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Oldest Cities by Country

Name the oldest continually-inhabited city in each of these modern-day countries.
*conflicting evidence
**tie
^not legitimate cities
Quiz by kalbahamut
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Last updated: February 25, 2022
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First submittedMarch 4, 2013
Times taken5,494
Average score16.3%
Rating3.56
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Country
City
9000 BC*
Syria*
Damascus
5000 BC*
Lebanon
Byblos (Jubayl)
5000 BC*
Afghanistan*
Ghōr
5000 BC*
Greece*
Athens
5000 BC*
Greece*
Argos
4000 BC
Egypt
Faiyum
3650 BC
Turkey*
Gaziantep
3500 BC*
Bulgaria
Plovdiv
3000 BC*
Palestine
Jericho
3000 BC
Iran
Rey
2800 BC
Israel
Jerusalem
2300 BC
Iraqi Kurdistan
Arbil
2200 BC*
Iraq (exluding Kurdistan)
Kirkuk
2070 BC*
China
Luoyang
2000 BC*
Georgia
Kutaisi
1400 BC*
Cyprus
Larnaca
1200 BC*
Portugal
Lisbon
1150 BC*
India
Varanasi
1100 BC
Spain
Cádiz
850 BC*
Somalia
Zeila/Avalite
814 BC
Tunisia
Carthage
782 BC
Armenia
Yerevan
753 BC
Italy
Rome
700 BC*
Ethiopia
Yeha
700 BC
Uzbekistan
Samarqand
650 BC*
Ukraine*
Kerch
650 BC*
Ukraine*
Feodosiya
627 BC
Albania
Durrës
600 BC
France
Marseille
550 BC*
Romania*
Magalia
550 BC*
Romania*
Constanţa
400 BC*
Nigeria
Igodomigodo
350 BC*
Pakistan
Peshawar
350 BC*
Bangladesh
Mahasthangarh
279 BC
Serbia**
Belgrade
279 BC
Serbia**
Niš
217 BC
Macedonia
Stobi
200 BC*
Mali
Djenné-Jeno
150 BC*
Mexico
Cholula
50 BC*
Switzerland
Zürich
 
Country
City
30 BC
Germany
Trier
19 BC
Libya
Ghadames
19 BC
Netherlands
Nijmegen
10 BC
Belgium
Tongeren
43
U.K.**
London
43
U.K.**
Bath
50*
Azerbaijan
Baku
150*
Nepal
Kathmandu
400*
Japan
Osaka
454
Vietnam
Hanoi
550*
Czech Republic
Prague
600*
Indonesia
Palembang
650*
Poland
Kraków
700*
Mozambique
Sofala
753
Russia
Staraya Ladoga
770*
Denmark
Århus
789
Morocco
Fes
800*
Brazil
Upper Xingu
841
Ireland
Dublin
871*
Iceland
Reykjavík
871*
Norway
Tønsberg
900
Philippines
Manila
980
Ecuador
Quito
988
Sweden
Skara
1075*^
United States**
Acoma Pueblo
1075*^
United States**
Taos Pueblo
1300*
Kenya
Lamu
1496
Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo
1501
Venezuela
Cumaná
1508
USA (including territories)
San Juan
1510
Panama
Nombre de Dios
1511
Cuba
Baracoa
1525
Colombia
Santa Marta
1545*
Canada
St. John's
1553
Argentina
Santiago del Estero
1565
United States
St. Augustine
1652
South Africa
Cape Town
1788
Australia
Sydney
1818*
New Zealand
Kerikeri
1878
Jordan
Amman
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
May 5, 2013
I've visited (in reverse order by age) Amman, St Augustine, the Acoma Pueblo, Manila, Prague, London, Constanta, Varanasi, and Byblos. I intended to visit Damascus at some point in the past couple years but then the civil war there broke out. I'm sure I'll add more to the list soon...
ExpertEyeroller
+2
Level 33
Dec 9, 2015
Man, how many countries have you been to? It seems that in every three quiz you would comment "oh yeah, I've been there to that city/country"
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Dec 9, 2015
Only 35 going by the JetPunk Countries of the World quiz.

