List of oldest continuously inhabited cities
Western
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).

List of oldest continuously inhabited cities

Section Title: Western
Table Section Text: 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).

Name	Historical region	Location	Continuously inhabited as a "city" since	Notes

Byblos (Jubayl)	Levant	Lebanon	Chalcolithic; 3000 BC	Settled from the Neolithic (carbon-dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000 BC), a city since the 3rd millennium BC.

Damascus	Levant	Syria	Chalcolithic; 3rd millennium BC	Damascus is often claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Excavations at Tell Ramad on the outskirts of the city have demonstrated that the general area was inhabited as early as 9000 BC.

Jericho	Levant	Palestine	1st millennium BC	Traces of habitation from 9000 BC. Fortifications date to 6800 BC (or earlier), making Jericho the earliest known walled city.

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	Israel/Palestine	2800 BC

Tyre	Levant	Lebanon	2750 BC

Jenin	Levant	Palestine	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.

Aleppo	Levant	Syria	2nd millennium BC

Homs	Levant	Syria	possibly early 3rd century BC	May have been founded by Seleucus I Nicator

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.

Kirkuk (as Arrapha)	Mesopotamia	Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq	3000–2200 BC

Ankara	Anatolia	Central Anatolia, Turkey	at least 2000 BC	The oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belonged to the Hattic civilization which existed during the Bronze Age.

Jaffa	Levant	Israel	c. 2000 BC	Archaeological evidence shows habitation from 7500 BC.

Sidon	Levant	Lebanon	2nd millennium BC	Sidon becomes a city-state during the 2nd millennium BC.

Hebron	Levant	Palestine	c. 1500 BC	"Hebron is considered one of the oldest cities and has been continuously inhabited for nearly 3500 years."

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.

Eskişehir	Anatolia	Turkey	c. 1000 BC	The city was founded by the Phrygians in at least 1000 BC, although it has been estimated to be older than 4,000 years old.

Gaza	Levant	Palestine	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)	Media	Iran	c. 800 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.

Istanbul (as 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.

Lod	Levant	Israel	200 AD

Tabriz	Caucasus	Iran	3rd–7th century AD	The earliest elements of the present Tabriz are claimed to be built either at the time of the early Sassanids in the 3rd or 4th century AD, or later in the 7th century.

Yazd	Media	Iran	5th century AD	It has long been a haven for Zoroastrians.

Sentence(s)

Erbil is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities.

final_sentence: Erbil is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities.