What is the oldest city in the world? A report published by The Telegraph, it revealed a list of the oldest cities in the world according to UNESCO. The organization has prepared a list of the ten oldest cities in the world, eight of which are located in Arab countries. If this indicates anything, it indicates the ancient civilizations that were established on the Arab land, and the antiquities and excavations that have been discovered bear witness to the authenticity of their past and their glorious history, despite the forms of destruction that have affected these cities, whether as a result of invasions and colonial ambitions or as a result of disasters and natural factors, such as earthquakes. and volcanoes. In the contents site, we will learn about the oldest city on earth, and what is the oldest capital in history? and other information.
What is the oldest city in the world?
The oldest city in the world included in the UNESCO list is Jericho in Palestine, which is located near the Jordan River. It is also the oldest Arab city in history. While its foundation dates back to 10,000 BC. It is located in Wadi al-Qilt, close to the Jordan Valley. It was a crossing point for commercial convoys and a link between the East and the West. And an outlet to the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. While Jericho is 36 km from the capital of Palestine, Jerusalem. It was also inhabited by the Canaanites, who are the original inhabitants of Palestine. While a large number of human artifacts dating back to the Stone Age were found in Jericho, as well as many religious sanctuaries and historical monuments, including the shrine of our master Moses, the Mount of Forty, and the palace of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik, which has the oldest wall and steps discovered in the world. And the old tower. They are followed by the following cities, in order of seniority: Byblos, Aleppo, Damascus, Sidon, Shushan, Athens, Fayoum, Plovdiv, Gaziantep, and Beirut. We will provide information on each of them successively.
Byblos city
The city (Byblos) in Lebanon, is the second oldest city in the world. It is also about 37 kilometers from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and its history dates back to more than 8000 years. It was also inhabited by the Phoenicians in 5000 BC. As with all ancient cities, ancient civilizations followed on their lands and were inhabited by the Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman, and Ottoman peoples. It is distinguished by its strategic location on the sea, and its most prominent archaeological features are the historic Byblos Castle built by the Crusaders in 1204 AD, the old port, the remains of the wall that surrounded the city, the Wax Museum, the Church of St. John the Baptist, built by the Crusaders in 1150 AD, and the theater that dates back to to the days of Roman civilization.
Aleppo city
Through our research on what is the oldest city in the world, UNESCO remembers that the city of Aleppo in Syria coincides with the birth of the Syrian capital, Damascus. That is, from about 4300 BC to the Bronze Age period. In the past, Aleppo was the capital of several kingdoms, such as the Armenian, and then the Hittite, while the days of civilizations that witnessed it flourished, such as the Aramaic, Hellenistic, Roman, Persian, and the days of the Umayyad and later Abbasid states. While Aleppo is the oldest city in Syria.
Damascus
Some people often ask is Damascus the oldest city in the world? Or is Aleppo the oldest city in the world? In fact, Damascus, the capital of Syria, is ranked fourth on the UNESCO list, as the oldest city in the world. It also dates back to the year 4300 BC. While the Damascene land was the cradle of many civilizations, such as the Aramaic, the Roman, and the Nabataean civilization. While it was the cradle of the Seleucid state and the capital of the Umayyads. And for those who wonder what is the oldest inhabited city in the world? Certainly, it is Damascus, and according to historians, Damascus is the oldest capital in history and is characterized by its strategic location, the beauty of its landmarks, the abundance of its bounties, and its intellectual, historical, and commercial importance. Civilizations followed it through the ages, and it is mentioned that the oldest dwellings in which humans settled date back to 11,000 BC. It is located in the southern part of the country, and its area is estimated at 106.19 square kilometers.
Sidon
Returning to what is the oldest city in the world, Sidon is the third-largest Lebanese city after the capital Beirut and Tripoli, and is located on the Mediterranean coast in Lebanon. It was also built by the Phoenicians in the year 4000 BC. Its residents were also famous for their handicrafts, specifically the manufacture of pottery and glass. They are also the first people in the world who knew the murex coincidence, extracted the color purple from it, and used it in dyes. While Sidon was inhabited by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Romans, and Greeks. It is one of the oldest cities in the world because of its antiquities dating back to the oldest civilizations.
