The world is divided into countries and the countries in the states and cities. All th cities across the world has some kind of history attached to it. There are few cities that have continuous human habitation and some are still inhabited in the world. Apart from his, cities around the world has a cultural heritage attached to it. Here is the list of oldest cities in the world,
Oldest Cities In The World
1.Damascus, Syria – 11,000 years old
It is also known as the capital of Arab culture, Damascus, Syria is the oldest cities in the world dating back to 11,000 years. It is believed that it was first inhabited in the second half of the seventh millennia B.C. The city is one of the most important parts of the Arab world and nowadays, it is a metropolitan area with approximately two million population and named the Arab Capital of Culture in 2008.
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2.Jericho, West Bank- 9,000 B.C
Jericho, West Bank is one the oldest cities in the world dating back to 9,000 B.C. The excavations by the archaeological departments has given various aspects about the old history of the city. It provides evidence of the first development of permanent settlements and the first step towards civilization. The size of the settlement is approximately some 2,000–3,000 persons and also use of word town. The city also provides evidence of the very early agriculture and it provides land for cultivation, irrigation had been invented.
Image Source: Wikimedia
3.Aleppo, Syria – 8,000 years old
One of the oldest cities in the world, Aleppo, Syria is the capital of the Aleppo Governorate and continuously inhabited for more than 8,000 years. The beautiful city is located between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. Due to its geographical location, the city is an important trading hub during the ancient area. The city is going through a bad phase where the government and rebel forces have killed and many were forced to flee from their homes. The whole is under devastation since 2012.
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4.Faiyum, Egypt- 7,200 B.C
Today Faiyum city refers to the modern city of Medinet el-Faiyum and the entire area which supported a number of large and quite prosperous people and cities such as Sheet who are known as Crocodilopolis, Hawara and with other names as well. The name of the city has been derived from the ancient Egyptian word Pa-you or Pa-yom meaning “the Lake” or “the Sea” and refers to Lake Moeris. The city prospered by the stable rule of the 12th Dynasty and some writers and commentators connect Pa-yom with the city of Pithom mentioned in the Book of Exodus 1:11.
Image Source: Wikimedia
5.Byblos, Lebanon – 7,000 years old
The city is located 42 kilometres north of Beirut and one of the largest city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. There are studies that suggest that the city has been first occupied by humans between 8800 and 7000 BC. The UNESCO World Heritage Site was the first to import papyrus in Greece took place in this city. It considered being an archaeological wonder because of the successive layers of debris resulting from centuries of human habitation.
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6.Argos, Greece – 7,000 years old
Argos is one of the beautiful and oldest cities in the Argolis, the Peloponnese, Greece. This is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is believed that the city remains neutral approximately all the period of history and even have not participated in the Greco-Persian Wars. Currently, the city has 22,000 residents and multiple ancient monuments can be found here.
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7.Athens, Greece – 7,000 years old
Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the oldest cities in the world. The human presence is believed to have somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennium BC. It is also famous as a city of philosophy and the birthplace of Western civilisations. The city was standing during the difficult times of complete destruction following the Dorian and Persian invasions. Currently, it is a metropolis and the oldest capital city in Europe.
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8.Susa, Iran – 6,300 years old
Susa is one of the most important and oldest cities in the world located near the Ancient Near East which is considered to be home of the early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East. The city is close to the Tigris River and hence made it one of the most important cities in the ancient world. There are studies that say that the city has been totally destroyed by the Assyrians, howvever, later it has been rebuilt and saw its most glorious days during the Persian Empire.
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9.Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan – 6,000 years old
Erbil is an inhabited for millions of years by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Mongols and Ottoman. The centre of the city has Erbil Citadel which is also known as Hawler Castle is an ancient structure that dates back to 2,000 B.C.Erbil is popular for its modern malls and ancient sites. The UNESCO World Heritage site is an artificial mound and the historical city centre of Erbil.
Image Source: Wikimedia
10.Sidon, Lebanon – 6,000 years old
Sidon is an old city which is inhabited for approximately 6,000 years. This is one of the most important Phoenician cities because of the location as a crucial port on the Mediterranean. This is the third largest and oldest city of Lebanon and situated in the South Governorate. The city is progressive now with glass production made Sidon both rich and famous in the world.
Image Source: Wikimedia
11.Rayy, Iran- 6,000 B.C
Rayy, Iran settlement dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE and it listed in the Avesta which is an original document of Zoroastrianism(Iranian religion) and it is also mentioned in the book of Tobit. It is teh capital city of the Parthian empire (3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE) and later it was captured by the Muslim Arabs in 641 CE. The city has its importance until it faced tough competition from western Asia only by Damascus and Baghdad.
Image Source: Wikimedia
12.Plovdiv, Bulgaria – 6,000 years old
Plovdiv is the second-largest city of Bulgaria and its history is dating back to more than 6,000 years. One of the oldest city in Europe where excavations show that people has been inhabiting the town since Nebet Tepe Hill. The city was the most important hub for the largest empires such as Persian, Thracian, Macedonian, and Ottoman hub. Now, this is the second biggest city in Bulgaria and one of the popular tourist destinations in teh world.
Image Source: Wikimedia
13.Varanasi, India – 5,000 years old
Varanasi is the oldest city in India and considered as the birthplace of the oldest religion Hinduism. It is also known as Benares, Banaras or Kashi it is located on the banks of the river Ganges in the Uttar Pradesh state of North India and dates back to the 11th century B.C. This city is a major attraction for Hindu pilgrims and tourists from all across the world. The city has more than 2,000 temples which include Kashi Vishwanath, the Golden Temple and the Hindu god Shiva along the city’s winding streets.
Image Source: Wikimedia
14.Beirut, Lebanon- 3,000 B.C
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon and today they have a population of about 2.2 million that makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. It is said that the city has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years as one of Phoenicia’s most prominent city-states and hence making it one of the oldest cities in the world. There are multiple prehistoric archaeological sites that have been discovered within the urban area of Beirut and dating from the Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Paleolithic of the bronze age.
15.Jerusalem, Israel- 3,500 B.C
Historians believe that the first human settlements in Jerusalem took place in the bronze age dating back to 3500 B.C.During the 1000 B.C, King David occupied Jerusalem and made it the capital of the Jewish kingdom. Later, his son Solomon constructed the first holy Temple about 40 years later. Then the Babylonians has occupied Jerusalem in 586 B.C and destroyed the temple and sent the Jews into exile. Alexander the Great took control of Jerusalem in 332 B.C and over the next hundred years it was captured and ruled by a set of rulers of the Romans, Persians, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians, Mamelukes and Islamists.
These are the oldest cities in the world. Kindly share and do post your comments.
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