Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Unlike most capital cities in southern Africa , Antananarivo was already a major city before the colonial era . The city was founded circa 1625 by King Andrianjaka and takes its name ( the City of the Thousand ) from the number of soldiers assigned to guard it .
Simplified: Antananarivo was founded in about 1625 by King Andrianjaka .