The Indus Valley Cities

Across a territory larger than ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia combined, the Indus Valley Civilization built hundreds of cities of astonishing order — grid-planned streets, standardized fired bricks, covered sewers, and public baths. Yet archaeologists have found no palaces, no royal tombs, no grand temples, and no sign of an army: a sophisticated urban order seemingly without kings or war, its writing still undeciphered. It stands as proof that complex civilization did not have to be built the Mesopotamian way — around a strongman and a shrine.