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.

The age claims listed are generally disputed. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "continuously inhabited" and historical evidence is often disputed.

Several cities listed here (Balkh, Byblos, Aleppo, Damascus, and Jericho) each popularly claim to be "the oldest city in the world". Caveats to the validity of each claim are discussed in the "Notes" column.

Africa, Northern

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Faiyum (as Shediet, Crocodilopolis, Ptolemais Euergetis, Arsinoe)	Lower Egypt	Faiyum Governorate, Egypt	c. 4000 BC
Luxor (as Waset, better known by its Greek name Thebes)	Ancient Egypt	Egypt	c. 3200 BC	First established as capital of Upper Egypt, Thebes later became the religious capital of the nation until its decline in the Roman period.
Zeila/Avalite	Bilad al-Barbar	Somalia	c. 9th century BC	Major trading city in the Horn of Africa
Carthage		Tunisia	814 BC	Founded by the Phoenicians.
Axum	Kingdom of Axum	Ethiopia	c. 400 BC	Ancient capital of the Kingdom of Axum
Berbera	Bilad al-Barbar	Somalia	c. 400 BC	The city was described as 800 stadia beyond the city of the Avalites, described in the eighth chapter of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which was written by a Greek merchant in the 1st century AD.
Alexandria		Egypt	332 BC	Founded by Alexander the Great
Mogadishu	Bilad al-Barbar	Somalia	c. 200 BC	Successor of the ancient trading power of Sarapion
Djenné-Jeno		Mali	c. 200 BC	One of the oldest known cities in sub-Saharan Africa
Old Cairo		Egypt	c. 100	Babylon Fortress moved to its current location in the reign of Emperor Trajan, forming the core of Old or Coptic Cairo
Kismayo	Bilad al-Barbar, after the 14th century part of the Ajuran Empre	Somalia	4th century	The Kismayo area was originally a small fishing settlement and expendad to a major trading city on the Somali coast.
Fes (as Fes-al-Bali)		Morocco	789	Founded as the new capital of the Idrisid Dynasty
Marrakesh (Murakuc)		Morocco	1070	Founded by the Almoravid Dynasty

Africa, Sub-Saharan

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Igodomigodo	Kingdom of Benin	Nigeria	c. 400 BC	City of Benin, one of the oldest cities in Nigeria
Ife	Osun State	Nigeria	c. 350 BC	Earliest traces of habitation date to the 4th century BC.
Sofala		Mozambique	c. 700	One of the oldest harbours documented in Southern Africa,
Cape Town	Cape colony	South Africa	1652	Founded by Dutch settlers from Dutch East India Company and is the oldest city in South Africa
Kumasi	Ashanti Empire	Ghana	c. 1680	Founded as Akan village and capital of the Kumaseman State, later becoming capital of Ashanti Empire,

America, Middle

Further information: List of cities in the Americas by year of foundation

Taos Pueblo,Taos Nation, NM. established 2nd century CE|Circa 2nd Century CE.

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Nation (AZ) are possibly the 2nd and 3rd oldest places still inhabited in the Western Hemisphere, both being established |before 6th century CE. (Sources: Arizona State Univ. Dept. of Archaeology, Universidad de Nuevo Mexico Dept. Arcaeologico, |US Census Bureau, "Indians of North America," Driver et al. University of Chicago,1998 edition.	Santo Domingo	Hispaniola	Dominican Republic	1496	Oldest European settlement in the New World
San Juan	New Spain	Puerto Rico (US)	1508	Oldest continuously inhabited city in a US territory
Nombre de Dios, Colón	New Spain	Panama	1510	Oldest European settlement on the mainlands of the Americas
Baracoa	New Spain	Cuba	1511	Oldest European settlement in Cuba
Panama City	Cueva Civilization. After European colonization: New Spain	Panama	15th century	Oldest European settlement on the Pacific.

