List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
This is a list of present-day cities by the time period over which they have been continuously inhabited.
The age claims listed are generally disputed and may indeed be obsolete. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "continuously inhabited" and historical evidence is often disputed.
Several cities listed here (Balkh, Byblos, Damascus, and Jericho) each popularly claim to be "the oldest city in the world". Caveats to the validity of each claim are discussed in the "Notes" column.
Africa, Northern
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Luxor (as Waset, better known by its Greek name Thebes) | Ancient Egypt | Egypt | c. 3200 BC | First established as capital of Upper Egypt, Thebes later became the religious capital of the nation until its decline in the Roman period. |
Zeila/Avalite | Bilad al-Barbar | Somalia | c. 9th century BC | Major trading city in the Horn of Africa |
Carthage | Tunisia | 814 BC | Founded by the Phoenicians.[1] | |
Yeha | D'mt | Ethiopia | c. 700 BC | One of the oldest site of continuous habitation in Sub-Saharan Africa.[2] |
Cape Guardafui | Bilad al-Barbar | Somalia | c. 500 BC | Referred to as Aromata promontorium by the Ancient Greeks, Guardafui was described as early as the 1st century AD in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, along with other flourishing commercial settlements on the northern Somali littoral.[3] |
Axum | Kingdom of Axum | Ethiopia | c. 400 BC | Ancient capital of the Kingdom of Axum |
Berbera | Bilad al-Barbar | Somalia | c. 400 BC | The city was described as 800 stadia beyond the city of the Avalites, described in the eighth chapter of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which was written by a Greek merchant in the 1st century AD |
Alexandria | Egypt | 332 BC | Founded by Alexander the Great[4] | |
Djenné-Jeno | Mali | c. 200 BC | One of the oldest known cities in sub-Saharan Africa[5] | |
Ghadames (as Cydamus) | Libya | 19 BC | Roman town founded in 19 BC but "archaeological evidence shows occupation of the area in the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras"[6] | |
Old Cairo | Egypt | c. 100 | Babylon Fortress moved to its current location in the reign of Emperor Trajan, forming the core of Old or Coptic Cairo[7] | |
Kismayo | Bilad al-Barbar, after the 14th century part of the Ajuuraan Empire | Somalia | 4th century | The Kismayo area was originally a small fishing settlement and expendad to a major trading city on the Somali coast.[8] |
Mogadishu | Sultanate of Mogadishu | Somalia | c. 700 | Successor of the ancient trading power of Sarapion |
Fes (as Fes-al-Bali) | Morocco | 789 | Founded as the new capital of the Idrisid Dynasty[9] | |
Marrakesh (Murakuc) | Morocco | 1070 | Foundeded by the Almoravid Dynasty[10] |
Africa, Southern
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Igodomigodo | Kingdom of Benin | Nigeria | c. 400 BC | City of Benin, one of the oldest cities in Nigeria |
Ife | Osun State | Nigeria | c. 350 BC | Earliest traces of habitation date to the 4th century BC.[11] |
Sofala | Mozambique | c. 700 | One of the oldest harbours documented in Southern Africa, | |
Lamu | Kenya | c. 1300 | Founded by Swahili settlers some time in the 14th century[12] | |
Cape Town | Cape colony | South Africa | 1652 | Founded by Dutch settlers from Dutch East India Company and is the oldest city in South Africa |
America, Middle
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cholula | Old Cholula | Mexico | c. 2nd century BC | Pre-Columbian Cholula grew from a small village to a regional center during the 7th century. Oldest still-inhabited city in the Americas. |
Mexico City | Mexica culture | Mexico | 1325 | Founded as twin cities Tenōchtitlān (1325) and Tlāltelōlco (1337) by the Mexica. Named changed to Ciudad de México (Mexico City) after the Spanish conquest of the city in 1521. Several other pre-Columbian towns such as Azcapotzalco, Tlatelolco, Xochimilco and Coyoacán have been engulfed by the still growing metropolis and are now part of modern Mexico City. Oldest capital city in the Americas. |
Santo Domingo | Hispaniola | Dominican Republic | 1496 | Oldest European settlement in the New World |
San Juan | New Spain | Puerto Rico (US) | 1508 | Oldest continuously inhabited city in a US territory |
Nombre de Dios, Colón | New Granada | Panama | 1510 | Oldest European settlement on the mainlands of the Americas |
Baracoa | New Spain | Cuba | 1511 | Oldest European settlement in Cuba |
