Tashkent vs Irbid

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Tashkent (; Russian pronunciation: [tɐʂˈkʲent]; Russian: Ташкент, tr. Tashkent), or Toshkent (Uzbek pronunciation: [tɒʃˈkent]; Uzbek: Toshkent, Тошкент, تاشكینت‎), is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan, as well as the most populous city in ex-Soviet Central Asia, with a population in 2018 of 2,485,900. It is in northeastern Uzbekistan, near the border with Kazakhstan. Before Islamic influence started in the mid 8th century AD, Tashkent was influenced by the Sogdian and Turkic cultures. After Genghis Khan destroyed it in 1219, it was rebuilt and profited from the Silk Road. From the 18th to the 19th century, the city became an independent city-state, before being re-conquered by the Khanate of Kokand.

In 1865, Tashkent fell to the Russian Empire, and became the capital of Russian Turkestan. In Soviet times, it witnessed major growth and demographic changes due to forced deportations from throughout the Soviet Union. Much of Tashkent was destroyed in the 1966 Tashkent earthquake, but it was rebuilt as a model Soviet city. It was the fourth-largest city in the Soviet Union at the time, after Moscow, Leningrad and Kyiv. Today, as the capital of an independent Uzbekistan, Tashkent retains a multiethnic population, with ethnic Uzbeks as the majority. In 2009, it celebrated its 2,200 years of written history.

Source: Wikipedia

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Irbid (Arabic: إرْبِد‎), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a population of around 1,911,600. Irbid is located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Amman on the northern ridge of the Gilead, equidistant from Pella, Beit Ras (Capitolias), and Um Qais, and approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Syrian border. Irbid was built on successive Early Bronze Age settlements and was possibly the biblical Beth Arbel and the Arbila of the Decapolis, a Hellenistic league of the 1st century BCE through the 2nd century CE.

The population of Irbid swelled in the late 19th century, and prior to 1948 it served as a significant centre of transit trade.Irbid is the second largest metropolitan in Jordan by population after Amman. But as a city Irbid is the third largest one after Amman and Az Zarqa. The province of Irbid Governorate has the second largest population, and the highest population density in the kingdom. The city is a major ground transportation hub between Amman, Syria to the north, and Mafraq to the east. The Irbid region is also home to several colleges and universities. The two most prominent universities are Jordan University of Science and Technology and Yarmouk University.

Source: Wikipedia