If you count Macao, Hong Kong, Palestine, Northern Cyprus, and/or Adjara as countries, then as many as 39.

kalbahamut
+3
Level 83
Aug 28, 2018
3 years later I've been to 61, even excluding the ones not recognized by JetPunk.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 77
Mar 21, 2019
Wow that's over 8 new countries per year in 3 years!
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Mar 21, 2019
2014-2017 I was traveling full time and never stayed in one place more than 3 months.
kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
Jan 9, 2017
I was fortunate to visit Damascus back in 1998. Also been to Amman, Jerusalem, Jericho, Larnaka, Prague, London, Bath, and of course Kerikeri (New Zealand!)
kiwiquizzer
+2
Level 68
Jan 9, 2017
I was impressed you included New Zealand, I would never have dreamed it could possibly be on such a distinguished list going back to such ancient civilizations!!! Kerikeri is a tiny picturesque town in the Bay of Islands with one house dating back to 1822, the oldest building in NZ!
Remusul
+1
Level 44
Mar 13, 2018
It's Mangalia not Magalia.
Hozi
+1
Level 68
Feb 25, 2022
So far I've been to Mangalia, Constanta, Trier, Prague and Aarhus from this list. Hope to see Belgrade, Niš and Plovdiv fairly soon.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Feb 28, 2022
I'd skip Nis and Belgrade if I could go back in time and do so. Plovdiv is nice.
alberici
+1
Level 74
May 9, 2013
Jericho is in Palestine? :O

didn't know that...

