as Bengal's provincial capital until the 1590s.
Daulatabad	Tughlaq dynasty	India	1327	1329	Forcibly moved the entire population of Delhi to Daulatabad for a more centrally located capital. The decision was revoked and was moved back to Delhi within two years, due to lack of water.
Agra	Mughal Empire	India	1504	1653	moved to Aurangabad, was moved to Delhi during the reign of Shah Jahan and to Fatehpur Sikri during 1571–1585, during part of Akbar's reign.
Fatehpur Sikri	Mughal Empire	India	1571	1585	moved to Agra
Pune	Maratha Empire	India	1679	1818	British captured the city and controlled from Calcutta
Calcutta	British Raj	India	1772	1911	moved to Delhi
Delhi	British Raj	India	1911	1931	moved to New Delhi, inaugurated 1931
New Delhi	British Raj	India	1931	1947	became capital of independent Dominion of India in 1947, and later of Republic of India in 1950
Simla	British Raj	India	fl. 1850	1947	Summer capital
Mysore	Mysore, Kingdom of	India	1524	1947	Moved to New Delhi, Kingdom of Mysore dissolved- the capital of the state was moved temporarily to Bangalore 1831 to 1881 by Mark Cubbon.
Padmanabhapuram	Travancore, Kingdom of	India	1601	1795	Moved to Thiruvanathapuram by Maharajah Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma I.
Trivandrum	Travancore, Kingdom of	India	1795	1947	Moved to New Delhi as Travancore joined Dominion of India.
Hyderabad	Hyderabad State	India	1769	1948	Moved to New Delhi in September 1948, after the launch of a military operation by the Dominion of India known as Operation Polo. Hyderabad continues to remain the capital of the Indian states Telangana and, provisionally, Andhra Pradesh.
Gorkha	Gorkha Kingdom	Nepal	1559	1769	moved to Kathmandu after unification of Nepal
Kantipur	Kantipur, Kingdom of	Nepal	1560	1826	Became/Renamed as Kathmandu after Unification of Nepal.
Karachi	Pakistan	Pakistan	1947	1959	moved to Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi	Pakistan	Pakistan	1959	1967	moved to Islamabad
Lahore	Sikh Empire	Pakistan	1799	1849	Annexation of the Punjab by the East India Company.
Anuradhapura	Lanka	Sri Lanka	c. 382 BC	1018	Capital moved to possibly Polonnaruwa
Polonnaruwa	Kingdom of Polonnaruwa	Sri Lanka	c. 1055	1284	Capital moved to Dambadeniya
Kotte	Kotte, Kingdom of	Sri Lanka	c. 1415	c. 1565	Capital moved to Kandy
Kandy	Kandy, Kingdom of	Sri Lanka	1592	1815	Capital moved to Colombo
Colombo	British Ceylon	Sri Lanka	1815	1948	colony acquired dominion status
Colombo	Ceylon, Dominion of	Sri Lanka	1948	1972	Dominion became republic
Colombo	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	1972	1982	Capital moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

Europe

Northern Europe

Old capital city	Country	Today a part of	From	Until	Change, reason
Roskilde	Denmark	Denmark	c. 1020	1443	moved to Copenhagen
Ribe	North Sea Empire	Denmark	1016	1035	Empire collapsed with the death of Cnut the Great.
Copenhagen	Kalmar Union	Denmark	1443	1524
Copenhagen	Denmark–Norway	Denmark	1524	1814
Turku	Finland, Grand Duchy of	Finland	1809	1812	moved to Helsinki
Vaasa	Finland, Republic of	Finland	1918	1918	Temporary capital during the Civil War
Ferns	Laighin	Ireland	6th century	12th century	Ireland invaded by Normans
Cashel	Munster, Kingdom of	Ireland	1st century BC	1118	Division of Munster into Desmond and Thomond
Kilkenny	Ireland, Confederate	Ireland	1642	1651	Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Kernavė	Lithuania, Grand Duchy of	Lithuania	1279	1321	moved to Trakai
Trakai	Lithuania, Grand Duchy of	Lithuania	c. 1321	c. 1323	moved to Vilnius
Kaunas	Lithuania, Republic of	Lithuania	1922	1940	moved back to Vilnius
Nidaros	Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)	Norway	997	1217	moved to Bergen
Bjørgvin	Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)	Norway	1217	1299	moved to Oslo
Christiania	Norway	Norway	1905	1925	, renamed Oslo
Gamla Uppsala	Sweden, Kingdom of	Sweden	9th century	1273	moved to Uppsala
Uppsala	Sweden, Kingdom of	Sweden	1273	1436	moved to Stockholm
Din Guardi	Bryneich	United Kingdom	420	547	conquering of the Kingdom
Chelmsford	England, Kingdom of	United Kingdom	1 July 1381	6 July 1381	Briefly moved from London due to Peasants' Revolt
Bebbanburgh	Bernicia	United Kingdom	547	634	merged with Deira to become Northumbria
Ebrauc	Deira	United Kingdom	5th century	866	merged with Bernicia to become Northumbria
Lisnaskea	Fermanagh	Northern Ireland, United Kingdom	10th century	1607	Disestablished alongside the kingdom following the Flight of the Earls
York	Northumbria	United Kingdom	834	866	fall of the Kingdom
Dorchester on Thames	Wessex	United Kingdom	634	686	moved to Winchester
Rendlesham	East Anglia, Kingdom of	United Kingdom	6th century	1017	absorbed into England
Winchester	Wessex	United Kingdom	686	927	formation of England
Winchester	England, Kingdom of	United Kingdom	927	1066	moved to London
Castletown	Man, Isle of	United Kingdom	1090	1874	moved to Douglas
Tamworth	Mercia	United Kingdom	7th century	927	fall of Kingdom, superseded by Winchester
Dumbarton	Strathclyde, Kingdom of	Scotland, United Kingdom	c 5th Century	870	Moved to Govan, now part of Glasgow, following 4 months of Viking military assault in 870.
Govan	Strathclyde, Kingdom of	Scotland, United Kingdom	870	c 1034	Conquered by Duncan II, and became part of Scotland.
Kirkjuvagr	Norðreyjar, Territory of the Norwegian Realm	Scotland, United Kingdom	c 872	1472	Absorbed into Scotland.
Scone, near Perth	Scotland, Kingdom of	United Kingdom	846	1452	moved to Edinburgh
Edinburgh	Scotland, Kingdom of	United Kingdom	1452	1707	Scotland was united with England under one monarch in 1603. Edinburgh remains the capital of Scotland within the United Kingdom.
Machynlleth	Wales, Principality of	United Kingdom	1404	1416	seat of Owain Glyndŵr's self-proclaimed parliament. Capital declared to be Cardiff in 1955
York	Scandinavian York	United Kingdom	875	954	fall of kingdom
Camulodunum	Roman Britain	United Kingdom	43	61	moved to Londinium after being destroyed by Boudica.