America, North

Further information: List of cities in the Americas by year of foundation

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
		!a	−9e99	.	~z	~z	~z	9e99	Taos Pueblo, Tanoan town in Taos, NM, USA Established circa 2nd century CE near an older site dating back to 3rd century BPE, Taos continues to thrive and is one of several ancient and continuing First Nations towns, including Acoma Pubelo, Acoma Nation, NM and Oraibi, Hopi Nation, AZ.	Cholula	Old Cholula	Mexico	c. 2nd century BC	Pre-Columbian Cholula grew from a small village to a regional center during the 7th century. Oldest still-inhabited city in the Americas.
Mexico City	Mexica culture	Mexico	1325	Founded as twin cities Tenōchtitlān (1325) and Tlāltelōlco (1337) by the Mexica. Named changed to Ciudad de México (Mexico City) after the Spanish conquest of the city in 1521. Several other pre-Columbian towns such as Azcapotzalco, Tlatelolco, Xochimilco and Coyoacán have been engulfed by the still growing metropolis and are now part of modern Mexico City. Oldest capital city in the Americas.
Vera Cruz	New Spain	Mexico	1519	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement continental America.
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador	Newfoundland Colony	Canada	1540s	Oldest city in Canada, and oldest English-speaking city in the Americas
St. Augustine, Florida	New Spain	US	1565	Oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city of the current 50 U.S. states; oldest city in state of Florida.
Santa Fe, New Mexico	New Spain	US	1607	Oldest continuously inhabited state or territorial capital in the continental United States.
Quebec City	New France	Canada	1608	Second oldest city in Canada and oldest French-speaking city in the Americas.
Albany, New York	New Netherlands	US	1614	Followed by Jersey City, New Jersey (Communipaw) in 1617 and New York City (as New Amsterdam) in 1624 or 1625. (Note: While there was an abandonment in 1617 or 1618 of the Albany settlement, it was re-established within a few years; also, the Jersey City settlement was a factorij or trading post in the 1610s and didn't become a "homestead" (bouwerij) until the 1630s. Settlements in New Netherlands sometimes moved around in the early years.)
Plymouth, Massachusetts	Plymouth Colony	US	1620	Fourth oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the United States
Saint John	New France	Canada	1631	Third oldest city in Canada
Trois-Rivières	New France	Canada	1634	Fourth oldest city in Canada
Montreal	New France	Canada	1642	Fifth oldest city in Canada
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	New France	US	1668	Oldest European-founded city in the Midwestern United States and third oldest American city west of the Appalachian Mountains.
San Diego	New Spain	US	1769	Birthplace of California and oldest city on the West Coast of the United States

America, South

Further information: List of cities in the Americas by year of foundation

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Upper Xingu	Xingu culture	Brazil	c. 800 AD	A network of settlements continuously inhabited since the late 1st millennium AD. A highly urbanized Kuikuro settlement was home to upwards of 10,000 people in the densely forested Upper Xingu. Their numbers declined sharply after contacts with Europeans in the 16th century.
Quito	Quitu culture	Ecuador	980	Quito's origins date back to 2000 BC, when the Quitu tribe occupied the area.
Cusco	Inca Empire	Peru	c. 1100	The Killke occupied the region from 900 to 1200, prior to the arrival of the Incas in the 13th century. Carbon-14 dating of Saksaywaman, the walled complex outside Cusco, has demonstrated that the Killke culture constructed the fortress about 1100.
Santa Marta	New Granada	Colombia	1525	Oldest still-inhabited city founded by Spaniards in Colombia.
São Vicente, São Paulo	Governorate General of Brazil	Brazil	1532	First Portuguese settlement in South America
Popayán	New Granada	Colombia	1537	Second oldest continuously graduating University in Colombia after Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, the University of Cauca, established in 1827,
Santa Fe de Bogota	New Granada	Colombia	1538	Oldest European-founded capital city in South America.
Santiago	Captaincy General of Chile	Chile	1541	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Chile.
Santiago del Estero	Río de la Plata	Argentina	1553	Oldest continuously inhabited city in Argentina

Asia, Central and Southern

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Balkh (as Bactra)	Bactria	Balkh Province, Afghanistan	1500 BC
Varanasi	Iron Age India	Uttar Pradesh, India	c. 1200–1100 BC	Iron Age foundation (Painted Grey Ware culture).
Samarqand	Sogdiana	Uzbekistan	700 BC
Ujjain	Malwa	India	c. 600 BCE	Rose to prominence in ca 600 BC as capital of Avanti.
Rajagriha (Rajgir)	Magadha	Bihar, India	600 BC
Madurai	Pandyan kingdom	Tamil Nadu, India	500 BC	There are accounts of Megasthenes (c. 350 – 290 BC) a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica, having visited Madurai (then, a bustling city and capital of Pandya Kingdom). Mahavamsa, the Sri Lankan chronicle mentions that King Vijaya married a princess from Madurai, and his period is mentioned to be around 543 BC.
Vaisali	Magadha	Bihar, India	500 BC
Patna	Magadha	Bihar, India	5th century BC	As Pataliputra was founded by Ajatashatru.
Peshawar	Gandhara	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	c. 400–300 BC	Ongoing excavations in the Gor Khuttree region have given proof of the ancient foundations of the city and have established Peshawar as one of the oldest settlements in Central and South Asia.
Mahasthangarh, Bogra	Pundravardhana	Bogra District, Bangladesh	4th century BC	Remains of the ancient city of Pundranagara.
Anuradhapura	Kingdom of Rajarata	Central Province, Sri Lanka	4th century BC
Thanjavur	Early Chola kingdom	Tamil Nadu, India	300 BC	Some scholars believe that the city has been existing since the Sangam Period
Bamyan	Bactria	Bamyan Province, Afghanistan	1st century AD
Kathmandu-Patan, Lalitpur	Nepal	Kathmandu valley, Nepal	c. 2nd century AD	The epigraphically attested history of Kathmandu valley begins in the 2nd century. Folklore speaks of a hoarier past.

