Despite the ongoing debate about when each ancient settlement appeared, there is a more or less agreed upon list that includes the oldest cities in the world that continued life continuously and are now inhabited.
One of the oldest
Heads this list of Jericho, not once mentioned in the Bible under the name "city of palm trees", although the name is translated from Hebrew as "city of the moon". Historians attribute the date of its emergence as a settlement to the 7th millennium BC, although some of the found traces of habitation date back to the 9th. That is, people lived here during the Chalcolithic or before the Ceramic Neolithic. It so happened that the location of Jericho has been on the warpath since time immemorial, again in the Bible there is a description of the capture of the city. He endlessly passed from hand to hand, the last time happened in 1993, when Jericho went to Palestine. Repeatedlyfor thousands of years, the inhabitants left it, but always returned and rebuilt. Now located 10 km from the Dead Sea, Jericho is readily visited by tourists, as it is rich in sights (for example, there was a farmstead of King Herod). In addition, this most ancient city on earth is also unique in that it is, so to speak, the deepest settlement, as it is located 240 meters below sea level.
Who is older
Second (sometimes contesting the championship) on the list of "The oldest cities in the world" is Damascus, the capital of modern Syria. Its origin also dates back to prehistoric times, but it becomes a major city after the Aramaic invasion, dating back to 1400 BC. One of the most charming cities in the Middle East, it is full of attractions. What is worth only the Umayyad Mosque, included in the list of the greatest temples in the world, which houses the head of John the Baptist. The city is so ancient that it is believed that the first wall built on earth after the Flood was the Damascus Wall. The old city, which has not changed its appearance for many centuries, is also surrounded by a wall, but it was erected at the time of Ancient Rome.
Also the most ancient
Lebanese Bibl. Needless to say, in some lists he is given the second, and even the first in seniority. These three cities arose long before the Copper Age, but since then they have been continuously inhabited. Byblos is located in the suburbs of Beirut. The very name of the city suggests that it was once a biblical city and was called Gebal. A Phoenician settlement, in ancient times it was the center of the papyrus trade, and now it is a well-known tourist attraction. It is interesting in that a small number of inscriptions found on ancient artifacts have not yet been deciphered, because this type of proto-biblical writing has no spaces. There are about 100 signs, but there are few inscriptions. The date of the emergence of the next city of Susa is disputed, as well as the largest city of modern Syria Aleppo - someone believes that these cities already existed in the 7th millennium BC, someone does not.
Last in the list of the "oldest"
The birth of subsequent cities date back to the 4th millennium BC. Not all of the most frequently cited lists under the name "Ancient cities of the world" mention the Crimean Feodosia, although in Russia it was it that was considered the "eternal city", since it was founded, according to some sources, in the 6th century BC and was known as Ardabra.
The top ten ancient settlements include such settlements as the Lebanese Sidon (4 thousand BC). The emergence of the Egyptian Faiyum (Greek Crocodilefield) and the Bulgarian Plovdiv dates back to the same time. Turkish Gaziantep and Lebanese capital Beirut are several centuries younger. Further on the list, the following cities are most often mentioned: Jerusalem, Tire, Erbil, Kirkuk, Jaffa. All of them arose many centuries before our chronology and belong to the "most ancient".
The oldest in Russia
In the mostcommon lists called "Ancient cities of the world" do not include Derbent, Zurich, or Ningbo, although they have at least 6,000 years of history behind them. So, Derbent (from the Arabic Bab-al-Abwab - its name - is translated as "Gate of the Gate" or "Main Gate"), according to some sources, was already a settlement in the 4th millennium BC. This southernmost city of the Russian Federation already existed in the Bronze Age. Translated from Persian, its name sounds like “Closed (connected) gates” (literally “Gate Knot”). It is located in the isthmus between the Caucasus Range and the western shore of the Caspian Sea. This ancient settlement has always been a gateway for caravans traveling from Europe to Asia.
Also "the oldest"
For most people, the concept of ancient Europe is associated primarily with Greece. However, Swiss Zurich is much older. The first settlements on its territory arose in 4430-4230 BC, that is, in the 5th millennium.
