The question about which city was considered the financial center of Europe in the 1st century needs careful framing, because “financial center” as a concept did not exist in the same way then as it does today. If the intent is to identify a city that played a central role in large-scale medieval or early modern European finance, there are several strong candidates, but none are truly a single “financial center of Europe” for the 1st century. Context and likely interpretations:

• If the query aims at ancient Rome or classical economies: Rome and other ancient trading hubs (like Carthage or Alexandria in other contexts) were major commercial and monetary centers in the broader Mediterranean, but not “financial centers” in the modern sense.
• If the query aims at the medieval to early modern period (roughly 13th–17th centuries), Antwerp, Amsterdam, and later London often compete for descriptions as major European financial hubs, with Antwerp standing out in the 16th century for international banking and trade, Amsterdam for early modern finance, and London emerging strongly in later centuries.
• If the user is referring specifically to a 1st-century timeframe (AD 1), there isn’t a consensus on a single European financial capital; economic activity was more diffuse, with Roman financial networks and provincial centers rather than a recognized European-wide financial hub.

Recommended concise takeaway:

• There is no agreed single “financial center of Europe” in the 1st century.
• If you’re exploring early indicators of financial activity, Rome dominated imperial finance and trade in the Mediterranean, while other urban centers in the Empire facilitated kinds of moneylending, credit, and exchange, but none had the centralized status that later cities like Antwerp, Amsterdam, or London achieved.

If you’d like, I can tailor the answer by:

• Focusing on a specific interpretation (ancient Rome’s financial role vs. medieval/early modern centers),
• Providing a concise timeline of European financial centers from the medieval period onward, or
• Exploring primary sources and scholarly views on early European finance to pinpoint which cities were pivotal at different times.