Atlas Trail
Eight Caucasus and Central Asian Capitals by Population from Ashgabat to Tashkent
These eight capitals lie between the Caspian Sea and the Tian Shan foothills, in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Ranked by their latest recorded population, they climb from just over a million in Ashgabat to more than three million in Tashkent, and the notes show how differently each one came to be a capital.
Stop 1 of 8.
Cities
Ashgabat lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range, about 50 kilometres from the Iran-Turkmenistan border. Its 2022 census count of 1,030,063 makes it the smallest capital on this path, and its recorded founding year is 1881.
Stop 2 of 8.
Cities
Yerevan stands on the Hrazdan River and has been Armenia's capital since 1918, yet it is described as one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with a recorded founding year of 782 BCE. In 2022 its population reached 1,086,677 across 223 square kilometres.
Stop 3 of 8.
Cities
Bishkek was called Pishpek until 1926 and then Frunze until 1991, and it sits near the border with Kazakhstan as the capital of the Chuy Region as well as of Kyrgyzstan. Its 2025 population is recorded as 1,120,827 within about 386 square kilometres.
Stop 4 of 8.
Cities
Dushanbe was proclaimed the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in October 1924, with government working formally from March 1925, which makes the 1924 founding year here a political date. Its population stood at 1,228,400 in March 2024.
Stop 5 of 8.
Cities
Tbilisi was founded in the 5th century CE by Vakhtang I of Iberia on the banks of the Kura River and has been the capital of several Georgian kingdoms and republics. With 1,369,400 people it holds almost a third of the country's population.
Stop 6 of 8.
Cities
Astana stands on the Ishim River in northern Kazakhstan and is self-administering although it lies inside the Akmola Region. Almaty was the national capital until 1997, and Astana recorded 1,622,245 people on 1 November 2025.
Stop 7 of 8.
Cities
Baku is the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus, and it lies 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest-lying national capital in the world. Its recorded population of 2,344,900 in 2024 spreads over about 2,140 square kilometres.
Stop 8 of 8.
Cities
Tashkent is the most populous city in Central Asia, with more than 3.1 million people as of 1 October 2025, recorded as 3,164,030. Its recorded founding year is 250 BCE, so the largest capital on this path is also one of its oldest.
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