Asia, Eastern

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Luoyang (as Zhenxun, Xibo)	Xia Dynasty	Henan, China	c. 2070 BC
Xi'an (as Haojing, Fenghao, Chang'an, Daxing)	Zhou Dynasty	Shaanxi, China	c. 1100 BC
Beijing	Ji, Yan	Beijing, China	c. 1045 BC	Paleolithic homo sapiens lived in the caves from about 27,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Suzhou (as Gusu, Wu)	Wu	Jiangsu, China	514 BC
Chengdu	Shu	Sichuan, China	c. 400 BC	The 9th Kaiming king of the ancient Shu moved his capital to the city's current location from today's nearby Pixian.
Nanjing (as Yecheng, Jianye, Jiankang, Jinling)	Wu	Jiangsu, China	c. 495 BC	Fu Chai, Lord of the State of Wu, founded a fort named Yecheng (冶城) in today's Nanjing area.
Kaifeng (as Daling, Bianzhou, Dongjing, Bianjing)	Wei	Henan, China	c. 364 BC	The State of Wei founded a city called Daliang (大梁）as its capital in this area.
Guangzhou (as Panyu)	Qin Dynasty	Guangdong, China	214 BC
Hangzhou (as Lin'an)	Qin Dynasty	Zhejiang, China	c. 200 BC	The city of Hangzhou was founded about 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty.
Pyeongyang (as Wanggeom-seong)	Gojoseon	North Korea	194 BC	Built as the capital city of Gojoseon in 194 BC.
Gyeongju	Silla	South Korea	57 BC	Built as the capital city of Silla in 57 BC.
Seoul (as Wiryeseong)	Baekjae	South Korea	18 BC	Built as the capital city of Baekjae in 18 BC.
Osaka (as Naniwa)	Japan	Japan	c. 400 AD	It was inhabited as early at the 6th–5th centuries BC, and became a port city during the Kofun period. It temporarily served as the capital of Japan from 645 to 655.
Nara (as Heijō-kyō)	Japan	Japan	710 AD	Built as a new capital city in 710.
Kyoto (as Heian-kyō, and sometimes known in the west as Miyako)	Japan	Japan	794 AD	Shimogamo Shrine was built in the 6th century, but the city was officially founded as Heian-kyō when it became the capital in 794.

Asia, Southeastern

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Hanoi	Jiaozhou	Vietnam	454 AD	First mentioned as Tống Bình in 454 AD, the Đại La citadel was built in 767 during the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang; Ly Cong Uan renamed it Thăng Long in 1010.
Palembang	Srivijaya	Indonesia	c. 600 AD	Oldest city in the Malay Archipelago, capital of the Srivijaya empire.
Luang Prabang	Muang Sua	Laos	698 AD
Siem Reap	Khmer Empire	Cambodia	801 AD	Capital of the Khmer Empire.
Bagan	Kingdom of Pagan	Myanmar	849 AD
Manila	Kingdom of Tondo and Kingdom of Maynila	Philippines	900 AD	Oldest known settlement in the Philippines as documented by the Laguna Copperplate Inscription; when the Spanish, led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, arrived, it was still inhabited and led by at least one datu.
Bandar Seri Begawan	Kingdom of Po-ni and Bruneian Empire	Brunei	977 AD	Oldest city in Borneo.
Butuan	Kingdom of Butuan	Philippines	1001 AD	Oldest city in Mindanao.
Yangon	Konbaung Dynasty	Myanmar	1043 AD	Yangon was founded as Dagon in the early 11th century (circa 1028–1043) by the Mon but was renamed to "Yangon" after King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon.
Kediri	Kediri Kingdom	Indonesia	1042 AD	Along with changes in name, it is essentially a union of the two capitals of Panjalu Kingdom and Janggala Kingdom. The settlements are always interspersed along both banks of Brantas River. Administratively, the Government of Indonesia divides Kediri into two political entities, Kediri Regency and the Town of Kediri which is located in the middle of the regency. Nevertheless, archaeological remains exist beyond administrative boundaries and settlements often spread disregarding administrative boundaries between both entities.
Singapore	Kingdom of Singapura	Singapore	1170 AD
Banda Aceh	Aceh Sultanate	Indonesia	1205 AD	Originally named Kutaraja, which means "City of the King".
Muar	Majapahit	Malaysia	1361 AD
Phnom Penh	Khmer Empire	Cambodia	1372 AD
Malacca	Malacca Sultanate	Malaysia	1396 AD
Pattani	Pattani Kingdom	Thailand	1516 AD
Medan	Sultanate of Deli	Indonesia	1590 AD
Klang	Johor-Riau Sultanate	Malaysia	1643 AD	Klang remained under Johor's control until 1742.
Bangkok	Ayutthaya Kingdom	Thailand	1688 AD	Modern Bangkok was built after the Siege of Bangkok from French imperialists.
Alor Setar	Kedah Sultanate	Malaysia	1735 AD	Founded in 1735 by Kedah’s 19th Ruler, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II and is the state’s eighth administrative centre since the establishment of the Kedah Sultanate in 1136.
Dili	Portuguese Timor	East Timor	1769 AD	Dili was settled about 1520 by the Portuguese, who made it the capital of Portuguese Timor in 1769.
George Town	Straits Settlements	Malaysia	1786 AD	Founded by Sir Captain Francis Light after the Penang was ceded from Kedah to British Colony.

Asia, Western

Continuous habitation since the Chalcolithic (or Copper Age) is vaguely possible but highly problematic to prove archaeologically for several Levantine cities (Jericho, Byblos, Aleppo, Damascus, Sidon and Beirut).

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.

