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Oldest City by Country

Guess which city (or settlement, if there are no cities) is the oldest per country. Some countries aren't included due to lack of information.
Includes sites that were cities once, including ruins, or became cities after they were founded.
Based on information I can find (there may be older cities).
Dates based on earliest settlement (within city limits or close by). Not necessarily the oldest permanent settlement.
Quiz by MaxStickies
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Last updated: December 17, 2020
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First submittedJanuary 5, 2020
Times taken24
Average score19.3%
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Country
Clue
Date founded
City
Afghanistan
Was once the capital of Bactria.
2000-1500 BC
Balkh
Albania
Second most populous city in the country.
627 BC
Durrës
Algeria
Named after a famous Roman emperor.
before 203 BC
Constantine
Andorra
The city's old town is called the Barri Antic.
before 700s AD
Andorra la Vella
Angola
Extensive reconstruction being carried out here.
1576 AD
Luanda
Antigua and Barbuda
Contains the only rum distillery on Antigua.
1632 AD
St. John's
Argentina
Was heavily damaged in an earthquake in 1817.
1533 AD
Santiago del Estero
Armenia
Named after the fortress Erebuni.
3200 BC
Yerevan
Australia
Home to a famous opera house.
1788 AD
Sydney
Austria
Lies on the shores of Lake Constance.
1500-400s BC
Bregenz
Azerbaijan
The city's Culture Center was designed by architect Zaha Hadid.
before c.1st Century BC
Baku
Bahamas
Was once a pirate haven.
1670 AD
Nassau
Bahrain
Located near a group of man-made islands called Amwaj Islands.
before 250 BC
Muharraq
Bangladesh
Mahasthangarh, an ancient site, is located nearby.
c.268 BC
Bogra
Barbados
Kensington Oval is located here.
1628 AD
Bridgetown
Belarus
Was under siege in 1579.
862 AD
Polotsk
Belgium
The Romans called it Aduatuca Tungrorum.
before 70 AD
Tongeren
Belize
Has been featured in the film The Mosquito Coast and the TV show Mad Dogs.
before 1638 AD
Belize City
Benin
Home to King Toffa's Palace.
1500s AD
Porto-Novo
Bhutan
Home to the Buddhist monastery Tashichhoedzong.
1955 AD
Thimphu
Bolivia
Pre-Columbian site, with the most famous structure being the Gate of the Sun.
c.110 AD (or before)
Tiwanaku
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hutovo Blato Park is located nearby.
5 BC
Čapljina
Botswana
The first gold rush in southern Africa started nearby.
1897 AD
Francistown
Brazil
Not far from São Paulo, contains one of the first suspension bridges in Brazil.
1532 AD
São Vicente
Brunei
Home to the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque.
600s-1700s AD
Bandar Seri Begawan
Bulgaria
Contains one of the world's best-preserved Roman theatres.
6000–5000 BC
Plovdiv
Burkina Faso
Was the centre of a city state of the Mossi Empire.
1120 AD
Tenkodogo
Burundi
Located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
1871 AD
Bujumbura
Cambodia
Famous for its temples.
802 AD
Siem Reap (and Angkor)
Cameroon
Main city of the Bamileke people.
1300s AD
Bafoussam
Canada
Home to Cabot Tower.
24th June 1497 AD
St John's
Cape Verde
Was the first European colonial settlement in the tropics.
1462 AD
Cidade Velha
Central African Republic
At the centre of a large anomaly in the Earth's magnetic field.
1889 AD (possibly 800s BC)
Bangui
Chad
Was the capital of the Kanem-Bornu Empire.
1000s AD
Njimi
Chile
Struck in 2010 by the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded.
1541 AD
Santiago
China
The Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple and Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory are all located nearby.
2070 BC
Luoyang
Colombia
Where Simón Bolívar died.
29th July 1525 AD
Santa Marta
Comoros
Located at the foot of Mount Karthala.
c.900s AD
Moroni
Costa Rica
Consisted of circular mounds. Water was allowed to run between them.
1000 BC
Guayabo de Turrialba
Croatia
Contains the largest Roman forum on the eastern side of the Adriatic.
800s BC
Zadar
Cuba
Located on the spot where Christopher Columbus landed.
1511 AD
Baracoa
Cyprus
Located near a network of salt lakes.
1200s BC
Larnaca
Czech Republic
People were famously thrown out of windows a number of times in this city.
600s AD
Prague
Democratic Republic of Congo
Henry Morton Stanley called it a "remarkable town".
before 1876 AD
Kindu
Denmark
Mandø Island Nature Reserve is located nearby.
854 AD
Ribe
Djibouti
Engaged in trade with Phoenicia, Ptolemaic Egypt, Greece, Parthian Persia, Saba, Nabataea, and the Roman Empire.
before 1154 AD (since antiquity)
Tadjoura
Dominica
Located near the Boiling Lake.
c.1500s-1600s AD
Roseau
Dominican Republic
Home to the Alcázar de Colón.
1498 AD
Santo Domingo
East Timor
Home to a statue of Jesus.
1520 AD
Dili
Ecuador
It is surrounded by eight active volcanoes.
c.980 AD
Quito
Egypt
It was the most significant centre of the cult of the crocodile god Sobek.
c.4000 BC
Faiyum
El Salvador
Used to be the capital of the Pipil.
