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 as a city. The age claims listed are generally disputed. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "continuous habitation" and historical evidence is often disputed. Caveats to the validity of each claim are discussed in the "Notes" column.

Africa

Northern and the Horn

Sub-Saharan

Americas

North America

South America

Asia

Central Asia and South Asia

East Asia

Southeast Asia

West Asia

Continuous habitation since the Chalcolithic is vaguely possible but highly problematic to prove archaeologically for several Levantine cities.
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.
NameHistorical regionLocationContinuously inhabited as a city sinceNotes
DamascusLevantSyrialate 2nd millennium BC.It is not documented as an important city until the arrival of the Aramaeans.
ByblosLevantLebanonChalcolithic; 3000 BCSettled from the Neolithic, a city since the 3rd millennium BC. Byblos had a reputation as the "oldest city in the world" in Antiquity.
JerichoLevantWest Bank1st millennium BCTraces of habitation from 9000 BC. Fortifications date to 6800 BC, making Jericho the earliest known walled city.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was destroyed and abandoned several times, with later rebuilding and expansion.
ReyMediaIran3000 BCA settlement at the site goes back to the 3rd millennium BC. Rey is mentioned in the Avesta as a sacred place, and it is also featured in the book of Tobit.
BeirutLevantLebanon3000 BC
Jerusalem LevantWest Bankc. 18th century BCThe Execration Texts, which refer to a city called rwš3lmm, variously transcribed as Rušalimum/Urušalimum/Rôsh-ramen and the Amarna letters may be the earliest mention of the city. Nadav Na'aman argues its fortification as the centre of a kingdom dates to around the 18th century BC.
TyreLevantLebanon2750 BC
JeninLevantWest Bankc. 2450 BCJenin'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.
AleppoLevantSyria2nd millennium BC
HomsLevantSyriapossibly early 3rd century BCMay have been founded by Seleucus I Nicator
ErbilMesopotamiaIraqi Kurdistan, Iraq2300 BCThe Citadel of Arbil is a fortified settlement in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. The city corresponds to ancient Arbela. Settlement at Erbil can be dated back to possibly 5000 BC, but not urban life until c. 2300.
Kirkuk MesopotamiaKirkuk Governorate, Iraq3000–2200 BC
AnkaraAnatoliaCentral Anatolia, Turkeyat least 2000 BCThe oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belonged to the Hattic civilization which existed during the Bronze Age.
JaffaLevantIsraelc. 2000 BCArchaeological evidence shows habitation from 7500 BC.
AcreLevantIsraelc. 2000 BCThere were initial settlements in the Acre area dated around 3000 BC.
SidonLevantLebanon2nd millennium BCSidon becomes a city-state during the 2nd millennium BC.
HebronLevantWest Bankc. 1500 BC"Hebron is considered one of the oldest cities and has been continuously inhabited for nearly 3500 years."
GaziantepAnatoliaSoutheastern Anatolia, Turkeyc. 3650 BCAlthough 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. Assuming this to be the case, the founding date of the present site would be about 1000 BC.
EskişehirAnatoliaTurkeyc. 1000 BCThe city was founded by the Phrygians in at least 1000 BC, although it has been estimated to be older than 4,000 years old. Many Phrygian artifacts and sculptures can still be found in the city's archeological museum.
GazaLevantGaza Stripc. 1000 BCWhile 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.
Hamadan MediaIranc. 800 BC
YerevanUrartuArmenia782 BCFounded as Erebuni. The Shengavit Settlement in the southwestern district of Yerevan was founded in the late 4th millennium BC, during the Calcolithic period.
Istanbul Thrace, AnatoliaTurkey685 BC Anatolia; 660 BC ThraceFounded as a colony of Megara. Neolithic site dated to 6400 BC, over port of Lygos by Thracians c. 1150 BC.
LodLevantIsrael200 AD
TabrizCaucasusIran3rd–7th century ADThe earliest elements of the present Tabriz are claimed to be built either at the time of the early Sassanids in the 3rd or 4th century CE, or later in the 7th century.
YazdMediaIran5th century ADIt has long been a haven for Zoroastrians.

Europe

Oceania

NameHistorical regionLocationContinuously inhabited as a city sinceNotes
SydneyNew South WalesAustralia1788Oldest city in Australia and oldest city in Oceania. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity occurred in and around Sydney for at least 30,000 years, in the Upper Paleolithic period. However, numerous Aboriginal stone tools found in Sydney's far western suburbs' gravel sediments were dated to be from 45,000 to 50,000 years BP, which would mean that humans could have been in the region earlier than thought. The first people to occupy the Sydney region were an Indigenous Australian group called the Eora.
HobartTasmaniaAustralia1803Second-oldest city in Australia. Prior to British settlement, the area had been occupied for at least 8,000 years, but possibly for as long as 35,000 years, by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe, a sub-group of the Nuennone, or South-East tribe.
George TownTasmaniaAustralia1804Third oldest city in Australia.
NewcastleNew South WalesAustralia1804Fourth oldest city in Australia.
LauncestonTasmaniaAustralia1806Fifth oldest city in Australia.
KerikeriNorthlandNew Zealandc. 1818Oldest European-founded settlement in New Zealand.
BluffSouthlandNew Zealand1824Previously known as Campbelltown, the oldest European-founded settlement in the South Island.
BrisbaneQueenslandAustralia1825Oldest city in Northern Australia, State Capital.
AlbanyWestern AustraliaAustralia1827Oldest city in the West Coast of Australia.
PerthWestern AustraliaAustralia1829The area had been inhabited by the Whadjuk Noongar people for over 40,000 years, as evidenced by archaeological findings on the Upper Swan River.
MelbourneVictoriaAustralia1835Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years. At the time of European settlement, it was inhabited by under 20,000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous regional tribes: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong.
AdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia1836State Capital.
WellingtonWellington RegionNew Zealand1839New Zealand's capital city from 1865 until the present day.
AucklandAuckland RegionNew Zealand1840New Zealand's capital city from 1841–1865.
DarwinNorthern TerritoryAustralia1869Territory Capital.
CanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia1913Capital city of Australia. Artifacts suggests early human activity occurred at some point in Canberra dating at around 21,000 years ago.