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited as a "city" since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Byblos (Jubayl)	Levant	Lebanon	Chalcolithic (3000 BC)	Settled from the Neolithic (carbon-dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000), a city since the 3rd millennium BC. Byblos had a reputation as the "oldest city in the world" in Antiquity (according to Philo of Byblos).
Aleppo	Levant	Syria	Chalcolithic (4,300 BC or earlier)	Evidence of habitation at the current site of Aleppo dates to about c. 8,000 years ago, although excavations at Tell Qaramel, 25 kilometers north of the city show the area was inhabited about 13,000 years ago, the Temple of Hadad inside the Citadel date to c. 2400 BC.
Damascus	Levant	Syria	Chalcolithic	Damascus is often claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, and evidence exists of a settlement in the wider Barada basin dating back to 9000 BC. However, within the area of Damascus, there is no evidence for large-scale settlement until the 2nd millennium BC.
Susa (Shush)	Khuzestan	Iran	4200 BC	Archaeological excavations indicate that the site has been inhabited since at least 5000 BC. The emergence of acropolis in Susa is determined by C14 dating from 4395–3955 BC, roughly dated about 4200 BC as time of foundation. Susa was a large city during Ancient and Medieval periods, but marginalized in 13th century due to Mongol invasion. The city further degraded from 15th century when a majority of its population moved to Dezful and it remained as a small settlement until the 20th century.
Sidon	Levant	Lebanon	4000 BC	There is evidence that Sidon was inhabited from as long ago as 4000 BC, and perhaps, as early as Neolithic times (6000 – 4000 BC).
Gaziantep	Anatolia	Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey	c. 3650 BC	Although 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.
Jericho	Levant	West Bank	Chalcolithic (3000 BC or earlier)	Traces of habitation from 9000 BC. Fortifications date to 6800 BC (or earlier), making Jericho the earliest known walled city. Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was destroyed and abandoned several times (sometimes remaining uninhabited for hundreds of years at a time), with later rebuilding and expansion.
Rey	Media	Iran	3000 BC	A settlement at the site goes back to the 3rd millennium BC. Rey (also Ray or Rayy) is mentioned in the Avesta (an important text of prayers in Zoroastrianism) as a sacred place, and it is also featured in the book of Tobit.
Beirut	Levant	Lebanon	3000 BC
Jerusalem (Old City)	Levant	West Bank/Israel	2800 BC
Tyre	Levant	Lebanon	2750 BC
Jenin	Levant	West Bank	c. 2450 BC	Jenin'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.
Erbil	Mesopotamia	Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq	2300 BC	The Citadel of Arbil is a fortified settlement in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. The city corresponds to ancient Arbela. Settlement at Erbil (kurdish: Hewlêr) can be dated back to possibly 5000 BC, but not urban life until c. 2300.
Kirkuk (as Arrapha)	Mesopotamia	Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq	3000–2200 BC
Jaffa	Levant	Israel	c. 2000 BC	Archaeological evidence shows habitation from 7500 BC.
Hebron	Levant	West Bank	c. 1500 BC	"Hebron is considered one of the oldest cities and has been continuously inhabited for nearly 3500 years."
Gaza	Levant	Gaza Strip	c. 1000 BC	While 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 (as Ecbatana)	Median Empire	Iran	c. 800 BC

