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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.	Damascus	Syria	4,000 BCE[1]-3000 BCE[2]	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. 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.
2.	Jericho	West Bank, Palestinian territories	9000 BCE[3][4]	Evidence indicates that the city was abandoned several times, and later expanded and rebuilt several times.[5]
3.	Byblos	Lebanon	5,000 BCE[6]	Carbon-dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000±80[7]
4.	Susa	Iran (Persia)	4200 BCE[8]	As a city, up to 7500 years of inhabitation
5.	Sidon	Lebanon	4,000 BCE 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.)
6.	Medinat Al-Fayoum (as Crocodilopolis or Arsinoe)	Egypt	4,000 BCE[10]
7.	Gaziantep	Turkey	3,650 BCE	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 BCE. (see Gaziantep)
8.	Hebron	IsraelWest Bank	3,500 BCE
9.	Istanbul	Turkey	3,500 BCE	Artifacts dating back to 3500–5000 BCE in Fikirtepe (see History of Istanbul)
10.	Beirut	Lebanon	3,000 BCE or earlier[11]
11.	Varanasi	India	3,000 BCE or earlier
12.	Harappa	Pakistan	3,300 BCE
13.	Athens	Greece	3,000 BCE[12]
14.	Tyre	Lebanon	2,750 BCE[13]
15.	Xinzheng	China	2,700 BCE
16.	Mohenjo-daro	Pakistan	2,600 BCE
17.	Delhi	India	2,500 BCE[14]
18.	Arbil	Iraq	2,300 BCE or earlier[15]
19.	Kirkuk (As 'Arrapha')	Iraq	3,000-2,200 BCE[16]
20.	Adana	Turkey	2,000 BCE
21.	Hama (as Hamath)	Syria	2,000 BCE or earlier
22.	Jerusalem	Israel	2,000 BCE
23.	Luxor (as Thebes/Weset)	Egypt	2,000 BCE
24.	Jaffa	Israel	1,800 BCE
25.	Aleppo	Syria	1,800 BCE
26.	Kutaisi	Georgia	1,700 BCE[17]
27.	Cholula	Mexico	1,700 BCE
28.	Asyut	Egypt	1,500 BCE or earlier
29.	Gaza	Gaza Strip	1,500 BCE or earlier

Contents

References

See also

References

1. Damascus
2. India Tribune
3. Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome, , Charles, Gates, Routledge, 2003,
4. The Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World: From the Ice Age to the Fall of Rome, , Hazel Mary, Martell, Kingfisher Publications, 2001,
5. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Lost Civilizations, , Donald P., Ryan, Alpha Books, 1999,
6. Byblos.
7. The Phoenicians, , Antonia, Ciasca, I.B.Tauris, 2001,
8. Met Museum: Iran, 8000–2000 b.c.
9. 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://www.constitution.org/ari/athen_00.htm
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. 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.

See also

★ Historical cities

★ Cities of the Ancient Near East

★ List of North American cities by year of foundation (includes ancient native sites)