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Oldest Capital Cities

Among current world capitals, which have had a continuous urban settlement for the longest period of time?
Did you notice the words continuous and urban?
All dates must be considered crude estimates
Additional note in comments
Quiz by
Quizmaster
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Last updated: July 3, 2024
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First submittedJuly 2, 2024
Times taken45,753
Average score50.0%
Rating4.44
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Year
Capital City
before 1300 BC
Beirut
before 1300 BC
Damascus
before 1300 BC
Jerusalem
before 1300 BC
Athens
before 1000 BC
Ankara
1050 BC
Nicosia
1045 BC
Beijing
782 BC
Yerevan
753 BC
Rome
600s BC
Tripoli
400 BC?
Delhi
before 279 BC
Belgrade
257 BC
Hanoi
194 BC
Pyongyang
before 100 BC
Lisbon
1st century BC
Paris
1st century BC
Budapest
1st century BC
or before
Sofia
18 BC
Seoul
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56 Comments
Quizmaster
+33
Level ∞
Jul 3, 2024
This quiz is based on original research. I tended to err on the side of skepticism, leaving out cities with poor historical records or that didn't rise to the level of a city. Obviously this involves some subjectivity.

In some cases, people claim that the history of a city goes back thousands of years because someone found a bone in a cave or something. Clearly, that's not what we mean by urban settlement. Please don't make the same mistake when arguing for your city to be included.

In any case, this quiz can never be considered fully authoritative. I did my best.

Polandball6
+5
Level 47
Jul 3, 2024
You should rename the quiz to "Capital Cites founded in the BC era lol
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Jul 3, 2024
That was the cutoff I chose.
loganite
+18
Level 94
Jul 3, 2024
Great quiz! Shouldn't Vatican City be included since it is a current world capital who shares the same urban area as Rome?
Neodymium
+13
Level 63
Jul 3, 2024
what if that city block was left as a greenspace for 1000 years and it wasnt urban
loganite
+9
Level 94
Jul 3, 2024
LOL...I know you're kidding, but in addition to still being in the same urban area as Rome, a quick search shows "many villas were constructed there in the early 1st century AD," so I still think it should count! ;)
Quizmaster
+12
Level ∞
Jul 3, 2024
1st century AD would not make it eligible.
loganite
+12
Level 94
Jul 12, 2024
I see what you did, QM - took Lisbon off the quiz and then deleted my comment. What do you have against Vatican City, not like it's Belgium or something! ;)
SeaPunk206
+1
Level 50
Mar 27, 2026
Lisbon is back on the list but now says 100 BC.
Neodymium
+6
Level 63
Jul 3, 2024
Whats the thing w Delhi?
Quizmaster
+11
Level ∞
Jul 3, 2024
The capital is New Delhi so to prevent whining we just filled it in by default.
IceCold
+8
Level 60
Sep 13, 2024
Its the same city, so i do not see why it would not be included
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Jan 17, 2026
Proving that people are going to whine no matter what you do.
FreeStater
+34
Level 81
Jul 3, 2024
The lack of Baghdad really surprised me. Turns out it wasn't founded until the 700s.
BillautVarenne93
+9
Level 82
Jul 4, 2024
Yes, it was founded as a new capital for the Abbasids not far from Ctesiphon, which was itself founded by the Sasanians near Seleucia, which was founded by the Macedonians to replace Babylon... so, a long story of foundations in this region lol.
equivallent
+6
Level 54
Jul 3, 2024
how did 22% get seoul but not pyongyang
LeoBiWolf15
+6
Level 67
Jul 4, 2024
There's probably some people who just don't know the capital of North Korea or how to spell it.
TheExtraMenu
+8
Level 66
Jul 4, 2024
I personally was incredibly surprised by pyongyang, knowing that the south has historically been way more populated as well as its distance from the "start of civilization" in Mesopotamia
DrakiGuy
+3
Level 60
Dec 13, 2024
Chinese civilisation wasn't contingent on Mesopotamia, so there was an independent world-center in the far east.
MattTel
+1
Level 49
Mar 29, 2026
I literally just didn't think about it lol
theblackwidow
+14
Level 74
Jul 4, 2024
I was surprised by the exclusion of Tunis (having been there recently), but turns out that too was founded in the 700s next door to Carthage, not on the same site - although it's all one now.
Stoggler
+1
Level 56
Mar 28, 2026
The original Carthage was destroyed, so there was no continuity between Carthage and Tunis, even if Tunis were built on the same site.
Zettron
+6
Level 52
Jul 4, 2024
I thought Budapest was founded much later by merging three cities as one?
Nestormakhno
+14
Level 79
Jul 4, 2024
the urban settlement existed before the administrative lines were erased
Dollyfroggy
+11
Level 63
Sep 1, 2024
And thank you for remembering the third city.
Nestormakhno
+8
Level 79
Jul 4, 2024
so what’s the deal with Amman, was it not continuously inhabited or is it a newer city than i thought?
Djilas
+9
Level 86
Jul 7, 2024
It's old enough, the original Philadelphia was founded in Hellenistic times. But it's continuity is unproven at best, most likely abandoned several times.