Europe

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99	Berat	Neolithic, Illyrian, Albania	Albania	5th millennium BC	Continuously inhabited mostly as an urban settlement, for the past 7,000 years,	Earliest human presence 11th–7th millennium BC, recorded history begins in 1400 BC.
Plovdiv	Thrace	Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria		Thracian foundation. Earliest evidence of a settlement dates back to 6000 BC.
Kutaisi	Colchis	Imereti province, Georgia	c. 2000 BC	Founded as Aia. Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the kingdom of Colchis as early as the 2nd millennium BC. It is widely believed by historians that when Apollonius Rhodius was writing about Jason and the Argonauts and their legendary journey to Colchis, Kutaisi/Aia was the final destination of the Argonauts and the residence of King Aeëtes.
Chania	Crete	Crete, Greece	c. 1400 BC	Minoan foundation as Kydonia
Larnaca	Alashiya	Cyprus	c. 1400 BC	Mycenaean, then Phoenician colony
Thebes	Mycenaean Greece	Boeotia, Greece	c. 1400 BC	Mycenaean foundation
Trikala	Mycenaean Greece	Thessaly, Greece	before 1200 BC	founded as Trikke
Chalcis	Mycenaean Greece	Greece	before 1200 BC	mentioned by Homer
Lisbon	Iron Age Iberia	Portugal	c. 1200 BC	A settlement since the Neolithic. Allis Ubbo, arguably a Phoenician name, became Olissipo(-nis) in Greek and Latin (also Felicitas Julia after Roman conquest in 205 BC).
Cádiz	Iron Age Iberia	Andalusia, Spain	1100 BC	founded as Phoenician Gadir, "Europe's oldest city"
Patras	Mycenaean Greece	Greece	c. 1100 BC	founded by Patreus
Zadar	Illyricum	Croatia	c. 1000 BC	founded by Liburnians. Oldest continusly inhabited city in Croatia. Main Liburnian settlement.
Mtskheta	Caucasian Iberia	Georgia	c. 1000 BC	Remains of towns at this location have been dated to earlier than the year 1000 BC, and Mtskheta was capital of the early Georgian Kingdom of Iberia during the 3rd century BC – 5th century AD. It was the site of early Christian activity, and the location where Christianity was proclaimed the state religion of Georgia in 337.
Mytilene	Lesbos	North Aegean, Greece	10th century BC
Chios	Chios	North Aegean, Greece	c. 1100 BC
Yerevan	Urartu	Armenia	782 BC	Founded as Erebuni. The Shengavit Settlement in the southwestern district of Yerevan was founded in the late 4th millennium BC, during the Calcolithic period.
Seville	Iron Age Iberia	Andalusia, Spain	8th century BC	founded as Tartessian Spal.
Málaga	Iron Age Iberia	Andalusia, Spain	8th century BC	founded as Phoenician Malaka.
Cagliari	Sardinia	Sardinia, Italy	8th century BC	Founded by Phoenicians from Tyre as Krly, Caralis in roman times, Callaris in middle ages.
Rome	Latium	Lazio, Italy	753 BC	Continuous habitation since approximately 1000 BC.; pastoral village on the northern part of the Palatine Hill dated to the 9th century BC; see also History of Rome and Founding of Rome.
Messina (as Zancle)	Sicily	Sicily, Italy	8th century BC
Reggio di Calabria (as Rhégion)	Magna Graecia	Calabria, Italy	743 BC	Continuous habitation since approximately 1500 BC, as we have notice about the Ausonian-Italic pre-Greek settlement and about the sculptor Léarchos of Reggio (early 15th century BC) and King Iokastos (late 13th century BC).
Palermo (as זִיז, Ziz)	Phoenicia	Sicily, Italy	734 BC	Settlement presence since approximately 8000 BC, as we know through cave drawings in the area now known as Addaura, but continuous documented habitation since the Phoenician times (734 BC is traditionally considered as the founding year).
Syracuse	Sicily	Sicily, Italy	734 BC	A colony of the Greek city of Corinth
Volterra	Tuscany	Tuscany, Italy	c. 725 BC	An Etruscan mining settlement
Crotone (as Kroton)	Calabria	Magna Graecia, Italy	710 BC
Taranto (as Taras)	Magna Graecia	Apulia, Italy	706 BC	Founded as the only Spartan colony by the Partheniae, children of unmarried Spartan women and perioikoi, free non-citizen residents of Sparta and her territories.
Corfu, Kerkyra	Corfu	Ionian Islands, Greece	700 BC
Naples	Magna Graecia	Italy	c. 680 BC	Actually the date at which an older settlement close by, called Parthenope, was founded by settlers from Cumae. This eventually merged with Neapolis proper, which was founded c. 470 BC.
Istanbul/Byzantion	Thrace Anatolia	Turkey	685 BC Anatolia 667 BC Thrace	Neolithic site dated to 6400 BC, over port of Lygos by Thracians c. 1150 BC
Durrës	Illyria	Albania	627 BC	Founded by settlers from Corcyra & Corinth as Epidamnos
Kerch	Crimea	Russia/Ukraine	7th century BC
Feodosiya (as Theodosia)	Crimea	Russia/Ukraine	7th century BC
Edessa, Greece	Macedonia	Greece	before the 6th century BC	capital of Macedonia up to 6th century BC
Marseilles (as Massilia)	Gaul	France	600 BC	A colony of the Greek city of Phocaea
Varna	Thrace	Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria	585 BC – 570 BC	founded as Odessos by settlers from Miletus
Sant Martí d'Empúries (as Emporion)	Iberia	Catalonia, Spain	ca. 575 BC	A colony of the Greek city of Phocaea. Present Sant Martí is on the ancient Palaiopolis of Emporion, in an island next to the coast; in 550 BC, the inhabitants moved to the mainland, creating the Neapolis: Palaiapolis remained as a small neighbourhood.
Kavala	Macedonia	Greece	6th century BC	founded as Neapolis
Mangalia	Dacia	Romania	6th century BC	founded as Callatis
Constanţa	Dacia	Romania	6th century BC	founded as Tomis
Mantua	Po Valley	Lombardy, Italy	6th century BC	Village settlement since c. 2000 BC; became an Etruscan city in the 6th century BC.
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi	Bessarabia	Ukraine	6th century BC	founded as Tyras
Serres	Macedonia	Greece	5th century BC	first mentioned in the 5th century BC as Siris
Lamia	Greece	Greece	before the 5th century BC	first mentioned 424 BC
Veria	Macedonia	Greece	c. 432 BC	first mentioned by Thucydides in 432 BC
Rhodes	Rhodes, Aegean Sea	Dodecanese, Greece	c. 408 BC
Sofia	Moesia	Sofia Valley, Bulgaria	4th century BC	Celtic foundation as Serdica.
Metz	Gaul	France	4th century BC	founded as the oppidum of Celtic Mediomatrici. However, Human permanent presence has been established in the site since 2500 BC.
Roses (as Rhode)	Iberia	Catalonia, Spain	4th century BC	The exactly origin of the city is unknown, but there are remains of a Greek colony from the 4th century BC, although some historians consider the foundation earlier, at the 8th century BC. However, permanent human presence has been established in the site since 3000 BC as evidenced by the different megalithic monuments surrounding the city.
Qabala (as Kabalaka)	Caucasian Albania	Azerbaijan	4th century BC	Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the Caucasian Albania as early as the 4th century BC.
Stara Zagora	Thrace	Bulgaria	342 BC	It was called Beroe in ancient times and was founded by Phillip II of Macedon although a Thracian settlement neolithic inhabitation have been discovered as well.
Thessaloniki	Macedonia (ancient kingdom)	Greece	315 BC	founded as a new city in the same place of the older city Therme.