kalbahamut
+4
Level 83
May 9, 2013
It's in the West Bank, which is currently under Israeli occupation. Most people consider the West Bank and Gaza to both be part of the vaguely defined political/geographic entity known as "Palestine." There are actually a lot of famous places in the West Bank, including Bethlehem, and of course East Jerusalem.
What
+1
Level 27
May 9, 2013
So is Damascus the oldest city ever still existing nowadays or just the oldest city in this quiz?
kalbahamut
+3
Level 83
May 9, 2013
Well... as the asterisk indicates, there is some dispute over exactly how old Damascus is, and exactly for how long it has been "continually inhabited," and there are some other cities that have claimed to be inhabited for longer, but I think that most evidence points to Damascus, in fact, being the oldest continually-inhabited city in the entire world, yes. By a pretty substantial margin, even.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 83
May 9, 2013
There is also dispute over when exactly Damascus became a "city." In 9000 BC it was likely, at best, a nominally organized settlement of very early prehistoric farmers. It may have started to resemble a more organized city as early as 6300 BC, but the area inside the walls of the "old city" in present day Damascus was not inhabited until 3000-4000 years ago, and by then there were cities and villages all over the area surrounding the Middle East and even a few in China which got started with agriculture about 1200 years later.
What
+1
Level 27
May 10, 2013
Okay, that's very interesting :)
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
May 14, 2013
This quiz doesn't even show up if I search for "oldest cities"
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
May 14, 2013
It will now. You must have pissed off the person who moderates quizzes. (Not me).
WolfCam
+4
Level 65
Nov 27, 2017
Who does moderate quizzes? Is there a supercomputer in the Pentagon whose soul purpose is to moderate quizzes on a quiz website. If so, I'm glad the government is spending their money wisely.
kalbahamut
+5
Level 83
May 31, 2013
Interesting that 35% get Reykjavik but only 30% get Rey... several people must have gotten Reykjavik with an incorrect spelling, one of the alternate type-ins.
Baltimorean
+2
Level 67
Jun 19, 2013
Great quiz--but a little more time, please.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 19, 2013
Glad you enjoyed it. How much more time do you think is necessary? I thought the 7:30 was pretty generous, but I guess if you are trying many different cities for each country just guessing then you would probably run out of time..
AllenY
+1
Level 69
Mar 21, 2015
I only just ran out of time; maybe 30 secs more?
Zefyrinus
+2
Level 69
Jun 19, 2013
Gah! More time!!! And you've misspelled Luoyang.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 19, 2013
okay I'll add some. You can always turn the timer off if you need to.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jul 8, 2013
Got 74.. so close to mastering my own quiz.. >_< Still missing Tongeren, Kerch, Lamu, Magalia, Santa Marta, and impossible-to-spell Mahasthangarh on my last attempt...
dragoncat
+2
Level 78
Sep 8, 2013
Needs more time!
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 9, 2013
Still? Okay, I'll add a little more.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 11, 2013
okay, pending QM's approval I've fixed Marseille and also increased the time limit (again) from 8:45 to 9:30. Not sure why the quizzes aren't auto-approved anymore.
Quizzer6794
+2
Level 64
Jan 5, 2016
Nah, I think it was just yours :P
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jan 5, 2016
This was almost 3 years ago.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 29, 2013
by the way, if anyone is wondering why I sometimes put the asterisk(*) for conflicting evidence next to the date and other times next to the country... if it is next to the date then this means archaeologists or historians dispute exactly which year the city was first established. If it's next to the country this means there is some dispute over the placement of that city in relation to those next to it- this could be for a variety of reasons but often it's due to arguments over what constitutes a "city" and whether or not "continual habitation" has occurred and to what point, with rival cities and countries often trying to prop up their own cities as older. The double asterisk (**) is always next to the country and means that there were two cities in the same country established in the same year (or approximately at the same time in the case that they don't know for sure).
kariannepizza
+1
Level 52
Nov 24, 2013