Vera Cruz | New Spain | Mexico | 1519 | Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement continental America. |
Panama City | New Granada | Panama | 1519 | Oldest city in the Americas on the Pacific Ocean and oldest European settlement on the Pacific. |
America, North
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Acoma Pueblo and Taos Pueblo, New Mexico | Pueblo culture | US | c. 1075 | Among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the US (although not "cities") |
Oraibi, Arizona | Hopi culture | US | c. 1100 | Among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the US (although not a "city") |
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | Newfoundland Colony | Canada | 1540s | Oldest city in Canada, and oldest English-speaking city in the Americas |
St. Augustine, Florida | New Spain | US | 1565 | Oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city within the United States |
Jamestown, Virginia | Colony of Virginia | US | 1607 | First permanent English established settlement in the Americas. |
Santa Fe, New Mexico | New Spain | US | 1607 | Oldest continuously inhabited state or territorial capital in the continental United States. |
Quebec City | New France | Canada | 1608 | Second oldest city in Canada and oldest French-speaking city in the Americas. |
Albany, New York | New Netherlands | US | 1614 | Followed by Jersey City, New Jersey (Communipaw) in 1617 and New York City (as New Amsterdam) in 1624 or 1625. (Note: While there was an abandonment in 1617 or 1618 of the Albany settlement, it was re-established within a few years; also, the Jersey City settlement was a factorij or trading post in the 1610s and didn't become a "homestead" (bouwerij) until the 1630s. Settlements in New Netherlands sometimes moved around in the early years.) |
Plymouth, Massachusetts | Plymouth Colony | US | 1620 | Fourth oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the United States[13] |
Saint John | New France | Canada | 1631 | Third oldest city in Canada |
Trois-Rivières | New France | Canada | 1634 | Fourth oldest city in Canada |
Montreal | New France | Canada | 1642 | Fifth oldest city in Canada |
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | New France | US | 1668 | Oldest European-founded city in the Midwestern United States and third oldest American city west of the Appalachian Mountains. |
San Diego | New Spain | US | 1769 | Birthplace of California and oldest city on the West Coast of the United States |
America,South
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Upper Xingu | Xingu culture | Brazil | c. 800 AD | A network of settlements continuously inhabited since the late 1st millennium AD. A highly urbanized Kuikuro settlement was home to upwards of 10,000 people in the densely forested Upper Xingu. Their numbers declined sharply after contacts with Europeans in the 16th century. |
Quito | Quitu culture | Ecuador | 980 | Quito's origins date back to 2000 BC, when the Quitu tribe occupied the area. |
Cusco | Inca Empire | Peru | c. 1100 | The Killke occupied the region from 900 to 1200, prior to the arrival of the Incas in the 13th century. Carbon-14 dating of Saksaywaman, the walled complex outside Cusco, has demonstrated that the Killke culture constructed the fortress about 1100.[14] |
Santa Marta | New Granada | Colombia | 1525 | Oldest still-inhabited city founded by Spaniards in Colombia. |
São Vicente, São Paulo | Governorate General of Brazil | Brazil | 1532 | First Portuguese settlement in South America |
Santiago del Estero | Río de la Plata | Argentina | 1553 | Oldest continuously inhabited city in Argentina |
Asia, Central and Southern
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Balkh (as Bactra) | Bactria | Balkh Province, Afghanistan | 1500 BC | |
Varanasi | Iron Age India | Uttar Pradesh, India | c. 1200–1100 BC[15] | Iron Age foundation (Painted Grey Ware culture). |
Ujjain (As Avanti) | Malwa | India | c. 800 BC[16] | Rose to prominence in ca 700 BC as capital of Avanti during India's second wave of urbanization. Walled in ca 600 BC. |
Samarqand | Sogdiana | Uzbekistan | 700 BC[citation needed] | |
Rajagriha (Rajgir) | Magadha | Bihar, India | 600 BC[citation needed] | |
Madurai | Pandyan kingdom | Tamil Nadu, India | 500 BC[citation needed] | There are accounts of Megasthenes (c. 350 – 290 BC) a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica, having visited Madurai (then, a bustling city and capital of Pandya Kingdom). Mahavamsa, the Sri Lankan chronicle mentions that King Vijaya married a princess from Madurai, and his period is mentioned to be around 543 BC. |