Berat	Macedonia (ancient kingdom)	Albania	314 BC	Founded by Cassander as Antipatreia
Vukovar	Illyria	Croatia	3500 BC	Vučedol culture
Zagreb	Illyria	Croatia	1 st century	In the region of today's Zagreb, Romans founded the city Andautonia.
Belgrade	Illyria	Serbia	279 BC	Vinča culture prospered around Belgrade in the 6th millennium BC. Founded as Singidunum.
Niš	Illyria	Serbia	279 BC	Founded as Navissos. Neolithic settlements date to 5000–2000 BC.
Cartagena (as Carthago Nova)	Iberia	Spain	228 BC	Carthaginian colony, founded by Hasdrubal Barca
Barcelona (as Barcino)	Iberia	Catalonia, Spain	3rd century BC	Unknown origin. Several neolithics tombs (5000–4500 BC) and remains from the Iberian period have been found, as well as several drachma coins inscribed with the word "Barkeno". There is also a hypothesis about a small Greek settlement called Kallípolis to have existed in the area. However, the first archaeological remains of buildings are from the Roman period.
Tarragona (as Tarraco)	Iberia	Catalonia, Spain	218 BC	Roman colony, founded by Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio
Stobi/Gradsko	Macedonia	Republic of Macedonia	217 BC	founded as Stobi by Philip V of Macedon
Sremska Mitrovica	Illyria	Serbia	1st century BC	Founded as Sirmium. Neolithic settlements date to 5000 BC and are with other archeological findings evidence to continuous habitation.
Smederevo	Illyria	Serbia	1st century BC	Founded as Semendria.
Ljubljana	Italia	Slovenia	50 BC	Area first settled by people living in pile dwellings around 2000 BC. Around 50 BC, the Romans built a military encampment that later became a permanent settlement called Iulia Aemona.
Ptuj	Pannonia	Slovenia	1st century BC	Ptuj is the oldest city in Slovenia. There is evidence that the area was settled in the Stone Age. In the Late Iron Age it was settled by Celts. By the 1st century BC, the settlement was controlled by Ancient Rome.
Évora	Lusitania	Portugal	53 BC (Roman conquest)	Evidence of Lusitanian settlement prior to Roman occupation.
Paris	Lutetia	France	52 BC	Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation as early as 4200 BC. During the Gallic Wars, Caesar's armies set fire to Lutetia "a town of the Parisii, situated on an island on the river Seine." While only a garrison at best on the Île de la Cité during some periods after 1st and 2nd century, was renamed Paris in 360 AD
Zürich (Lindenhof)	Gaul	Switzerland	c. 50 BC	lakeside settlement traces dating to the Neolithic.
Trier	Gallia Belgica	Germany	30 BC	Oldest city in Germany.
Maastricht	Germania Inferior	Netherlands	500 BC	Oldest city in the Netherlands.
Chur	Raetia Prima	Grisons, Switzerland	15 BC	habitation since the 4th millennium BC (Pfyn culture).
Worms	Germania Superior	Germany	14 BC	The name of the city derives from the Latin designation Borbetomagus which is of Celtic origin.
Tongeren	Germania Inferior	Belgium	10 BC	Oldest city in Belgium.
Solothurn	Gaul	Switzerland	c. 20 AD	Evidence of pre-Roman, Celtic settlement; newly founded by the Romans between 14 and 37 AD, called the "oldest city in Gaul besides Trier" in a verse on the city's clock tower.
London (as Londinium)	Britannia	England	43 AD	Archaeological evidence near Vauxhall Bridge indicates that the wider area has been occupied for at least 3,500 years.
Bath (as Aquae Sulis)	Britannia	England	43 AD	The city was established as a spa town by the Romans in 43 AD
Cologne	Germania Inferior	Germany	50 AD	Founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, a Germanic tribe, as Oppidum Ubiorum. In 50 AD, the Romans adopted the location as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium and the city became in 85 AD the capital of the Roman province.
Winchester (as Venta Belgarum)	Britannia	England	c. 70 AD	Winchester was built as a Roman town in c. 70 AD.
York (as Eboracum)	Britannia	England	c. 72 AD	The city was founded in or around AD 72 when the 9th Roman Legion set up camp there.
Skopje	Macedonia (Roman province)	Republic of Macedonia	81–96 AD	Founded in the time of Domitian as Scupi.
Novi Sad	Illyria	Serbia	1st century AD	Founded as Cusum.
Baku	Azerbaijan	Absheron peninsula	The 1st century AD	The first written evidence for Baku dates to the 1st century AD
Verdun	Lotharingia	France	4th century	seat of the bishop of Verdun from the 4th century, but populated earlier.
Kiev	Medieval East Slavic civilization	Ukraine	482 AD	Founded by Slavic tribe leader Kyi. Some sources suggest Kiev was founded in 640 BC.
Tbilisi	Caucasian Iberia	Kartli province, Georgia	c. 500	According to the widely accepted legend the city was founded by King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia. New archaeological studies of the region have revealed that the territory of Tbilisi was settled by humans as early as the 4th millennium BC. The earliest actual (recorded) accounts of settlement of the location come from the 4th century, when a fortress was built during King Varaz-Bakur's reign.
Aberdeen	Pictland	Scotland	c. 580	A settlement was established by c. 580 when records show the city's first church was built then. However, there is archaeological evidence of settlements in the area dating back to 6000BC.
Edinburgh as Din Eidyn	Gododdin	Scotland	c. 580	Edinburgh is mentioned as a settlement in the poem Y Gododdin, traditionally dated to around the late 6th and early 7th centuries. The Poem uses The Brythonic name Din Eidyn (Fort of Eidyn) for Edinburgh and describes it as the capital of Gododdin. It is not until around 638 that the city starts being referred to as Edin-burh or Edinburgh, after the city was conquered by the Angles of Bernicia
Prague	Bohemia	Czech Republic	c. 6th century	The first written record dates back to the 10th century.
Inverness	Pictland	Scotland	c. 6th century	A settlement was established by the 6th century when St Columba visited the Pictish King Brude at his fortress there.
Glasgow	Dál Riata or Alt Clut	Scotland	c. 6th century	A settlement was founded in the 6th century by St Mungo, who is the city's patron Saint.
Ioannina	Byzantine Empire	Greece	527–565	founded by emperor Justinian I
Kraków (Wawel Hill)	Lesser Poland	Poland	7th century	The first written record dates back to the 10th century.
Århus		Denmark	c. 770
Ribe	Jutland	Denmark	704–710	Oldest town in Denmark
Staraya Ladoga		Russia	753
Heraklion	Crete	Greece	824	founded by the Saracens
Dublin	Ireland	Ireland	841	Dublin was founded as a city by the Vikings in the 9th century, but there were two older Irish settlements which existed on the same spot several centuries before they arrived; Áth Cliath ("ford of hurdles") and Duiblinn ("Black Pool").
Veliky Novgorod		Russia	859
Polatsk		Belarus	862
Reykjavík	Iceland	Iceland	c. 871
Xanthi	Thrace	Greece	before 879	first medieval reference as Xantheia
Vitebsk		Belarus	947
Sigtuna		Sweden	980	Is reputed as the oldest town in Sweden, the name is derived from an old royal estate Fornsigtuna situated nearby.
Skara		Sweden	988
Lund	Denmark	Sweden	c. 990
Trondheim	Norway	Norway	997	Founded by king Olav Tryggvason. Archaeological findings of city settlement back to the 8th century.