Southern Europe

South-western Europe

Old capital city	Country	Today a part of	From	Until	Change, reason
Barcelona	Barcelona, County of	Spain	801	1162
Burgos	Castile, Crown of	Spain	11th century	15th century	moved to Valladolid
Toledo	Castile, Crown of	Spain	15th century	1469	moved to Valladolid
Valladolid	Castile, Crown of	Spain	1469	1561	moved to Madrid. Was briefly the Spanish capital again from 1601 to 1606.
Barcelona	Catalonia, Principality of	Spain	1173	1714
Córdoba	Córdoba, Emirate of	Spain	756	929	Succeeded by Caliphate of Córdoba.
Córdoba	Córdoba, Caliphate of	Spain	929	1031	country dissolved, became part of Taifa of Córdoba
Santiago	Couto Mixto	Spain	12th century	1864	Couto Mixto annexed by Spain and Portugal
Granada	Granada, Emirate of	Spain	1250	1492	Emirate ceased to exist after the Reconquista and incorporated into Castile
Guimarães	Portugal, Kingdom of	Portugal	1128	1179	moved to Coimbra
Coimbra	Portugal, Kingdom of	Portugal	1179	1255	moved to Lisbon
Valencia	Spanish Republic, Second	Spain	1936	1937	Government of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War
Barcelona	Spanish Republic, Second	Spain	1937	1939	Government of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War
Barcelona	Visigothic Kingdom	Spain	507	546	moved to Toledo
Barcelona	Crown of Aragon and Catalan Republic	Spain	801	1715	annexed by Spain and France
Toledo	Visigothic Kingdom	Spain	546	711	Kingdom fell and captured by Umayyad Caliphate

North America

Old capital city	Country, empire	From	Until	Change, reason
James Town	Barbados	1625	1628	moved to Bridgetown, purpose-built
St. George	Bermuda	1612	1815	moved to Hamilton
Belize City	British Honduras	1638	1970	moved to Belmopan because of the devastating effects of Hurricane Hattie in 1961 and Belize City earthquake in 1968
Chan Santa Cruz	Chan Santa Cruz	c. 1852	1901	became part of Mexico
Cartago	Costa Rica	1562	1823	moved to San José
Santiago de Cuba	Cuba	1522	1589	moved
Santiago de los Caballeros	Dominican Republic	1863	1865	Dominican Restoration War
Antigua	Guatemala	1525	1776	New capital of Guatemala City founded after Antigua destroyed three times by major earthquakes.
Spanish Town	Jamaica	1534	1872	moved to Kingston
Cap-Français	Saint-Domingue	1711	1804	moved to Port-au-Prince
Quetzaltenango	Los Altos	1838	1840	country ceased to exist
Granada and León	Nicaragua	1821	1857	moved to Managua
St. John's	Newfoundland	1855	1949	entered confederation within Canada and became the country's 10th province
Washington, D.C.	Philippine Commonwealth	May 1942	October 1944	returned to the Philippines subsequent to the end of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II
Old Road Town	Saint Kitts	1623	1727	capital moved to Basseterre
San Jose de Oruña	British Trinidad	1592	1783	moved to Port of Spain
Caparra	Puerto Rico	1508	1521	moved to San Juan
Port of Spain and Chaguaramas	West Indies Federation	1958	1962	country ceased to exist
Mérida	Republic of Yucatán	1840	1847	Yucatán annexed by Mexico
Comayagua, Comayagua	Republic of Honduras	1540	1937	Tiburcio Carias Andino changed the capital because of its proximity to the San Juancito mines
St. John's	British Leeward Islands	1671 and 1833	1816 and 1958

Oceania

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