Amazing quiz! But I only got 11..... I think my biggest achievement on this quiz was Tønsberg in Norway, but that is probably because I'm norwegian and I've heard about it my entire life and even been there, so... Funny anyway. I will come back and do it again in a couple of days, and hopefully I'll get over more than the average ;)
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Nov 24, 2013
Glad you liked it! :) I think for most of these they are famous or at least well-known within their own country but little known to the outside world. For example a lot of Americans know about St Augustine, Jamestown, Roanoke and Williamsburg but few non-Americans would know what those were. The Acoma and Taos Pueblos are even more obscure.
kariannepizza
+2
Level 52
Dec 9, 2015
Two years have passed, and I've doubled my score. Thank you for making these awesome quizzes!
PorcNBeanz
+1
Level 57
Jan 10, 2014
Completely lost interest somewhere around 1,100BC on the list.
kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
Jan 9, 2017
LOL. I became to be more and more intrigued as time went on...
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Mar 5, 2014
Today, for the first time ever, I finally scored 100% on this quiz. Very happy with myself. :D I'm planning to visit several of these places in the coming years after I leave Saudi Arabia behind. Planning the trips probably helped some.
Momillo
+1
Level 61
May 24, 2020
You should visit Cadiz kalbahamut
ColoHarpare
+2
Level 51
May 14, 2014
Searching "Oldest cities in Sweden", in both English and Swedish, gives either Lund or Sigtuna, both founded in the late 900s, with Skara after the year 1000 C.E. Lund is sometimes not counted, as that part of modern Sweden was Danish when the city was founded.
ColoHarpare
+1
Level 51
May 14, 2014
More research gives Sigtuna as 980, Lund as 990, and Skara as sometime after 1000. The 988 date for Skara is considered to be local legend. Even if true, Sigtuna beats it by 8 years. Part of the issue is when a "town" turned into a "city"...but most Swedes today would say Sigtuna is oldest.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
May 15, 2014
I guess you're right. Are you from Sweden? I'll make the change next time I edit this quiz.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
May 20, 2014
I may also need to update Ukraine and Russia... as neither Kerch nor Feodosiya are still in the Ukraine if Russian annexation of Crimea is allowed to stand, and they are both much older than Staraya Ladoga. This would be unfortunate as the latter actually has some connection to Russian history while the former have simply been occupied.
ander217
+1
Level 76
Jun 12, 2014
Was feeling really bad that I only scored 23, then saw it was 90%. Never heard of some of these but kicking myself for missing Zurich, Krakow, Osaka, Santo Domingo, and Jericho. Time for coffee.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 12, 2014
The curve on this quiz is definitely very heavily front-loaded. It took me many tries before I finally managed to get 100%, and I made the quiz.
ander217
+1
Level 76
Aug 13, 2016
I didn't realize I'd taken this one before. I took it again and just scored 34. I think I'm retaining more from these quizzes than I realize. Great quiz, btw.
Kontio100
+2
Level 51
Jul 13, 2014
You can add Finland and Turku.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jul 13, 2014
I'll need to update this at some point and when I do I may add a few. For now I'm waiting to see how the Russian annexation of Crimea ultimately plays out as it has implications for this quiz.
kiwiquizzer
+2
Level 68
Jan 9, 2017
Ooh, I've been to Turku, it's a fascinating place. Very far from New Zealand!
sillie
+2
Level 78
Jul 15, 2014
You should accept Aarhus for Århus as it's a legitimate alternative spelling in Danish. If I remember right it's even the official spelling these days as they wanted to get rid of the Å that causes problems in international contexts. In general in Danish "aa" is pronounced the same as "å" and an acceptable substitute most of the time. Just like ae = æ and oe = ø.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jul 15, 2014
okay. Next time I update.
InsaneFreedom
+1
Level 41
Aug 17, 2014
Dublin isn't the oldest city in Ireland. That honour goes to Waterford City, which was settled (roughly) in 914 CE by the Vikings. The city actually had it's 1100th anniversary earlier this year. Dublin's founding is a little more hazy for some reason. Though there was a settlement in the modern day county of Dublin in 841 it wasn't where the city is currently located which was indeed founded in the 10th century but is universally accepted to have been after the settling of Waterford.

