List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
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This is an incomplete list of the oldest continuously inhabited 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 referenced claims to the effect that the city had been constantly settled since the date shown. This is different from there simply being 'evidence of human occupation in the area'.

Several cities listed here (Aleppo, Arbil, and Byblos) 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. The city of Jericho in Palestine (not listed here) is perhaps the oldest city under general consideration, but claims of "continuous habitation" since a Neolithic date will always be subject to considerable uncertainty.

Oldest continuously inhabited cities

The list's scope is to include settlements founded before Classical Antiquity, i.e. before the foundation of Rome in 753 BC.

content
Name Country Approximate time founded Note(s)
Byblos Lebanon 5,000 BC[1] Settled from the Neolithic (carbon-dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000[2]), a "town" since the 3rd millennium BC. Byblos had a reputation as the "oldest city in the world" in Antiquity (according to Philo of Byblos).
Damascus Syria 4,300 BC[3]-3000 BC[4] Excavations at Tel Ramad on the outskirts of the city have demonstrated that Damascus was inhabited as early as 8000 to 10,000 BC.[5] However, Damascus is not documented as an important city until the coming of the Aramaeans which is the date used in this table. See reference for presence of urban life among cattle herders at this date — also due to land fertility and constant water source.
Aleppo Syria 4,300 Originating in the early second ‎millennium BC,[6] Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, vies with Damascus for the title of the world's oldest ‎continuously inhabited city. Both can demonstrate occupation for more than 8,000 years[7]
Susa Iran 4200 BC[8] As a city, up to 7500 years of inhabitation
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]
Medinat Al-Fayoum (as Crocodilopolis or Arsinoe) Egypt 4,000 BC[10]
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)
Beirut Lebanon 3,000 BC or earlier[11]
Jerusalem status pending, see positions on Jerusalem 2,800 BC[12]
Tyre Lebanon 2,750 BC[13]
Arbil Iraq 2,300 BC or earlier[14]
Kirkuk (as 'Arrapha') Iraq 3,000-2,200 BC[15]
Balkh (as Bactra) Afghanistan ca. 1,500 BC Balkh is one of the oldest settlements of the region.[16]
Larnaca Cyprus ca. 1400 BC Mycenaean, then Phoenician colony
Thebes Greece ca. 1400 BC Mycenaean foundation
Athens Greece 1,400 BC Mycenean foundation, with traces of earlier habitation on the Acropolis.
Cadiz Spain 1,100 BC[17]
Varanasi India before 1,000 BC[18] Iron Age foundation (Painted Grey Ware culture).

References

  1. ^ Byblos.
  2. ^ Ciasca, Antonia (2001). "Phoenicia", in Sabatino Moscati: The Phoenicians. I.B.Tauris, 170. ISBN 1850435332. 
  3. ^ Damascus
  4. ^ India Tribune
  5. ^ January 2008
  6. ^ New World Encyclopedia
  7. ^ Syria Where Stones Speak The Door Is Widening To Westerners, Who Are Discovering The Nation'S Wealth Of History And Culture
  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. ^ Freedman, David Noel (2000-01-01). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing, 694-695. ISBN 0802824005. 
  13. ^ Tyre City, Lebanon
  14. ^ Lexic Orient
  15. ^ either The destruction of the Kirkuk Castle by the Iraqi regime. or History Channel for the earlier date
  16. ^ Nancy Hatch Dupree, An Historical Guide to Afghanistan, 1977, Kabul, Afghanistan LINKunreliable source?
  17. ^ founded as Phoenician Gadir[1]
  18. ^ [ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074835/Varanasi Britannica]: "by the 2nd millennium BC"
  • 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.

See also
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