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GEOGRAPHY
Physical - Cities
Oldest Cities Still Occupied
This list features the oldest cities still occupied today.
RANK | CITY | COUNTRY | ORIGIN | AGE |
1 | Jericho | Palestinian Territories | c. 9,000 BC | 11,000 years |
2 | Damascus | Syria | c. 8,000 BC | 10,000 years |
3 | Plovdiv | Bulgaria | c. 6,000 BC | 8,000 years |
4 | Byblos | Lebanon | c. 5,000 BC | 7,000 years |
5 | Erbil | Iraq | c. 5,000 BC | 7,000 years |
6 | Aleppo | Syria | c. 4,300 BC | 6,300 years |
7 | Faiyum | Egypt | c. 4,000 BC | 6,000 years |
8 | Shush | Iran | c. 4,000 BC | 6,000 years |
9 | Athens | Greece | c. 3,400 BC | 5,400 years |
10 | Luxor | Egypt | c. 3,200 BC | 5,200 years |
11 | Sidon | Lebanon | c. 3,000 BC | 5,000 years |
12 | Argos | Greece | c. 3,000 BC | 5,000 years |
13 | Ray | Iran | c. 2,500 BC | 4,500 years |
References
Treehugger (n.d.) Oldest continuously inhabited cities. Available at: https://www.treehugger.com/oldest-continuously-inhabited-cities-4864338 (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2023) World Heritage Sites. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/ (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
Smithsonian Magazine (2013) The World’s Oldest Cities. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
National Geographic (2021) The Oldest Cities in the World. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/ (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
The Ancient History Encyclopedia (2020) Oldest Cities in the World. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/ (Accessed: 6 July 2025).
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