List of oldest continuously inhabited cities

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This is a list of the oldest, still surviving, towns and cities in the world. There are some points of contention here and care should be taken when using the list below. The cities have been listed because either the archaeological record has shown, or documents have supported the claim, that the settlement was in existence at the time given. However, presence here should in no way indicate that there is total consensus over the date the city was founded — differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" (usually relating to the population size) as well as "continuously inhabited" (relating to changing population size; changes in location and changes in name). Additionally, where an approximate date has been given, the date was treated as the lower end of the estimate for the purposes of the table.

The definition of "continuously inhabited city" for the purposes of this list was that there must be evidence to show that the city had been constantly settled by a population of more than 250 for the entire time since the date shown. This is different from there simply being 'evidence of human occupation in the area' and that it may well be different from the numerous other definitions of the term 'city' that are in use. In spite of all this, several cities listed here (Varanasi, Aleppo, Arbil, Byblos and Hebron) each claim to be 'the oldest city in the world'. An attempt has been made to discuss the validity of each of their claims alongside their stated position in the table.

Rank Name Location Approximate time founded Note(s)
1. Jericho West Bank, Palestinian territories 9,000 BC[1][2] Evidence indicates that the city was abandoned several times, and later expanded and rebuilt several times.[3]
2. Byblos Lebanon 5,000 BC[4] Carbon-dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000±80[5]
3. Damascus Syria 4,300 BC[6]-3000 BC[7] Excavations at Tell Ramad on the outskirts of the city have demonstrated that Damascus has been inhabited as early as 8000 to 10,000 BC.[citation needed] It is due to this that Damascus is considered to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. However, Damascus is not documented as an important city until the coming of the Aramaeans which is the date used in the table above. See reference for presence of urban life among cattle herders at this date — also due to land fertility and constant water source.
4. Susa Iran (Persia) 4200 BC[8] As a city, up to 7500 years of inhabitation
5. Sidon Lebanon 4,000 BC and perhaps, earlier[9] There is evidence that Sidon was inhabited as long ago as 4000 B.C., and perhaps, as early as Neolithic times (6000 - 4000 B.C.)[9]
6. Medinat Al-Fayoum (as Crocodilopolis or Arsinoe) Egypt 4,000 BC[10]
7. Gaziantep Turkey 3,650 BC This is disputed, although most modern scholars place the Classical Antiochia ad Taurum at Gaziantep, some maintain that it was in fact located at Aleppo. Furthermore, that the two cities occupy the same site is far from established fact (see Gaziantep). Assuming this to be the case, the date of founding the present site would be in the region of 1,000 BC. (see Gaziantep)
8. Hebron West Bank 3,500 BC
9. Istanbul Turkey 3,500 BC Artifacts dating back to 3500–5000 BC in Fikirtepe (see History of Istanbul)
10. Beirut Lebanon 3,000 BC or earlier[11]
11. Varanasi India 3,000 BC or earlier
12. Harappa Pakistan 3,300 BC
13. Athens Greece 3,000 BC[12]
14. Baalbek Lebanon 3,000 BC
15. Tyre Lebanon 2,750 BC[13]
16. Xinzheng China 2,700 BC
17. Mohenjo-daro Pakistan 2,600 BC
18. Delhi India 2,500 BC[14]
19. Arbil Iraq 2,300 BC or earlier[15]
20. Kirkuk (as 'Arrapha') Iraq 3,000-2,200 BC[16]
21. Adana Turkey 2,000 BC
22. Balkh (as Bactra) Afghanistan 2,000 BC Balkh is one of the oldest cities of the region and is considered to be the first city to which the Indo-Iranian Aryan tribes moved from the North of Amu Darya, approximately 2000 BC.[17]
23. Hama (as Hamath) Syria 2,000 BC or earlier
24. Jerusalem Israel, West Bank, Palestinian territories 2,000 BC
25. Luxor (as Thebes/Weset) Egypt 2,000 BC
26. Jaffa Israel 1,800 BC
27. Aleppo Syria 1,800 BC
28. Kutaisi Georgia 1,700 BC[18]
29. Cholula Mexico 1,700 BC
30. Asyut Egypt 1,500 BC or earlier
31. Gaza Gaza Strip 1,500 BC or earlier
32. Tripoli, Lebanon Lebanon 1,400 BC

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gates, Charles (2003). "Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Aegean Cities", Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome. Routledge, 18. ISBN 0415018951. “Jericho, in the Jordan River Valley in Palestine, inahbited from ca. 9000 BC to the present day, offers important evidence for the earliest permanent settlements in the Near East.” 
  2. ^ Martell, Hazel Mary (2001). "The Fertile Crescent", The Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World: From the Ice Age to the Fall of Rome. Kingfisher Publications, 18. ISBN 0753453975. “People first settled there from around 9000 B.C., and by 8000 B.C., the community was organized enough to build a stone wall to defend the city.” 
  3. ^ Ryan, Donald P. (1999). "Digging up the Bible", The Complete Idiot's Guide to Lost Civilizations. Alpha Books, 137. ISBN 002862954X. “The city was walled during much of its history and the evidence indicates that it was abandoned several times, and later expanded and rebuilt several times.” 
  4. ^ Byblos.
  5. ^ Ciasca, Antonia (2001). "Phoenicia", in Sabatino Moscati: The Phoenicians. I.B.Tauris, 170. ISBN 1850435332. 
  6. ^ Damascus
  7. ^ India Tribune
  8. ^ Met Museum: Iran, 8000–2000 b.c.
  9. ^ a b Sidon
  10. ^ Overy et al (1999:43); Aldred (1998:42,44)
  11. ^ Under Beirut's Rubble, Remnants of 5,000 Years of Civilization
  12. ^ http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/athenian_const.html
  13. ^ http://tyros.leb.net/tyre/
  14. ^ Yahoo Travel
  15. ^ Lexic Orient
  16. ^ either The destruction of the Kirkuk Castle by the Iraqi regime. or History Channel for the earlier date
  17. ^ Nancy Hatch Dupree, An Historical Guide to Afghanistan, 1977, Kabul, Afghanistan LINK
  18. ^ either Kutaisis or AIA
  • Aldred, Cyril (1998). The Egyptians. Thames and Hudson: London.
  • Overy et al (1999). The Times History of The World: New Edition. Times Books/Harper-Collins: London.

[edit] See also

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