Some Wikipedia sections:

Amman's importance declined by the mid-8th century after damage caused by several earthquakes rendered it uninhabitable. /.../ The occupation of the Citadel Hill by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem is so far based only on interpretations of Crusader sources. /.../ During the Ayyubid period, the Damascene geographer al-Dimashqi wrote that Amman was part of the province of al-Karak, although "only ruins" remained of the town.

rabble
+3
Level 68
Jul 20, 2024
That was a good lesson regarding the Eastern Asia cities- Beijing 1045 BC, Hanoi 257 BC, Pyongyang 194 BC, Seoul 18 BC, thanks for sharing the research & the quiz
MnGoblin
+5
Level 72
Jul 27, 2024
Skopje? Was the capital of ancient Dardania, so must be old enough and big enough to count surely.
evilcheeser
+8
Level 77
Sep 13, 2024
My look into it suggests that the town was basically destroyed in 518 by an earthquake and was rebuilt(/possibly relocated slightly) sometime later in the 6th century, maybe 535.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Sep 13, 2024
Doing the work, as they say. Thank you!
Dollyfroggy
+4
Level 63
Sep 1, 2024
I was hoping that a North American city would sneak in. Unfortunately, although there was a settlement where Guatemala City is now, it was not continuously inhabited.
luxint
+1
Level 67
Sep 13, 2024
Good work QM. Thank you.
Nerd0921
+14
Level 74
Sep 13, 2024
Seoul should not be included here if you haven't included Amman for not being a continuous urban settlement.

Considering the year BC 18 you've cited, I believe that you're considering Baekje's Wirye City and the modern Seoul as a same city. Though the presumed site of Wirye is within modern Seoul's borders today, this only came to be true in 1963. The site of Wirye was abandoned after being razed in 475 (though some artifacts suggest the area being used for a 100 more years).

The modern city of Seoul was built in 1394 as Hanyang/Hanseong (or in 1067, if you count the non-capital one too) in a completely different location North of the Han river, only to expand into where Wirye was in Modern times.

Those two cities are not the same.

The site of Wirye City was occupied by nothing but orchards and rice fields until the 1970s minimum.

Heck, at least the artifacts from Rabbath Ammon are found from where Amman's Old City stands today. Seoul and Wirye are completely different locations!

gonzit
+7
Level 72
Sep 13, 2024
no Baghdad or Cairo was pretty shocking
Krishthefish
+1
Level 37
Sep 13, 2024
where is istanbul? Byzantium existed since ancient greek times
jmellor13
+3
Level 68
Sep 13, 2024
Istanbul is not a capital city. The capital of Turkey, Ankara, is included in the list.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Mar 30, 2025
I just now fully realize they were all supposed to be capital cities... only typed a few non capital ones, but I did. I typed Istanbul and Ankara in one go and tried Alexandria too and a couple of Chinese ones. And several Italian ones. Hm and some others haha
kito
+2
Level 44
Sep 13, 2024
damn bro this one really got me thinking. loved this quiz bro
kelrules
+2
Level 45
Sep 13, 2024
Cairo? Surely the pyramids prove that there was a settlement there?
Ravenflier
+2
Level 29
Sep 25, 2024
It's a different city compared to when the pyramids were built. Cairo is relatively new-ish in that it was built by the Caliphate somewhere around 700~AD
LovesPoetry
+3
Level 61
Sep 14, 2024
Should Bratislava be included? It was founded in the 2nd century BC and pretty much continuously inhabited since then
BalthasarUK
+1
Level 73
Sep 15, 2024
I think the key point is that it wasn't always a capital; the capital of Czechoslovakia was Prague, not Bratislava.
winter59k
+12
Level 67
Sep 15, 2024
It is probably not Quizmaster's cutoff point. Beijing, Pyongyang, Seoul, were not always a capital.
Freestatebear
+3
Level 88
Mar 27, 2026
The requirements don't require continuous status as a capital, only that it be a continuous urban settlement.
Anderis
+2
Level 76
Oct 9, 2024
What's the reason for not including Monaco?
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 27, 2026
Monaco was not continuously inhabited until Medieval times.
MrSnake
+2
Level 46
Feb 24, 2025
Belgrade is reported to be around 7000 years old, being inhabited since c. 5300 BCE

Fun fact: Belgrade has been razed over 40 times

Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 27, 2026
That's that bone in a cave stuff I was talking about. Belgrade has not been an urban settlement that whole time.
Stoggler
+1
Level 56
Mar 28, 2026
You think a city being razed to the ground is fun...?!?!
lillyannaw
+3
Level 45
Jul 29, 2025
You forgot Dushanbe - capital of Tajikistan and founded in around 1000 BC
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 27, 2026
No. It was not founded then. And it has certainly not been a continuously inhabited urban settlement since ancient times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dushanbe#History

Dushanbe first appeared in the historical record in 1676 AD, so I'd say it was probably founded around that time, although it could have been earlier.

YoMinhh
+1
Level 28
Oct 27, 2025
Seoul and Pyongyang were quite surprising!
Eumenes
+1
Level 65
Mar 27, 2026
Very interesting and fun quiz!
mdoawgg
+2
Level 58
Mar 27, 2026
I think Tashkent should be on here... wikipedia has definite evidence of urban life being in 3rd to 5th century BC, and likely earlier.
zulaaa
+1
Level 28
Mar 30, 2026
ouu i thought Baghdad is old enough for this quiz
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