Closer to our reckoning, it was conquered by the Celts, then the settlement became part of the Roman Empire, and at that time it was already mentioned under the name Turikum. The Chinese city of Ningbo, which is directly related to the Hemudu culture that existed in the 5th millennium BC, according to some statements, was already inhabited in the Neolithic era. Archeology does not stand still, and the list of the most ancient cities on the planet will include new names.
Closer to our reckoning
List "Ancient citiesof the world" is much wider than the "Ancient", because many civilizations belong to the 2nd millennium BC. The location of the settlements that arose in these centuries goes beyond the Middle East. In Europe, these are primarily the cities of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Athens tops the list of "Permanently Inhabited Cities of the Ancient World" in this area. Notes about this city-state also begin with the words that these places were inhabited in the Neolithic era. But Athens is described in detail, starting from the late Helladic period, that is, from 1700-1200 BC. The golden age for this powerful policy began in the middle of the 1st millennium, during the reign of Pericles. Legendary monuments, known throughout the world, were built during this period, which is quite well studied and described by the ancient Greek classics. Such historical evidence as the works of Bacchelides, Hyperides, Menander and Herodes written on papyri have survived to this day. The works of later, world-famous Greek authors formed the basis of the popular "Myths and Legends" by N. Kuhn. Ancient Greek philosophy, science, culture are the foundation of modern knowledge.
Extensive list
The names of the ancient cities of the world are a very extensive list, taking up more than one page, because the period of Antiquity ends in our chronology, has a specific date - 476 AD, indicating the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This period is well studied, and the existence of many cities is documented.
Therefore, from the entire huge list, there are several settlements known to literally everyone. It will also include cities that have disappeared from the face of the earth, but remained in historical evidence or in the memory of their descendants. These include such great cities of the Ancient World as Babylon and Palmyra, Pompeii and Thebes, Chichen Itza and Ur, Pergamon and Cusco, ancient Greek Knossos and Mycenae, many cities of Asia and other continents. The mysteries of the ruins of these cities are yet to be solved. For example, the mysterious Angkor, lost in the jungle, is the stone heart of Cambodia, rediscovered for the world in the middle of the 19th century, although its history goes back to the second century AD. Or located on the top of a mountain, located at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level, no less mysterious Machu Picchu. This ancient "city in the sky" is located in Peru.
The highlight of the city
The ancient city of Demre in comparison with the above settlements is simply young. The first mention of it dates back to the 5th century (not the millennium) BC. But this city is a legend. Known in ancient times as Mira, it is famous not only for its extraordinary architectural monuments, but first of all for the fact that Saint Nicholas studied, lived and became famous here, he is also Nicholas the Pleasant, the Wonderworker, he is also Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus. The most wonderful tradition of giving New Year's gifts came from this city. The initiator was St. Nicholas, the first Bishop of Mira. The ancient city of Demre is a very popular tourist attraction.
The Demre-Mira-Kekova route is in high demand. ATThe city has preserved a beautiful ancient Roman theater, the size of which allows one to judge the importance of this large seaside center in antiquity. Kekova is an island. It is notable for the fact that its shores are a continuation of the walls of the city sunk as a result of the earthquake. The modern city of Demre, which is the center of the province of the same name in Turkey, is very good.
Very short list
The ancient cities of the world are mysterious and beautiful. The list of the most famous is as follows: Byblos, Jericho and Aleppo, followed by Susa, Damascus, El Faiyum and Plovdiv. It would be fair to indicate Derbent and Zurich, the "eternal city" of Rome, as well as several settlements of ancient China (Ningbo, Changsha, Changzhou and others).
Disappeared Babylon, Palmyra, Pompeii, Ur and Mycenae complete this more than modest list of cities of antiquity. Ancient Persian Persipolis boasts unique sights. At one time it was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, which founded a huge state in the 6th-5th centuries BC, later conquered by Alexander the Great. All ancient cities are surrounded by legends, which are very interesting to get acquainted with.
