13 of the Oldest Cities on Earth

Civilizations come and go. A war, famine, or natural disaster can wipe out entire cities, countries, or even empires. However, in the midst of the chaos of history there are a few cities that have managed to persevere and maintain their status as central hubs for trade, government, and civilization in general. Here are 13 of the oldest consistently populated cities on Earth!

Damascus, Syria
Damascus is commonly believed to be the oldest city in the world that has been consistently populated. Today, it has a population of over 2.5 million, is an Arab Capital of Culture since 2008, and is the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic. However, there is solid evidence that the city has been populated ever since its establishment nearly 11,000 years ago. That puts its earliest date of existence at around 9000 B.C. And while many cities have existed before, only this one has been consistently populated by people for this long.

Byblos, Lebanon
Even back in the days of the Roman Empire, according to the Alexandrian philosopher Philo (who was born at around 25 century B.C.), Byblos was the oldest city in the world. Back then they didn’t have the tools or know how to do archeological excavations (or the means to travel to Damascus) to discover they were wrong, but if Byblos was old for the Romans it’s doubly so for us! There is evidence that the city was established as early as 7,000 years ago. Today the city’s population holds at around 40,000 people.

Jericho, West Bank
The first walls and fortifications of Jericho date back to around 6800 B.C. This makes Jericho the confirmed first walled city in the world. In other words – nearly 9,000 years ago people thought this city was important enough to protect with high walls (and, likely, trained militia). But the first wall does not equate to the first people who lived in a city. There is evidence that the city itself was established, like Damascus, nearly 11,000 years ago. In the community of historians it is debated whether the city was continuously inhabited for those first 2,000 years, but even if it wasn’t – 9,000 years still puts this city square in the top 10 continuously inhabited city on our planet.

Jerusalem
Jerusalem has been around for nearly 5,000 years and has always been a thriving city. It is the most important city for many major religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity), making it a city that is particularly important for billions of people worldwide. Although it has always been plagued by military and cultural conflicts, the city has been continuously populated for the entirety of its existence. The city has been completely twice, attacked more than 52 times, and captured (and recaptured) 44 times. And yet, despite all this, it is still one of the oldest, continuously populated cities on earth!

Athens, Greece
The birthplace of philosophy, democracy, and modern Western civilization – Athens have been inhabited for at least 7,000 years. That means Athens was Athens way before the likes of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle made it (arguably) the most historically significant city of the human civilization.