List of oldest continuously inhabited cities

This is a list of the twenty one 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 in this list have been entered 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, Damascus, 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	Sources
1	Byblos	Lebanon	5000 BC	http://www.middleeast.com/byblos.htm
2	Varanasi (Kasi) (Benaras)	India	More than 3,000 BC	Oldest City in the World - HighBeam Research
3	Medinat Al-FayoumTemplate:Fn (as Crocodilopolis or Arsinoe)	Egypt	4,000 BC	Overy et al (1999:43); Aldred (1998:42,44)
4	GaziantepTemplate:Fn	Turkey	3,650 BC	See notes
5	Hebron	West Bank	3,500 BC
5	Athens	Greece	3,000 BC	[1]
6	Damascus	Syria	More than 3,000 BC	[2]
7	Arbil	Iraq	Before 2,300 BC	[3]
8	Kirkuk (As 'Arrapha')	Iraq	2,200-3,000 BC	either [4] or [5] for the earlier date
9	Adana	Turkey	c. 2,000 BC
10	Hama (as Hamath)	Syria	Before 2,000 BC
11	Jerusalem	Israel	2,000 BC
12	Luxor (as Thebes/Weset)	Egypt	c. 2,000 BC
13	Jaffa	Israel	1,800 BC
14	Aleppo	Syria	1,800 BC
15	Kutaisi	Georgia	1,700 BC	either [6] or [7]
16	Asyut	Egypt	Before 1,500 BC
17	Gaza	Gaza Strip	Before 1,500 BC
18	Jericho (Present Site)	Israel	1,400 BC	[8]
19	Tyre	Lebanon	1,300-2,700 BC
20	Hamedan	Iran	1,100 BC

Notes

• Template:Fnb See reference for presence of urban life among cattle herders at this date - also due to land fertility and constant water source, the same reference argues it unlikely that the site has been deserted since. Documentary evidence supporting continuous existence since c.2,000 BC.
• Template:Fnb 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 http://www.allaboutturkey.com/gaziantep.htm]). Assuming this to be the case, the date of founding the present site would be [9] in the region of 1,000 BC.
• Template:Fnb Concerning Damascus, 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 mentionned in the table above.

Sources

• 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.