The 20 earliest cities in history

These are the oldest cities in history, with a summary of what is known about them.

Many cities have been founded throughout the history of mankind. The first cities in history were a consequence of human beings ceasing to go from one place to another for subsistence and starting to work the land, establishing a fixed place of residence.

As these settlements grew in size and population, their economic activities and social hierarchies changed and the first cities were founded.

In the following we are going to see how the first cities in history appeared.We will also see 20 of the oldest cities, some of them still inhabited.

What are the first cities of History?

For millennia, humans were nomadic and fed on whatever they could find while living in different regions, such as fruits and animals to hunt, but when they ran out, they had to change regions again.

This changed in the Neolithic period with the appearance of agriculture, making humans cultivate the land and raise animals, which made their food more stable. Thus, the first sedentary human groups began to emerge and the first fixed settlements were formed around 3000 BC.

The first cities in history arose in a very specific geographical area, in what is now Iraq: the Tigris basin and the Tigris River basin.the Tigris and Euphrates basin. Thanks to the natural conditions of this region, the peoples living in the area were able to develop a great agricultural and manufacturing activity that also led them to innovate sowing and production techniques.

People work in one thing, specializing and to improve production and communications a complex network of channels was elaborated. It is also the place where writing was invented to improve economic operations.

With the passage of time, what were originally modest, primitive and unsafe villages became real urban centers with stone buildings stone buildings, walls and even palaces. Naturally this did not happen overnight, but as the first settlements grew and took away space from the countryside, the economic activities of the people changed, social hierarchies were created and, consequently, the first states appeared, such as Ancient Mesopotamia.

The 20 oldest cities

Here are 20 very ancient cities, some of which are still inhabited today.

1. Çatalhöyük, Turkey (7500 B.C.)

Çatalhöyük is a city located in what is now Turkey and is believed to have been established around 7500 BC. It was found in the late 1950s and restored in 1960, being a true anthropological wonder because of how well preserved it is.

Its inhabitants accessed their houses through the roofs, using stairs that went from one level to another, and grew all kinds of food, including three varieties of wheat, fruits and nuts whose surplus they stored in their houses.

2. Uruk, Iraq (5000 B.C.)

The Mesopotamian city of Uruk is located on the Euphrates in modern-day Iraq. It is believed that its foundation is close to 5000 B.C., being its stage of splendor between 4000 B.C. and 3,200 B.C. period in which it reached a population of 65,000 inhabitants. This city was so important that it gave its name to a period of Mesopotamian history (Uruk period).

3. Argos, Greece (5000 B.C.)

Argos is believed to be the oldest urban settlement on the European continent.. It is located on the Peloponnese peninsula near Turkey and may have been inhabited for more than 9,000 years. Today, despite its grandiose past, it is an unimportant city in Greece, quite small and without much economic importance, although its archaeological settlements give it a certain tourist value.

4. Byblos, Lebanon (5000 B.C.)

Byblos is about 7,000 years old and is probably the oldest city that is still probably the oldest city still inhabited in the world.. This city is an obligatory stop to understand the origins of the Phoenician culture, reason why its archaeological settlements are a World Heritage Site.

5. Athens, Greece (4000 B.C.)

Athens is a very ancient European city whose origins date back to 4000 BC. In its history there are many episodes of revivals, falls and periods of splendor in front of other Greek cities and, also, as the cultural, political and economic capital of Greece thanks to its central position in the region.

This city in particular is considered by many to be the origin of what would eventually become Western civilization..

6. Aleppo, Syria (4000 B.C.)

Aleppo was founded around 4000 BC and has been controlled by several civilizations such as the Sassanids, Arabs, several Christian states, Mongols, Romans... It is probably the oldest city in Syria of those that still have inhabitants, although the Civil War in that country has been a major cause of civil war.It is probably the oldest city in Syria of those that still have inhabitants, although the Civil War is leaving it practically in ruins.

7. Ur, Iraq (3800 B.C.)

Ur is another important city of Mesopotamia, believed to have been founded in 3800 BC and is located near the mouth of the Euphrates River. At its peak it had some 200,000 inhabitants, who could visit one of the most important temples of Mesopotamian culture, the ziggurat of Urubamba. one of the most important temples of the Mesopotamian culture, the ziggurat of Ur.

8. Luxor, Egypt (3200 B.C.)

Luxor, formerly called Thebes in Ancient Egyptian times, was one of the most important cities in Africa. one of the most important cities in Africa and capital of the Egyptians in the Ancient Empire.. Its location on the banks of the Nile made it a prosperous and wealthy city that, today, retains many vestiges of Cleopatra's ancient homeland and was known as the City of a Hundred Gates and the City of Palaces.