Source: Am Irish.

kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Aug 18, 2014
Thanks for the info. If I ever get around to updating this I'll look into it, though there seems to be an inconsistent definition of what exactly constitutes a city on the Wikipedia page that this was originally sourced from.
kariannepizza
+3
Level 52
Oct 14, 2014
You should accept Aarhus for Århus in Denmark.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Oct 14, 2014
I agree. If I ever get around to updating/expanding/correcting this quiz, and I intend to, some day... then I'll add that to the list of things to fix. Thanks.
heracles4
+4
Level 31
Dec 8, 2014
Please accept 'Erbil' for 'Arbil'
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Dec 8, 2014
added to the long list of things to do whenever I get around to updating this.
tourwoorden
+1
Level 70
Dec 8, 2015
That was one year ago... :)
olafus
+1
Level 68
Jan 3, 2015
Amman is one of the oldest cities in the world (which can be seen when you visit it), infact, it was called Rabbath Ammon already in the 13th century, so I think you should correct this...
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jan 3, 2015
I've been there. Before the 13th century it was called Philadelphia and was a Roman city. I think the problem is that it has been periodically abandoned and then repopulated, and thus, hasn't been "continually inhabited"
Goomaster7
+1
Level 67
Jan 12, 2015
Stoked to be part of the 0% that got Kerikeri. I am from New Zealand so I suppose it's unfair, but it did take me a few goes. Awesome quiz - really difficult - but still very interesting.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jan 12, 2015
Haha.. that's awesome. :) Good job.
kolp
+1
Level 86
Feb 13, 2015
Excellent quiz kalbahamut! Maybe you should consider also accepting Maastricht for the Netherlands, as it is matter of some debate which city exactly deserves the title.
BrosephStalin
+2
Level 64
May 27, 2015
These aren't cities, they're large towns. If Byblos is a "city" then I live next to a city here in the rural farmland.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
May 27, 2015
You live next to a site that 7,000 years ago was one of the largest and most sophisticated human settlements in the world and has been continually inhabited ever since? Cool.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
May 28, 2015
And.. currently has a population of 100,000 people? That's some impressive farmland.
PedroDamin99
+2
Level 21
Sep 29, 2015
Though, as an archaeologist, I compliment your research, there isn't a city called Upper Xingu in Brazil.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 30, 2015
I've been meaning to update this quiz for years and if I ever get around to it, I will look into that. Thanks.
daffad
+1
Level 19
Nov 7, 2015
Wat? No ur
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Nov 20, 2015
Disqualified for not being continually inhabited. The city of Ur was abandoned 2500 years ago.
TomatosRaafatos
+1
Level 73
Dec 8, 2015
Where is Constantinople (Instanbul)? It's pretty old, known as byzantium since BC
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Dec 8, 2015
Byzantium is an old city, no doubt, but... not by the standards of Turkey. There are *many* cities *way* older than Istanbul located in Turkey, what with it being near the birthplace of civilization and all. In fact many of the oldest human settlements and cave dwellings in the world are in Turkey. Byzantium was colonized by Greeks in 657 BC. Gaziantep, or Antep, was first settled sometime roughly 6,000 years ago. Big difference.
Fog91
+1
Level 64
Dec 8, 2015
Aarhus isn't the oldest city in Denmark, it's Ribe
cosmokim
+1
Level 65
Feb 2, 2016
Kicking myself for missing Bath, otherwise I'm fine...got 59 right, beat 99.9 percent of test takers.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Feb 2, 2016
very good! but yes, mustn't forget to bathe.

