Oldest 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. Caveats (and sources) to the validity of each claim are discussed in the "Notes" column.

Several cities listed here, which are over 5000 years old, popularly claim to be "the oldest city in the world".

Originally named Kutaraja, which means "City of the King".

Derived its name from the words "suro" (shark) and "boyo" (crocodile), two creatures which are in a local myth.

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.

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

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.

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