Vaisali | Magadha | Bihar, India | 500 BC[17] | |
Patna | Magadha | Bihar, India | 5th century BC[18] | As Pataliputra was founded by Ajatashatru. |
Peshawar | Gandhara | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan | c. 400–300 BC[19] | Ongoing excavations in the Gor Khuttree region have given proof of the ancient foundations of the city and have established Peshawar as one of the oldest settlements in Central and South Asia. |
Mahasthangarh, Bogra | Pundravardhana | Bogra District, Bangladesh | 4th century BC[20] | Remains of the ancient city of Pundranagara. |
Thanjavur | Early Chola kingdom | Tamil Nadu, India | 300 BC | Some scholars believe that the city has been existing since the Sangam Period |
Bamyan | Bactria | Bamyan Province, Afghanistan | 1st century AD | |
Kathmandu-Patan, Lalitpur | Nepal | Kathmandu valley, Nepal | c. 2nd century AD | The epigraphically attested history of Kathmandu valley begins in the 2nd century. Folklore speaks of a hoarier past.[citation needed] |
Asia, Eastern
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Luoyang (as Zhenxun, Xibo) | Xia Dynasty | Henan, China | c. 2070 BC | |
Xi'an (as Haojing, Fenghao, Chang'an, Daxing) | Zhou Dynasty | Shaanxi, China | c. 1100 BC | |
Beijing | Ji, Yan | Beijing, China | c. 1045 BC | |
Suzhou (as Gusu, Wu) | Wu | Jiangsu, China | 514 BC | |
Chengdu | Shu | Sichuan, China | c. 400 BC | The 9th Kaiming king of the ancient Shu moved his capital to the city's current location from today's nearby Pixian. |
Nanjing (as Yecheng, Jianye, Jiankang, Jinling) | Wu | Jiangsu, China | c. 495 BC | Fu Chai, Lord of the State of Wu, founded a fort named Yecheng (冶城) in today's Nanjing area. |
Kaifeng (as Daling, Bianzhou, Dongjing, Bianjing) | Wei | Henan, China | c. 364 BC | The State of Wei founded a city called Daliang (大梁)as its capital in this area. |
Guangzhou (as Panyu) | Qin Dynasty | Guangdong, China | 214 BC[citation needed] | |
Hangzhou (as Lin'an) | Qin Dynasty | Zhejiang, China | c. 200 BC | The city of Hangzhou was founded about 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty. |
Osaka (as Naniwa) | Japan | Japan | c. 400 AD | It was inhabited as early at the 6th-5th centuries BC, and became a port city during the Kofun period. It temporarily served as the capital of Japan from 645 to 655. |
Nara (as Heijō-kyō) | Japan | Japan | 710 AD | Built as a new capital city in 710. |
Kyoto (as Heian-kyō, and sometimes known in the west as Miyako) | Japan | Japan | 794 AD | Shimogamo Shrine was built in the 6th century, but the city was officially founded as Heian-kyō when it became the capital in 794. |
Asia, Southeastern
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hanoi | Jiaozhou | Vietnam | 454 AD | First mentioned as Tống Bình in 454 AD, the Đại La citadel was built in 767 during the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang, Ly Cong Uan renamed it Thăng Long in 1010. |
Palembang | Srivijaya | Indonesia | c. 600 AD | Oldest city in the Malay Archipelago, capital of the Srivijaya empire. |
Luang Prabang | Muang Sua | Laos | 698 AD[citation needed] | |
Siem Reap | Khmer Empire | Cambodia | 801 AD[21] | Capital of the Khmer Empire. |
Bagan | Kingdom of Pagan | Myanmar | 849 AD[22] | |
Manila | Kingdom of Tondo and Kingdom of Maynila | Philippines | 900 AD[23] | Oldest known settlement in the Philippines as documented by the Laguna Copperplate Inscription; when the Spanish, led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, arrived, it was still inhabited and led by at least one datu. |
Bandar Seri Begawan | Kingdom of Po-ni | Brunei | 977 AD[24] | Oldest city in Borneo. |
Butuan | Kingdom of Butuan | Philippines | 1001 AD[25][26] | Oldest city in Mindanao. |
Kediri | Kediri Kingdom | Indonesia | 1042 AD[27] | Along with changes in name, it is essentially a union of the two capitals of Panjalu Kingdom and Janggala Kingdom. The settlements are always interspersed along both banks of Brantas River. Administratively, the Government of Indonesia divides Kediri into two political entities, Kediri Regency and the Town of Kediri which is located in the middle of the regency. Nevertheless, archaeological remains exist beyond administrative boundaries and settlements often spread disregarding administrative boundaries between both entities. |
Singapore | Kingdom of Singapura | Singapore | 1170 AD[28] |
Asia, Western
Continuous habitation since the Chalcolithic (or Copper Age) is vaguely possible but highly problematic to prove archaeologically for several Levantine cities (Jericho, Byblos, Damascus, Sidon and Beirut).
Cities became more common outside the Fertile Crescent with the Early Iron Age from about 1100 BC. The foundation of Rome in 753 BC is conventionally taken as one of the dates initiating Classical Antiquity.[citation needed]
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited as a "city" since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Byblos (Jubayl) | Levant | Lebanon | Chalcolithic (5000 BC or earlier)[29] | Settled from the Neolithic (carbon-dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000[30]), a city since the 3rd millennium BC.[29] Byblos had a reputation as the "oldest city in the world" in Antiquity (according to Philo of Byblos). |
Damascus | Levant | Syria | Chalcolithic | Damascus is often claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, and evidence exists of a settlement in the wider Barada basin dating back to 9000 BC. However, within the area of Damascus, there is no evidence for large-scale settlement until the 2nd millennium BC.[31] |
Susa (Shush) | Khuzestan | Iran | 4200 BC | Archaeological excavations indicate that the site has been inhabited since at least 5000 BC.[32] The emergence of acropolis in Susa is determined by C14 dating from 4395-3955 BC,[33] roughly dated about 4200 BC as time of foundation.[34] Susa was a large city during Ancient and Medieval periods, but marginalized in 13th century[32] due to Mongol invasion. The city further degraded from 15th century when a majority of its population moved to Dezful and it remained as a small settlement until the 20th century.[35] |
Sidon | Levant | Lebanon | 4000 BC[36] | There is evidence that Sidon was inhabited from as long ago as 4000 BC, and perhaps, as early as Neolithic times (6000 – 4000 BC). |
Faiyum (as Crocodilopolis or Arsinoe, ancient Egyptian: Shediet) | Lower Egypt | Faiyum Governorate, Egypt | c. 4000 BC[37] | |
Gaziantep | Anatolia | Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey | c. 3650 BC[38] | Although most modern scholars place the Classical Antiochia ad Taurum at Gaziantep, some maintain that it was located at Aleppo. Furthermore, that the two cities occupy the same site is far from established fact.[39] Assuming this to be the case, the founding date of the present site would be about 1000 BC.[40] |
Jericho | Levant | Palestinian territories | Chalcolithic (3000 BC or earlier) | Traces of habitation from 9000 BC.[41][42] Fortifications date to 6800 BC (or earlier), making Jericho the earliest known walled city.[43]
Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was destroyed and abandoned several times (sometimes remaining uninhabited for hundreds of years at a time), with later rebuilding and expansion.[44][45] |
Rey | Media | Iran | 3000 BC[46] | A settlement at the site goes back to the 3rd millennium BC. Rey (also Ray or Rayy) is mentioned in the Avesta (an important text of prayers in Zoroastrianism) as a sacred place, and it is also featured in the book of Tobit.[46] |
Beirut | Levant | Lebanon | 3000 BC[47] | |
Jerusalem | Levant | West Bank | 2800 BC[48] | |
Tyre | Levant | Lebanon | 2750 BC[49] | |
Jenin | Levant | Palestinian territories | c. 2450 BC[50] | Jenin's history goes back to 2450 BC, when it was built by the Canaanites. After 1244, Jenin flourished economically because of its location on the trade route, until a major earthquake completely destroyed the city.[51] |
Arbil | Mesopotamia | Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq | 2300 BC or earlier[52] | |
Kirkuk (as Arrapha) | Mesopotamia | Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq | 3000–2200 BC[53] | |
Jaffa | Levant | Israel | c. 2000 BC | Archaeological evidence shows habitation from 7500 BC.[54] |
Aleppo | Levant | Syria | c. 2000 BC[citation needed] | Evidence of occupation since about 5000 BC.[55] |
Hebron | Levant | Palestinian territories | c. 1500 BC | "Hebron is considered one of the oldest cities and has been continuously inhabited for nearly 3500 years."[56] |
