A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government. A city-state can also be defined as a central city and its surrounding villages, which together follow the same law, have one form of government, and share languages, religious beliefs, and ways of life.

Historical examples include the oldest known Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia and Ur, the Phoenician cities of Canaan (such as Tyre and Sidon), the Berber city-states of the Garamantes, the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth), the Roman Republic which grew from a city-state into a great power, the Maya of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including sites such as Chichen Itza and El Mirador), the central Asian cities along the Silk Road, Venice, Croatian city-state of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and many others. The Viking colonial cities in medieval Ireland, most importantly Dublin, have recently been classed as genuine city-states.

Adrian "Ady" Williams (born 16 August 1971, in Reading, England) is a Wales international footballer and is the former manager of Didcot Town

Williams started his career with Reading, making his first appearance in the 1991–92 season. This first spell at Reading saw him established as a firm fans favourite. His talent and youth saw him play in every position for The Royals, from centre-forward to emergency goalkeeper, wearing every shirt number from 1-11, plus both substitute numbers 12 and 14, in the process. He was a regular in the side that missed out on promotion to the Premier League, eventually losing to Bolton Wanderers in the 1994–95 First Division Play-off Final at Wembley. Williams had scored the second goal in that game, giving them a 2-0 lead in the first half, before two late goals saw Bolton draw level and force extra time, going on to win the game 4-3 and seal a place in the FA Premier League - a level at which Williams would ultimately never play.

In 1996 he was signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he remained until the 1999–2000 season. His time at Molineux was largely interrupted by injury; he made just 36 appearances in over three seasons.