Shushan
The city of Shushan in Iran (Sousse) is on the UNESCO list, ranked fifth, as the oldest city in the world. It also dates back to the year 4200 BC, when it was the capital of the empire (Elam). It flourished during the reign of Kings Cyrus and Cyrus II the Great. It was an important civilizational, cultural, religious, and intellectual center for Greece. While it contains many archaeological sites such as the existing fortress to this day, and the ruins of historical buildings dating back to the Persian, Assyrian, Macedonian, Syrian, Greek, and Parthian kingdoms. Whereas in the city of Shushan was found the oldest play, preserved in human history, by the Roman writer and writer, Aeschylus. It is known as the play (People of Persia).
Athena
Athens is located in southern Greece, on the continent of Europe, on the Attica plain between the Ilissos and Kifissos rivers, surrounded by mountains on its three sides. While it overlooks the Saronic Gulf, which connects to the Mediterranean Sea from its fourth side. In fact, the capital of Greece, Athens, is one of the oldest cities in the world with an unparalleled history. Its history extends back to more than 3400 BC, and it is named after the Greek goddess of wisdom. Its most important archaeological landmarks are the Greek Acropolis Castle, the Temple of the Agora, the ancient city wall of Kerameikos, the Pnyx Hill, and the historical Dionysus Theater.
Forum
Fayoum city in Egypt is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its founding dates back to more than 4000 thousand years BC, and it is called the Lesser Egypt. Fayoum Governorate is located in the Western Desert, 90 km from the capital Cairo, and is surrounded by the desert from all sides, except for the southeastern side, where it is connected to the Beni Suef Governorate. The two pyramids of Lahoun and Hawara that were discovered it were in the past belonged to the Pharaonic city of Crocodilopolis. Faiyum also contains many traces of Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic civilizations. It also has the largest museum that displays fossils of extinct creatures and animals, such as dinosaurs, and also includes Bahr Youssef Canal, Lake Qarun, and Wadi El Rayan. It was also the ancient capital of Ahnasia and was part of the twentieth district located in Upper Egypt.
Plovdiv city
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria in terms of area, after the capital Sofia, and ranks eighth in the UNESCO list as the oldest city in the world. It also dates back to about 4000 BC, and it was known from 342 BC until the fifteenth century as the city of (Philippine) or (Philippi), according to what was mentioned in one of St. Paul’s letters, about the Roman Emperor Philip, the father of Alexander the Great who conquered it. . This city is characterized by its culture and cultural heritage, which is deeply rooted in history. While the city of Plovdiv is considered a center and a springboard for the Bulgarian national movement, it flourished after the construction of the first printing house in the Bulgarian language, during the era of the Ottoman Empire.
Gaziantep
After knowing what is the oldest city in the world, Gaziantep is located in southern Turkey, close to the Syrian border, and it is among the regions and lands that Turkey stripped from the Syrian state, during the signing of the Ankara Treaty in 1920 AD, which is 96 kilometers from the city of Aleppo It is known to the Arabs as Gaziantep. While the Turks later added the word Gazi to the name, it became Gaziantep. It is ranked ninth as the oldest city in the world. It also dates back to more than 3650 BC, and the city contains many monuments dating back to the Hellenistic period. It also contains the Byzantine Ravenna Castle and a large group of traces of Roman civilization. It is also classified as the third oldest city in the Middle East.
Beirut is the tenth oldest city in the world
The capital of Lebanon, Beirut, ranked tenth in the list of the oldest cities on earth. It also dates back to 3000 BC, and the word Beirut in the Canaanite language means well, which is a plural of the word bir. It flourished during the days of the Phoenician, Hellenistic, and Roman civilizations, as it was built by the inhabitants of Byblos, and it was known as (Phoenician Odessa). In the era of the Romans, its name was (Julia Augustus Berytus the Happy) and its most important landmarks were the port of Beirut, the Roman Tawila market, the Roman baths, and the Gardens of Forgiveness.
In conclusion, and through the contents site, after we presented what is the oldest city in the world, according to a set of data, adopted by UNESCO, it is fair to add to the previous list, the Greek city of Argos, Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, and the city of Beijing, the capital of China, the oldest cities In Asia, it is the second-largest city in the world in terms of population. As well as the Pharaonic city of Luxor, which is nicknamed the City of the Hundred Gates, and is considered the oldest inhabited city to this day in Egypt.