Gaza | Levant | Palestinian territories | c. 1000 BC | While evidence of habitation dates back at least 5,000 years, it is said to be continuously inhabited for a little more than 3,000 years.[57][58] |
Hamadan (as Ecbatana) | Median Empire | Iran | c. 800 BC[59] | |
Nablus (as Shechem) | Levant | Palestinian territories | c. 100 | Nablus is a Canaanite city. It was inhabited since the fourth millennium BC. In 724 BC it has been ruined by Assyria and after revival in the 3rd and 2nd centuries, it has been finally destroyed by the Hasmonean Hyrcanus in 128 BC. 200 years later the new Roman city was founded next to the ruined settlement.[60] |
Amman (as Rabbath-Ammon) |
Levant | Jordan | c. 1878 | Amman has been inhabited by several civilizations. The first civilization on record is during the Neolithic period, around 7500 BC, when archaeological discoveries in 'Ain Ghazal. It was then destroyed by several earthquakes and natural disasters in the Middle Ages, and remained a small village and a pile of ruins for about 500 years, until the Circassian settlement in 1878.[61] |
Europe
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Argos | Neolithic, Mycenaean Greece | Greece | 5th millennium BC. | Continuously inhabited mostly as an urban settlement, for the past 7,000 years,[62] historical, recorded history since second half of 1st millennium BC. | |
Athens | Neolithic, Mycenaean Greece | Attica, Greece | 5th–4th Millennium BC[63][page needed] | Earliest human presence 11th–7th millennium BC,[64] recorded history begins in 1400 BC. | |
Mycenae | Neolithic, Mycenaean Greece | Peloponnese, Greece | c. 3500 BC or earlier | Only scattered sherds from disturbed debris have been found datable to the Neolithic (prior to 3500 BC). The site was inhabited, but the stratigraphy has been destroyed by later construction. | |
Plovdiv | Thrace | Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria | 3000[65] – 4000 BC[66][67] | Thracian foundation. Earliest evidence of a settlement dates back to 6000 BC.[68][69] | |
Kutaisi | Colchis | Imereti province, Georgia | c. 2000 BC | Founded as Aia. Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the kingdom of Colchis as early as the second millennium BC. It is widely believed by historians that when Apollonius Rhodius was writing about Jason and the Argonauts and their legendary journey to Colchis, Kutaisi/Aia was the final destination of the Argonauts and the residence of King Aeëtes. | |
Chania | Crete | Crete, Greece | c. 1400 BC | Minoan foundation as Kydonia | |
Larnaca | Alashiya | Cyprus | c. 1400 BC | Mycenaean, then Phoenician colony | |
Thebes | Mycenaean Greece | Boeotia, Greece | c. 1400 BC | Mycenaean foundation | |
Trikala | Mycenaean Greece | Thessaly, Greece | before 1200 BC | founded as Trikke | |
Chalcis | Mycenaean Greece | Greece | before 1200 BC | mentioned by Homer | |
Lisbon | Iron Age Iberia | Portugal | c. 1200 BC | A settlement since the Neolithic. Allis Ubbo, arguably a Phoenician name, became Olissipo(-nis) in Greek and Latin (also Felicitas Julia after Roman conquest in 205 BC). | |
Cádiz | Iron Age Iberia | Andalusia, Spain | 1100 BC | founded as Phoenician Gadir, "Europe's oldest city"[70][71] | |
Patras | Mycenaean Greece | Greece | c. 1100 BC | founded by Patreus | |
Mtskheta | Caucasian Iberia | Georgia | c. 1000 BC | Remains of towns at this location have been dated to earlier than the year 1000 BC, and Mtskheta was capital of the early Georgian Kingdom of Iberia during the 3rd century BC – 5th century AD. It was the site of early Christian activity, and the location where Christianity was proclaimed the state religion of Georgia in 337. | |
Mytilene | Lesbos | North Aegean, Greece | 10th century BC | ||
Chios | Chios | North Aegean, Greece | c. 1100 BC | ||
Yerevan | Urartu | Armenia | 782 BC [72] | Founded as Erebuni. The Shengavit Settlement in the southwestern district of Yerevan was founded in the late 4th millennium BC, during the Calcolithic period. | |
