The first 20 cities in history

There have been many cities that have been founded throughout the history of humanity. The first cities in history were the result of human beings stopping going from one place to another to subsist and start working the land, establishing a fixed place of home.

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

Next Let's see how the first cities in history appeared, as well as seeing 20 of the oldest, some of them still inhabited.

• Related article: "The 5 ages of History (and their characteristics)"

What are the first cities in history?

For millennia the human being was nomadic and fed on what he found inhabiting different regions such as fruits and animals to hunt but, when they run out, I had to change the region of new.

This changed in the Neolithic with the appearance of agriculture, causing the human being to cultivate the land and raise animals, which made their diet more stable. Thus, the first sedentary human groups began to emerge and the first fixed towns were formed around 3000 BC. c.

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

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

Over time, what were originally modest primitive and unsafe towns became authentic urban centers with stone buildings, walls and even palaces. Naturally this did not happen overnight, but as the first towns grew and took space away from the countryside, the economic activities of the people, also creating social hierarchies and, consequently, appearing the first states like Antigua Mesopotamia.

The 20 oldest cities

Next we will see 20 very old cities, some still inhabited today.

1. Çatalhöyük, Türkiye (7500 BCE). C.)

Çatalhöyük is a city found in what is now Turkey and is believed to have been established around 7500 BC. c. It was found at the end of the 1950s and restored in 1960, being a true anthropological marvel due to how well preserved it is.

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

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

The Mesopotamian city of Uruk is located along the Euphrates, present-day Iraq. Its foundation is believed to be close to 5000 BC. C., being its stage of splendor between 4000 a. c. and 3,200 a. 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. 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 value tourist.

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

Byblos is about 7,000 years old, being probably the oldest city that is still inhabited. This city is a mandatory stop to understand the origins of the Phoenician culture, which is why its archaeological settlements are World Heritage Sites.

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

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

This particular city It is considered by many to be the origin of what would become Western civilization over time..

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

Aleppo was founded around 4000 BC. c. and it has been controlled by various civilizations such as the Sassanids, Arabs, various Christian states, Mongols, Romans... It is probably the oldest city in Syria that still has inhabitants, although the Civil War in that country is leaving it practically in ruins.

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

Ur is another important Mesopotamian city, believed to have been founded in 3800 BC. c. 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 the Mesopotamian culture, the ziggurat of Ur.

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

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

• You may be interested in: "Bronze Age: characteristics and phases of this historical stage"

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

Ray is located in present-day Iran and was founded in 3000 BC. c. It was one of the most important cities of the Parthian empire and today it has been practically engulfed by modern Tehran, the capital of Iran.

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

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

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

Beirut, the current capital of Lebanon, is over 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, later, both Muslims and Christians lived there..

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

Jerusalem is a peculiar city, since its exact foundation is mixed with mythology and archaeological remains. It was probably founded around 3000 BC. c. but it was eventually 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. However, its archaeological and architectural richness demonstrates the great cultural richness product of the influence of different peoples.

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

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

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

You can't talk about ancient cities without mentioning possibly the most famous of all: Babylon.. Founded in 2300 B.C. c. it achieved its independence after the Sumerian renaissance period and became the capital of a great empire.

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

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

Although remains have been found that suggest that the region has been inhabited since 5000 BC. C, the consensus has established that its foundation is from 2300 a. c. Erbil or Arbela is one of the main cities of Kurdistan, inhabited by Mongols, Arabs, Babylonians and many more people from the region. Its citadel is already 8,000 years old and is considered the cultural capital of Iraqi Kurds.

16. Kirkuk, Iraq (2200 BCE). C.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jaffa is located in the prosperous Israeli city of Tel Aviv. It is believed that the first human beings arrived at the site about 5,000 years ago, and Jaffa would be established as a city proper around 2000 BC. c. This city was Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Muslim, and now Israeli.

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

The Bulgarian city of Plovdiv is believed to have been founded in 2000 BC. C., but with first inhabitants around 6000 a. c. It was founded by the Thracians, an Indo-European tribe that inhabited what is now Bulgaria and nearby countries., although with the passage of time the city would be taken over by the Greeks and the Romans. We have a clear sign that it was Romanized in its touristic Roman theatre, very well preserved.

Bibliographic references:

• Fisher, William Bayne; Boyle, J. TO. (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) The first cities, the urban revolution in Mesopotamia. National Geographic. Taken from https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/primeras-ciudades-revolucion-urbana-mesopotamia_6679
• Wikipedia. (s. f.) List of oldest continuously inhabited cities. Wikipedia. Taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_continuously_inhabited_cities