Oceania

Further information: List of towns and cities in Australia by year of settlement

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited since	Notes
!a	!a	!a	−9e99
~z	~z	~z	9e99
Ternate	Sultanate of Ternate	Indonesia	1109 AD	Twin of Tidore, oldest surviving Papuan cities.
Tidore	Sultanate of Tidore	Indonesia	1109 AD	Twin of Ternate, oldest surviving Papuan cities.
Sydney	New South Wales	Australia	1788	Oldest 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 Australian Aboriginal group called the "Eora people".
Hobart	Tasmania	Australia	1803	Second 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.
Newcastle	New South Wales	Australia	1804	Third oldest city in Australia
Launceston	Tasmania	Australia	1806	Fourth oldest city in Australia
Kerikeri	Northland	New Zealand	c. 1818	Oldest European settlement in New Zealand
Brisbane	Queensland	Australia	1825	Fifth oldest city in Australia, State Capital
Albany	Western Australia	Australia	1827	Oldest city in the West Coast of Australia
Perth	Western Australia	Australia	1829	The area had been inhabited by the Whadjuk Noongar people for over 40,000 years, as evidenced by archaeological findings on the Upper Swan River.
Melbourne	Victoria	Australia	1835	Before 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.
Adelaide	South Australia	Australia	1836	State Capital
Darwin	Northern Territory	Australia	1869	State Capital
Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	Australia	1913	Capital city of Australia. Artefacts suggests early human activity occurred at some point in Canberra dating at around 21,000 years ago.