Málaga | Iron Age Iberia | Andalusia, Spain | 8th century BC | founded as Phoenician Malaka.[73] | |
Rome | Latium | Lazio, Italy | 753 BC | Continuous habitation since approximately 1000 BC.; pastoral village on the northern part of the Palatine Hill dated to the 9th century BC; see also History of Rome and Founding of Rome. | |
Messina (as Zancle) | Sicily | Sicily, Italy | 8th century BC | ||
Reggio di Calabria (as Rhégion) | Magna Graecia | Calabria, Italy | 743 BC[74] | Continuous habitation since approximately 1500 BC, as we have notice about the Ausonian-Italic pre-Greek settlement and about the sculptor Léarchos of Reggio (early 15th century BC)[74] and King Iokastos (late 13th century BC).[74] | |
Syracuse | Sicily | Sicily, Italy | 734 BC | A colony of the Greek city of Corinth | |
Volterra | Tuscany | Tuscany, Italy | c. 725 BC | An Etruscan mining settlement [75] | |
Crotone (as Kroton) | Calabria | Magna Graecia, Italy | 710 BC | ||
Taranto (as Taras) | Magna Graecia | Puglia, Italy | 706 BC | ||
Corfu, Kerkyra | Corfu | Ionian Islands, Greece | 700 BC | ||
Naples | Magna Graecia | Italy | 9-8th century BC | Neolithic site dated to about VI millennium BC. Bronze Age Greek settlement was established in the Naples area in the 2nd millennium BC. A larger colony – initially known as Parthenope – developing in the 9-8th centuries BC on the Island of Megaride and Echia Moutain, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages. The city was refounded as Neápolis in the 6th century BC.[76] | |
Istanbul/Byzantion | Thrace Anatolia | Turkey | 685 BC Anatolia 667 BC Thrace |
Neolithic site dated to 6400 BC, over port of Lygos by Thracians c. 1150 BC | |
Durrës | Illyria | Albania | 627 BC | Founded[77] by settlers from Corcyra & Corinth as Epidamnos | |
Kerch | Crimea | Ukraine | 7th century BC | ||
Feodosiya (as Theodosia) | Crimea | Ukraine | 7th century BC | ||
Edessa, Greece | Macedonia | Greece | before the 6th century BC | capital of Macedonia up to 6th century BC | |
Marseilles (as Massilia) | Gaul | France | 600 BC | A colony of the Greek city of Phocaea | |
Varna | Thrace | Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria | 585 BC – 570 BC | founded[78] as Odessos by settlers from Miletus | |
Kavala | Macedonia | Greece | 6th century BC | founded as Neapolis | |
Mangalia | Dacia | Romania | 6th century BC | founded as Callatis | |
Constanţa | Dacia | Romania | 6th century BC | founded as Tomis | |
Mantua | Po Valley | Lombardy, Italy | 6th century BC | Village settlement since c. 2000 BC; became an Etruscan city in the 6th century BC. | |
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi | Bessarabia | Ukraine | 6th century BC | founded as Tyras | |
Serres | Macedonia | Greece | 5th century BC | first mentioned in the 5th century BC as Siris | |
Lamia | Greece | Greece | before the 5th century BC | first mentioned 424 BC | |
Veria | Macedonia | Greece | c. 432 BC | first mentioned by Thucydides in 432 BC | |
Rhodes | Rhodes, Aegean Sea | Dodecanese, Greece | c. 408 BC | ||
Sofia | Moesia | Sofia Valley, Bulgaria | 4th century BC | Celtic foundation as Serdica.[79] | |
Metz | Gaul | France | 4th century BC | founded as the oppidum of Celtic Mediomatrici. However, Human permanent presence has been established in the site since 2500 BC. | |
Roses (as Rhode) | Iberia | Catalonia, Spain | 4th century BC | The exactly origin of the city is unknown, but there are remains of a Greek colony from the IV century BC. However, Human permanent presence has been established in the site since 3000 BC as evidenced by the different megalithic monuments surrounding the city. | |
Qabala (as Kabalaka) | Caucasian Albania | Azerbaijan | 4th century BC | Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the Caucasian Albania as early as the 4th century BC.[80] | |