9. Ray, Iran (3000 B.C.)

Ray is located in present-day Iran and was founded in 3000 B.C. It was one of the most important cities of the Parthian Empire and nowadays it has been practically swallowed up by modern Tehran, the capital of Iran.

10. Jericho, Palestine (3000 B.C.)

Jericho has been inhabited since 9000 BC, although it was founded as a city in 3000 BC. This city has the oldest military fortifications, even before its own foundation (6000 BC). Jericho has been very important in biblical mythology.This is the place where the Jews are said to have returned after being freed from slavery in Egypt and led by Moses.

11. Beirut, Lebanon (3000 B.C.)

Beirut, the present-day capital of Lebanon, is more than 5,000 years old. It was conquered by the Romans who built some important baths and other monuments, although today only a few ruins remain. It was also part of the Canaanite civilization and was later inhabited by both Muslims and Christians..

12. Jerusalem, Israel (3000 B.C.)

Jerusalem is a peculiar city, since its exact foundation is mixed with mythology and archaeological remains. It was probably founded around 3000 B.C. but was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians. destroyed by the Babylonians and little remains of the first Jerusalem apart from Solomon's temple..

The fact that it has been considered a holy city by various faiths has not helped, since religious wars have made the place a tense and unstable territory. Nevertheless, its archaeological and architectural wealth demonstrates the great cultural richness resulting from the influence of different peoples.

13. Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan (2600 B.C.)

Mohenjo Daro was a part of the Indus Valley civilization and, in addition to being the largest city in the region, was an important urban center of antiquity. It is known to have had a very sophisticated engineering and urban planning that is surprising because it surpasses that of many of the cities founded in recent times.

14. Babylon, Iraq (2300 B.C.)

It is impossible to talk about ancient cities without mentioning possibly the most famous of all: Babylon.. Founded in 2300 B.C. it gained its independence after the Sumerian revival period and became the capital of a great empire.

During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II this city became an urban beauty with its Hanging Gardens, one of the wonders of the ancient world.

15. Erbil, Iraq (2300 B.C.)

Although remains have been found suggesting that the region has been inhabited since 5000 BC, consensus has established its founding as 2300 BC. Erbil or Arbela is one of the main cities of Kurdistan, inhabited by Mongols, Arabs, Babylonians and many other peoples of the region. Its citadel is now 8,000 years old and is considered the cultural capital of the Iraqi Kurds..

16. Kirkuk, Iraq (2200 BC)

Kirkuk is located on the site of a very ancient city, Arrapha. It has been the home of Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Arabs and Kurds. It is situated between Arab and Kurdish Iraq and its foundation is attributed to 2200 BC.

17. Kutaisi, Georgia (2000 B.C.)

The Caucasus saw the rise of some of the earliest civilizations due to its proximity to the Fertile Crescent. Kutaisi is considered to be the first capital of the early Kingdom of Georgia or Colchis. Legend has it that this was the place where Jason and his Argonauts ended up.

18. Damascus, Syria (2000 B.C.)

Although Damascus is not the oldest city in the world, it is one of the oldest cities still inhabited. Although its foundation dates back to 2000 BC. Aramean hand, archaeological records indicate that there were inhabitants around 9000 BC. Today it is the capital of Syria and and displays an important cultural legacy from the Arameans, Romans, Greeks, Arabs and Mongols..

19. Jaffa, Israel (2000 B.C.)

Jaffa is located in the prosperous Israeli city of Tel Aviv. It is believed that the first humans arrived there around 5,000 years ago, and Jaffa was established as a proper city around 2000 BC. This city was Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Muslim and now Israeli..

20. Plovdiv, Bulgaria (2000 B.C.)

The Bulgarian city of Plovdiv is believed to have been founded in 2000 BC, but with first inhabitants around 6000 BC. It was founded by the Thracians, an Indo-European tribe that inhabited what is now Bulgaria and nearby countries.The city would eventually be taken over by the Greeks and Romans. Una clara muestra de que fue romanizada la tenemos en su turístico teatro romano, muy bien conservado.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Fisher, William Bayne; Boyle, J. A. (1968), The Cambridge History of Iran: The Land of Iran (1 ed.), Cambridge University Press.
• Martell, Hazel Mary (2001). "The Fertile Crescent". The Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World: From the Ice Age to the Fall of Rome. Kingfisher Publications. p. 18. ISBN 0-7534-5397-5.
• National Geographic (2012)Las primeras ciudades, la revolución urbana en mesopotamia. National Geographic. Extraido de https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/primeras-ciudades-revolucion-urbana-mesopotamia_6679
• Wikipedia. (s. f.) List of oldest continuously inhabited cities. Wikipedia. Extraido de: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_continuously_inhabited_cities