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East
• Historical cities
• Historical urban community sizes
• List of American cities by year of foundation (includes ancient native sites)

External links

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• "Fes". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 3 March 2007
• Arango, J.; Durán, F.; Martín, J.G.; Arroyo, S. (Eds.). Panamá Viejo. De la aldea a la urbe. Patronato Panamá Viejo, Panamá, 2007.
• Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is sometimes cited for this, was abandoned due to Indian raiding from 1680 to 1692, and its inhabitants did not succeed in living in the area continuously until after 1692.
• Kelly Hearn, "Ancient Temple Discovered Among Inca Ruins", National Geographic News, 31 March 2008, accessed 12 January 2010
• Irows.ucr.edu
• The Peking Man World Heritage Site at Zhoukoudian
• http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21578171-why-investors-still-need-proceed-caution-promiseand-pitfalls Business: The promise—and the pitfalls
• Scott, William Prehispanic Source Materials: For the Study of Philippine History, p. 66
• Founded during the reign of King Pontarika, per ; the king's reign was 1028 to 1043 per
• The story is recorded in JMBRAS magazine, October 1935, Volume XIII Part 2, page 15 to 16.
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• ;
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• [2], tell qaramel
• [3], hadad temple
• The world's oldest cities, telegraph.co.uk
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• Kenneth Kitchen, "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" (Eerdmans 2003), pp.187
• "Rayy", Encyclopædia Britannica
• Under Beirut's Rubble, Remnants of 5,000 Years of Civilization
• either The destruction of the Kirkuk Castle by the Iraqi regime. or History Channel for the earlier date
• Excavations at Ancient Jaffa (Joppa). Tel Aviv University.
• International dictionary of historic places By Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, K. A. Berney, Paul E. Schellinger
• Plovdiv: New ventures for Europe’s oldest inhabited city, The Courier, January/February 2010
• andalucia.com;
• The0 BC or earlier)
• (Armenian) Baghdasaryan A., Simonyan A, et al. "Երևան" (Yerevan). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. iii. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1977, pp. 548–564.
• An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen, 2005, page 330,"Epidamnos was founded in either 627 or 625 (Hieron. Chron"
• An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen,2005,page 936,
• The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 3, Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries BC by John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, E. Sollberger, and N. G. L. Hammond, ISBN 0-521-22717-8, 1992, page 600: "In the place of the vanished Treres and Tilataei we find the Serdi for whom there is no evidence before the first century BC. It has for long being supposed on convincing linguistic and archeological grounds that this tribe was of Celtic origin."
• Women and slaves in Greco-Roman culture: differential equations by Sandra Rae Joshel, Sheila Murnaghan,1998,page 214,"Philip II founded cities at Beroe, Kabyle, and Philippopolis in 342/1, and Aegean-style urban life began to penetrate Thrace."
• Late Roman villas in the Danube-Balkan region by Lynda Mulvin,2002,page 19,"Other roads went through Beroe (founded by Philip II of Macedon)",
• Philip of Macedon by Louïza D. Loukopoulou,1980,page 98, "Upriver in the valley between the Rhodope and Haimos Philip founded Beroe (Stara Zagora) and Philippolis (Plovdiv)."
• The cities in Thrace and Dacia in late antiquity: (studies and materials) by Velizar Iv Velkov,1977,page 128, "Founded by Philipp 11 on the site of an old Thracian settlement, it has existed without interruption from that time."
• Epirus: the geography, the ancient remains, the history and topography of ... by Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond,"founded Antipatreia in Illyria at c. 314 BC"
• Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, book 7
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• Visit Bath, History and Heritage | http://visitbath.co.uk/site/media/information-sheets/history-and-heritage
• Lambert T., A SHORT HISTORY OF WINCHESTER, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, http://www.localhistories.org/winchester.html
• York Museums Trust, History of York.org.uk , Roman, http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/roman
• City of Aberdeen, http://www.scottishaccommodationindex.com/aberdeenpics.htm
• Hurlstone K., and Jackson, A, (1969), The Gododdin: the oldest Scottish poem, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. P. 4 – ISBN 978-0-85224-049-6
• Lambert, T., A BRIEF HISTORY OF INVERNESS, SCOTLAND, http://www.localhistories.org/inverness.html
• Glasgows-timeline |(http://www.seeglasgow.com/seeglasgow/about-glasgow/glasgows-timeline
• Saint Mungo | http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/plaza/aaj50/mungo.htm
• Lund.se
• Geoffrey Blainey; A Very Short History of the World; Penguin Books; 2004; ISBN 978-0-14-300559-9
• Mulvaney, D J and White, Peter, 1987, Australians to 1788, Fairfax, Syme & Weldon, Sydney
• The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia. (ed.) David Horton. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994 [2 vols] (see: Vol. 2, pp.1008–10 [with map]; individual tribal entries; and the 'Further Reading' section on pp.1245–72).
• Gary Presland, The First Residents of Melbourne's Western Region, (revised edition), Harriland Press, 1997. ISBN 0-646-33150-7. Presland says on page 1: "There is some evidence to show that people were living in the Maribyrnong River valley, near present day Keilor, about 40,000 years ago."
• Gary Presland, Aboriginal Melbourne: The Lost Land of the Kulin People, Harriland Press (1985), Second edition 1994, ISBN 0-9577004-2-3. This book describes in some detail the archaeological evidence regarding aboriginal life, culture, food gathering and land management, particularly the period from the flooding of Bass Strait and Port Phillip from about 7–10,000 years ago, up to the European colonisation in the nineteenth century.
• Isabel Ellender and Peter Christiansen, People of the Merri Merri. The Wurundjeri in Colonial Days, Merri Creek Management Committee, 2001 ISBN 0-9577728-0-7