Stara Zagora | Thrace | Bulgaria | 342 BC | It was called Beroe in ancient times and was founded by Phillip II of Macedon[81][82][83][84] although a Thracian settlement neolithic inhabitation have been discovered as well. | |
Thessaloniki | Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Greece | 315 BC | founded as a new city in the same place of the older city Therme. | |
Berat | Macedonia (ancient kingdom) | Albania | 314 BC | Founded[85] by Cassander as Antipatreia | |
Belgrade | Illyria | Serbia | 279 BC | Vinča culture prospered around Belgrade in the 6th millennium BC. Founded as Singidunum. | |
Niš | Illyria | Serbia | 279 BC | Founded as Navissos. Neolithic settlements date to 5000–2000 BC. | |
Cartagena (as Carthago Nova) | Iberia | Spain | 228 BC | Carthaginian colony, founded by Hasdrubal Barca | |
Barcelona (as Barcino) | Iberia | Catalonia, Spain | 3rd century BC | Unknown origin, perhaps a Carthaginian colony founded by Hamilcar Barca. However, the first arqueological remains of the city are roman. | |
Tarragona (as Tarraco) | Iberia | Catalonia, Spain | 218 BC | Roman colony, founded by Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio | |
Stobi/Gradsko | Macedonia | Republic of Macedonia | 217 BC | founded as Stobi by Philip V of Macedon | |
Sremska Mitrovica | Illyria | Serbia | 1st century BC | Founded as Sirmium. Neolithic settlements date to 5000 BC and are with other archeological findings evidence to continuous habitation. | |
Smederevo | Illyria | Serbia | 1st century BC | Founded as Semendria. | |
Évora | Lusitania | Portugal | 53 BC (Roman conquest) | Evidence of Lusitanian settlement prior to Roman occupation. | |
Paris | Lutetia | France | 52 BC | Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation as early as 4200 BC.[86] During the Gallic Wars, Caesar's armies set fire to Lutetia "a town of the Parisii, situated on an island on the river Seine."[87] While only a garrison at best on the Île de la Cité during some periods after 1st and 2nd century, was renamed Paris in 360 AD[88][89] | |
Zürich (Lindenhof) | Gaul | Switzerland | c. 50 BC | lakeside settlement traces dating to the Neolithic. | |
Trier | Gallia Belgica | Germany | 30 BC | Oldest city in Germany. | |
Nijmegen | Germania Inferior | Netherlands | 19 BC | Oldest city in the Netherlands. | |
Chur | Raetia Prima | Grisons, Switzerland | 15 BC | habitation since the 4th millennium BC (Pfyn culture). | |
Worms | Germania Superior | Germany | 14 BC | The name of the city derives from the Latin designation Borbetomagus which is of Celtic origin. | |
Tongeren | Germania Inferior | Belgium | 10 BC | Oldest city in Belgium. | |
Solothurn | Gaul | Switzerland | c. 20 AD | Evidence of pre-Roman, Celtic settlement; newly founded by the Romans between 14 and 37 AD, called the "oldest city in Gaul besides Trier" in a verse on the city's clock tower. | |
London (as Londinium) | Britannia | UK (England) | 43 AD | ||
Bath (as Aquae Sulis) | Britannia | UK (England) | 43 AD | The city was established as a spa town by the Romans in 43 AD[90] | |
Cologne | Germania Inferior | Germany | 50 AD | Founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, a Germanic tribe, as Oppidum Ubiorum. In 50 AD, the Romans adopted the location as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium and the city became in 85 AD the capital of the roman province. | |
Winchester (as Venta Belgarum) | Britannia | UK (England) | c. 70 AD | Winchester was built as a Roman town in c. 70 AD.[91] | |
York (as Eboracum) | Britannia | UK (England) | c. 72 AD | The city was founded in or around AD 72 when the 9th Roman Legion set up camp there.[92] | |
Skopje | Macedonia (Roman province) | Republic of Macedonia | 81–96 AD | Founded in the time of Domitian as Scupi. | |
Novi Sad | Illyria | Serbia | 1st century AD | Founded as Cusum. | |
Baku | Azerbaijan | Absheron peninsula | The 1st century AD. | The first written evidence for Baku dates to the 1st century AD.[93] | |
