• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 618 4351
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

What’s The Oldest Surviving City In The World?

May 26, 2023 by Deborah Bloomfield

There are dozens of cities across the world that have been lived in by humans for thousands upon thousands of years. However, when it comes to pinpointing the oldest continuously inhabited city, there is no straightforward answer. 

The conundrum is a bit like the Ship of Theseus thought experiment: if a city is knocked down, restored, moved slightly, built on top of, knocked down again, and reconstructed, is it the same city or a new entity? 

Advertisement

Without getting too bogged down in philosophical roundabouts, there are a number of places that could possibly take the crown of the world’s longest-standing city – almost all of which lay in the Middle East.

The city of Jericho, known for an infamous war in the Old Testament that probably didn’t happen, is often credited with being the earliest city that’s still standing. Archaeological evidence has suggested the area has been the site of numerous successive settlements over the past millennia. Parts of the city and its famous walls are believed to have been first constructed around 9,000 BCE. 

However, these structures should not be confused with modern-day Jericho, the Palestinian city in the West Bank. The ancient part of Jericho is actually known as Tell es-Sultan, around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) north of the present-day city center. There is some debate about whether it can be considered continuously inhabited, but if you’re asked what the oldest city is during a quiz, then it’s likely they will be expecting the answer “Jericho.” 

Panoramic view of the Syrian city of Aleppo before war

Panoramic view of Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War.

Image credit: Benedikt Saxler/Shutterstock.com

Syria also contains some strong contenders for the crown. Damascus was previously considered an undisputed champion for oldest city, with archaeological remains indicating that humans had been there as early as 9,000 BCE. Unfortunately, one current view is that people didn’t continually settle in present-day Damascus until around 6,000 years later. 

Advertisement

Aleppo might, in fact, be a safe option. This city has become synonymous with the ongoing Syrian Civil War, but this is just a tragic blip in the long life of this settlement. Archaeological remains suggest Aleppo may have been inhabited since the sixth millennium BCE. It truly began to flourish during the Golden Age of the Silk Road from the 12th to early 15th century CE.  

Last but not least, the city of Faiyum in Egypt deserves a mention. It was originally founded by the ancient Egyptians as Shedet. Due to the settlement’s obsession with the crocodile god Sobek, the Greeks named it “Crocodilopolis.” Located some 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of the modern capital Cairo, pottery and structures near the city suggest humans had been here since approximately 5,500 BCE, making it the oldest city in Egypt and one of the oldest settlements in Africa. 

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Take Five: Big in Japan
  2. Struggle over Egypt’s Juhayna behind arrest of founder, son – Amnesty
  3. Turkey seeks 40 F-16 jets to upgrade Air Force -sources
  4. NASA’s $180 Million Plan For Destroying The ISS Revealed

Source Link: What's The Oldest Surviving City In The World?

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Crocodiles Seen Reproducing Via “Virgin Birth” For First Time – No Male Required
  • The Tarot Card Riddle – Can You Solve It And Break The Ancient Curse?
  • Orcas Attack Boat Using More Extreme Tactic For First Time
  • Geologists Drilling Deep-Sea Hole Retrieve Deepest Earth Mantle Rocks Ever
  • “Lost World” Of Early Ancestors Revealed In Billion-Year-Old Fossilized Fat Molecules
  • Parker Solar Probe Finds The Source Of Fast Solar Wind Flurries
  • How Loser Synapses Get A “Punishment Signal” To Get Pruned Off
  • How To Treat Jellyfish Stings (Hint: Urine Not Recommended)
  • Derinkuyu: The Ancient Underground Cave City That Can House 20,000 People
  • The Man Who Got Stuck Inside A Cloud For 40 Horrific Minutes
  • Biggest Piece From World’s Largest Iceberg Destroyed In Notorious Iceberg Graveyard
  • Ukraine’s Dam Collapse May Be Europe’s Biggest Ecological Disaster In Decades
  • Video Shows Incredible Moment 7,000-Year-Old Rock Art Is Discovered Using Drones
  • Why Do Primates Masturbate So Much? Study Traces Origins Of Spanking The Monkey
  • Apple Is Adding A New iPhone Feature And It’s About Ducking Time
  • Nine Easy Steps You Can Take To Support Biodiversity If You Have A Garden
  • Big Claims Made For Burials And Engravings By Small-Brained Homo Naledi
  • Could Adding “Trust” And “Distrust” Buttons Be The Future Of Social Media?
  • Here Be Dragons: Did Maps Of Yore Really Warn Of Mythical Beasts?
  • Doctors Forced To Remove Patient’s Brain Implant After The Maker Went Bust
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 618 4351
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2023 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version