There is an abridged easier version here that you would probably get 100% on.

kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
Jan 9, 2017
Patted myself on the back for guessing London and Bath immediately for UK. YUS!
KoljiVriVoda
+1
Level 75
Jun 18, 2016
Cool quiz :))) Niš has old name - Naissus
KoljiVriVoda
+1
Level 75
Jun 18, 2016
And oldest version is Naissos.
Findlay
+2
Level 83
Jun 20, 2016
Erbil and Irbil both really need to be allowed for Arbil, which I believe is the Arabic name, but not the most commonly used in English. Erbil is the spelling used by Wikipedia and Google Maps, though the former also lists Irbil (which I've encountered in some press reports) and Arbil. Wikipedia also gives Hewler as the actual Kurdish name, so maybe include that too (though I was personally unaware of it).
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 21, 2016
The Arabic name is أربيل‎‎, and not written in Roman letters, which is why there are so many variants when transliterated. It's the same story with a lot of different words. Vowels are not so important in Arabic.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 21, 2016
and... I will update this quiz. Some day. When I do I will add the type-ins you suggested.
sleekcollins
+1
Level 69
Jul 29, 2016
I'm Kenyan but didn't get Lamu. Enlightening. Excellent though tough quiz.
mrcheesymustard
+1
Level 46
Sep 30, 2016
you missed olympia cmon thats where the ancient olympics were held cmon
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 30, 2016
Olympia is not a city?
tom88
+2
Level 70
Jun 22, 2018
well, it is, but it's in washington state and it's not that old
Matthew07
+1
Level 45
Nov 17, 2016
Shouldn't it be ** next to Greece because it is a tie?
Balikati
+1
Level 67
Dec 13, 2016
So... what are your sources for this?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Dec 13, 2016
Mostly Wikipedia's article on the subject. I've come across several errors. Russia has no annexed the oldest cities in Ukraine. There are more countries I would like to add that don't appear on the Wikipedia list. I've been meaning to update this for years and just never got around to it.
GreenFriday
+2
Level 83
Dec 31, 2016
Kerikeri is not the oldest town in New Zealand, that would be Russell nearby.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/city-history-and-people/page-1

kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Dec 31, 2016
This is one of my oldest quizzes and also the one in most dire need of an update. If I ever get around to it, I'll look into it.
MustardCustard
+1
Level 60
Nov 29, 2017
I managed to get Igodimigodo by typing in Benin, so I think it was renamed to Benin City at some point.
Karamchand
+1
Level 49
Jan 6, 2018
Can you accept Santiago for Santiago del Estero?
TheDutchGod
+1
Level 63
Jan 11, 2018
Never would have guessed Nijmegen is the oldest city in my country...24/80, great quiz
Elan
+1
Level 65
May 18, 2018
100%
tom88
+1
Level 70
Jun 22, 2018
I like how the "interesting fact" that I got after taking this quiz was so applicable to the quiz itself: "New Zealand was completely uninhabited by people until around 1250 AD."
Catiggy
+1
Level 31
Jan 1, 2019
a city in England called Colchester is older than London and Bath as it was the Capital of Roman Britain.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jan 1, 2019
London, Bath, and Colchester were all founded as Roman cities soon after the Roman conquest around 43 AD. But you have a point maybe I ought to make it a 3-way tie. And some sources call Colchester the oldest town in England, though when exactly a town, village, or settlement becomes a "city" is a source of a lot of confusion on this quiz and might be part of the issue here, as well.
AVB
+1
Level 70
Mar 5, 2020
Colchester is definitely older than London or Bath, but it is technically a town rather than a city. Having said that, the definition of a city in the UK is rather tighter than in many other countries, requiring either a cathedral or a royal charter. The population of Colchester is around 200,000, which would make it a city by most standards.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jan 1, 2019
I'll look in to it more if I ever update this again.
Arii78
+1
Level 45
Apr 21, 2019
Could you accept Aarhus as a type-in ? I often see it written like this on maps and stuff (more often than the actual århus actually)
filipo371
+1
Level 56
Jul 25, 2019
Whats with Kalisz? It was founded in times of Rome...
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jul 25, 2019
I've read about it. Some claim that the city was referenced by Ptolemy but other historians doubt this. There used to be a discussion here about it but it seems those comments are gone, now. Anyway, from the reading I did it seemed like Krakow had a stronger claim.
Fanis
+1
Level 25
Sep 27, 2019
It's North Macedonia now
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Sep 27, 2019
Same thing
poltergeist
+1
Level 59
Nov 10, 2019
No Kiev? All sites seem to say it was founded around the late 5th century.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Nov 10, 2019
Ukraine is already on the quiz with 2 cities that are both far older than Kiev. However, if I ever update this again, I'm going to have to look in to that because both of the Ukrainian cities listed are in Crimea I think and de facto part of Russia now.
1MoloT1xD
+1
Level 52
Jan 23, 2020
There are for sure cities in Russia older than 753. Quite verifiably Derbent's magnificent Naryn-Kala citadel was built in the VI century, and that city has been continuously inhabited cince (and quite a bit of time before, by historic documents - cince about 8th century BCE). While it wasn't Russian for all the time between founding and present day, it was inhabited, and it is located in an uncontested Russian territory (unlike Crimean cities).
Pandora49
+1
Level 55
Mar 27, 2020
Love it! Hope it gets nominated!
Pandora49
+1
Level 55
Jun 19, 2020
*featured, I used to forget the difference :)
KingEureka
+1
Level 63
Apr 5, 2021
What about cities in the Indus valley civilization?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Apr 5, 2021
This is one of the first quizzes I authored and I haven't looked at expanding or updating it in a long time. But if I ever get around to it I'll see if there's any good data on that.
ooftownroad
+1
Level 56
May 5, 2021
no Istanbul? is it because it was renamed?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
May 5, 2021
Gaziantep was first settled in the 4th millennium BC. There is evidence of human settlement around the Bosporus earlier, as early as the 6th millennium BC, however, those ancient neolithic settlements were abandoned after about a thousand years probably due to flooding. Though there would later come to be some primitive settlements in nearby Thrace, the Greek city of Byzantium was not founded until much later, in 660 BC. Gaziantep remained settled and inhabited during this entire period.
MG17
+1
Level 43
Jun 20, 2021
So, the idea is good, but depends of what concept of “city” you mean. There isn’t a city called Upper Xingu in Brazil. Xingu is a region between the states of Mato Grosso, Amazonas, and Pará, which figure in one of, if not the biggest indigenous village of the world. The de facto, and officially oldest city in Brazil, is São Vicente, in São Paulo, founded in 1532. Some historians affirm that Cananéia, also in São Paulo, is the oldest one, founded in 1531, and there is this debate until today. Some rumors and legends, tell that Iguape, still in São Paulo, was founded before the Portuguese Arrival. Also, that there were Europeans already living in the region, but officially, was founded in 1538. Anyways, there isn’t any municipality called Upper Xingu, between the 5,568 (5,570 if you consider Fernando de Noronha and Brasília) municipalities of Brazil. São Vicente is the best substitute for this Upper Xingu.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 20, 2021
If I ever update this I'll look into that.
AntiMatter8192
+1
Level 69
Sep 18, 2021
I am surprised this hasn't been featured yet. Really nice quiz and has a lot of information and is well made.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 18, 2021
Thanks. IMO this one needs some work... could use an update and a couple corrections, maybe even a small expansion. Though it's already quite difficult and I imagine that's a big reason why it was never featured - making it longer would make it more difficult still. But I made an abridged version that was significantly shorter and easier with the aim of getting a feature and that one never was, either.
AntiMatter8192
+1
Level 69
Sep 28, 2021
After some time, I have realised that many cities that aren't in the quiz were continually inhabited. There's Mexico City/Tenochtitlan, NYC, Philadephia, Boston, Toronto, York, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Beijing, Kyoto, Tokyo, Taipei, maybe Manila, Cairo, Rome, Naples, maybe Marseille, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Athens, Istanbul, maybe Dubai, maybe Abu Dhabi, Karachi, Lahore, Kolkata, Chennai and I bet many more. Even if some cities in this list were not continually occupied for their entire lifetime, their current occupation time could get them into the list. I'm also not fully sure of the criteria to get a city here, maybe you could explain in the caveats?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 28, 2021
Philadelphia, Boston, New York were all founded later than St Augustine. Gaziantep is about 3000 years older than Byzantium. Athens is already on the quiz. I'm not sure what you're talking about?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 28, 2021
This quiz is not meant to include every city in the world over 100 years old if that's what you were thinking... it's the single oldest continuously-inhabited city by each of these countries. Sometimes there's more than one city listed because it was a tie. And, yes, sometimes there were informal temporary settlements, farming communities, or even villages in roughly the same area before a city was founded there; the criteria may not be consistent from place to place, but this was the best data I could find at the time.
AntiMatter8192
+1
Level 69
Sep 29, 2021
Oops, I misread the title. I thought it was oldest continually inhabited cities ever instead of by country. It could be a quiz idea if it isn't done.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 29, 2021
Pretty much all of them would be in the Middle East if that was the quiz, and a lot of them would be cities you never heard of before in Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, etc..
Spursy1
+1
Level 50
Jun 12, 2022
what about mohenjo-daro and harrapa, the indus river valley is commonly thought to be the first civilization which had cities in india right?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 12, 2022
Yes but they might not have been continuously-inhabited through to the present. I'd have to do some more research.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 12, 2022
Yes but they might not have been continuously-inhabited through to the present. I'd have to do some more research.
Photop
+1
Level 68
Jun 20, 2022
It has been mentioned. But Aarhus is not the oldest city in Denmark (probably depending on what definition of city you go by).

Ribe is the oldest city / town in Denmark as well as in all of Scandinavia.

kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 20, 2022
Both date back to the 700s. If I ever update this I'll look into it more.
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