Sophisticated ancient city, source of misery (6)
I believe the answer is:
urbane
'sophisticated' is the definition.
('urbane' can be a synonym of 'sophisticated')
'ancient city source of misery' is the wordplay.
'ancient city' becomes 'ur'.
'source of misery' becomes 'bane' (I've seen this before).
'ur'+'bane'='URBANE'
(Other definitions for urbane that I've seen before include "Smooth" , "Smooth-mannered" , "Polished -- sophisticated" , "Cosmopolitan" , "Suave, refined, courteous" .)