Verdun | Lotharingia | France | 4th century | seat of the bishop of Verdun from the 4th century, but populated earlier. | |
Kiev | Medieval East Slavic civilization | Ukraine | 482 AD | Founded by Slavic tribe leader Kyi. Some sources suggest Kiev was founded in 640 BC. | |
Tbilisi | Caucasian Iberia | Kartli province, Georgia | c. 500 | According to the widely accepted legend the city was founded by King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia. New archaeological studies of the region have revealed that the territory of Tbilisi was settled by humans as early as the 4th millennium BC. The earliest actual (recorded) accounts of settlement of the location come from the 4th century, when a fortress was built during King Varaz-Bakur's reign. | |
Aberdeen | Pictland | UK (Scotland) | c. 580 | A settlement was established by c. 580 when records show the city's first church was built then. However, there is archaeological evidence of settlements in the area dating back to 6000BC.[94] | |
Edinburgh as Din Eidyn | Gododdin | UK (Scotland) | c. 580 | Edinburgh is mention as a settlement in the poem Y Gododdin, traditionally dated to the around the late 6th and early 7th century.[95] The Poem uses The Brythonic name Din Eidyn (Fort of Eidyn) for Edinburgh and describes it as the capital of Gododdin. It is not until around 638 that the city starts being referred to as Edin-burh or Edinburgh, after the city was conquered by the Angles of Bernicia[96] | |
Prague | Bohemia | Czech Republic | c. 6th century | The first written record dates back to the 10th century. | |
Inverness | Pictland | UK (Scotland) | c. 6th century | A settlement was established by the 6th century when St Columba visited the Pictish King Brude at his fortress there.[97] | |
Glasgow | Dál Riata or Alt Clut | UK (Scotland) | c. 6th century | A settlement was founded in the 6th century[98] by St Mungo, who is the city's patron Saint.[99] | |
Ioannina | Byzantine Empire | Greece | 527–565 | founded by emperor Justinian I | |
Kraków (Wawel Hill) | Lesser Poland | Poland | 7th century[100] | The first written record dates back to the 10th century. | |
Århus | Denmark | c. 770[citation needed] | |||
Ribe | Jutland | Denmark | 704–710 [101] | Oldest town in Denmark | |
Staraya Ladoga | Russia | 753 | |||
Heraklion | Crete | Greece | 824 | founded by the Saracens | |
Dublin | Ireland | Ireland | 841 | ||
Veliky Novgorod | Russia | 859 | |||
Reykjavík | Iceland | Iceland | c. 871[102] | ||
Xanthi | Thrace | Greece | before 879 | first medieval reference as Xantheia | |
Skara | Sweden | 988 | |||
Lund | Denmark | Sweden | c. 990[103] | ||
Trondheim | Norway | Norway | 997 | Founded by king Olav Tryggvason. Archaeological findings of city settlement back to the 8th century. |
Oceania
Name | Historical region | Location | Continuously inhabited since | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ternate | Sultanate of Ternate | Indonesia | 1109 AD[104] | Twin of Tidore, oldest surviving Papuan cities. |
Tidore | Sultanate of Tidore | Indonesia | 1109 AD[104] | Twin of Ternate, oldest surviving Papuan cities. |
Sydney | New South Wales | Australia | 1788 | Oldest city in Australia and oldest city in Oceania |
Hobart | Tasmania | Australia | 1803 | Second oldest city in Australia |
Newcastle | New South Wales | Australia | 1804 | Third oldest city in Australia |
Launceston | Tasmania | Australia | 1806 | Fourth oldest city in Australia |
Kerikeri | Northland | New Zealand | c. 1818 | Oldest European settlement in New Zealand |
Albany | Western Australia | Australia | 1827 | Oldest city in the West Coast of Australia |
See also
- Cities of the ancient Near East
- Historical cities
- Historical urban community sizes
- List of American cities by year of foundation (includes ancient native sites)
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