1054 AD
Antiguo Cuscatlán
Equatorial Guinea
Home to St. Elizabeth's Cathedral
1827 AD
Malabo
Eritrea
Home to the Fiat Tagliero Building.
800 BC
Asmara
Estonia
Was invaded by Ivan the Terrible in 1558.
400s AD
Tartu
Eswatini
Started as a trading post.
1885 AD
Manzini
Ethiopia
Capital of an empire of the same name, famous for its obelisks.
c. 1st Century AD
Axum
Federated States of Micronesia
Has been nicknamed the "Venice of the Pacific".
100-200 AD
Nan Madol
Fiji
Site of Fiji's first bank, post office, school, hospital and town hall.
1820 AD
Levuka
Finland
Birthplace of Erik Johan Löfgren.
c.1229 AD
Turku
France
Known for its pride in its differences from the rest of France, and featured in the films Taxi, The Bourne Identity and The Transporter.
c.600 BC
Marseille
Gabon
Contains Gabon's largest market.
before 1839 AD
Libreville
Georgia
Home to Jvari Monastery.
400s BC
Mtskheta
Germany
Birthplace of Karl Marx.
before 16 BC
Trier
Ghana
Home to a "slave castle" of the same name.
1482 AD
Cape Coast
Greece
(Two possible answers) Location of the first democracy or a city that was shunned in Greece after remaining neutral in the Greco-Persian Wars.
5000 BC
Athens or Argos
Grenada
Founded by the French, ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
1650 AD
St George's
Guatemala
Has a system of micro-buses.
before 7th May 1524 AD
Quetzaltenango
Guinea
Founded by Muslim religious leader Karamokho Alfa.
1755 AD
Labé
Guinea-Bissau
Many buildings were destroyed here during the Guinea-Bissau Civil War.
1687 AD
Bissau
Guyana
A Dutch trading post that was the capital of the colony Berbice.
1627 AD
Fort Nassau
Haiti
Where Haiti's independence was proclaimed.
1503 AD
Fort-Liberté
Holy See
Home to St. Peter's Basilica.
1st Century AD
Vatican City
Honduras
A Mayan city occupied for more than two thousand years, shares its name with a department.
before 400s AD
Copán
Hungary
Birthplace of Saint Martin of Tours.
45 AD
Szombathely
Iceland
Home to Hallgrímskirkja.
c.870 AD
Reykjavik
India
Once a city of the Indus Valley Civilisation, now a small village.
7570 BC
Bhirrana
Indonesia
The Musi River divides the city, also contains a Great Mosque.
16th June 683 BC
Palembang
Iran
Was the summer capital of the Parthian Empire.
1100-600s BC
Hamadān
Iraq
Centred around a temple dedicated to the god Enki, the Sumerian water god.
c.5300 BC
Eridu
Ireland
Home to the oldest urban civic building in Ireland, Reginald's Tower.
853 AD
Waterford
Israel
Probably most famous for its depiction in the Bible, where its walls are supposedly blown down by trumpets.
9600 BC
Jericho
Italy
Its ancient town is called the Sassi, it has featured in the film The Passion of the Christ and a Metallica music video.
10000-9000 BC
Matera
Ivory Coast
A major producer of musical art in Africa.
1898 AD
Abidjan
Jamaica
Location of the rebellion lead by Samuel Sharpe.
c.1655 AD
Montego Bay
Japan
Well-known for its ramen.
c.663 AD
Fukuoka
Jordan
Contains an ancient citadel, occupied over time by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Ptolemies, Seleucids, Romans, Byzantines and Umayyads.
7250 BC
Amman
Kazakhstan
Once contained a community of Nestorian Christians.
900s BC
Sayram
Kenya
Visited by Vasco da Gama and Zheng He.
900 AD
Mombasa
Kiribati
Site of the Battle of Drummond's Island, between members of the United States Exploring Expedition and the natives.
before 1841 AD
Utiroa
Kuwait
Home to the Kuwait Towers, a group of water towers.
1613 AD
Kuwait City
Kyrgyzstan
Was a major market along the Silk Road, with an outdoor bazaar that has occurred in the same spot for 2000 years.
c.1000 BC
Osh
Laos
Bullfights occur during the Hmong New Year here.
c.400s BC
Phonsavan
Latvia
Built on seven hills.
800s AD
Rēzekne
Lebanon
The word Bible may have originated with this city's name.
8800 BC
Byblos
Lesotho
Gives its name to its district. First inhabited by the San.
before 1795 AD
Mohale's Hoek
Liberia
More than 2,000 people here are employed by "Jungle Water Group of Investment".
c.1450 AD
Sanniquellie
Libya
Its old town became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986. Has its own Berber language.
4000s BC
Ghadames
Liechtenstein
Seat of the royal family.
before 1100s AD
Vaduz
Lithuania
The Hill of Crosses is located nearby.
1236 AD
Šiauliai
Luxembourg
Used to contain Fort Thüngen until the Treaty of London.
963 AD
Luxembourg City
Madagascar
Was the political capital of the Merina Kingdom.
1610 or 1625 AD
Antananarivo
Malawi
The country's centre of finance and commerce.
1876 AD
Blantyre
Malaysia
Home to Ho Ann Kiong and Tien Hou Kong, Taoist temples.
before 600s AD
Kuala Terengganu
Maldives
White Terns nest here.
c.1100 AD
Addu City
Mali
Famous for its adobe mosque.
c.200 BC
Djenné
Malta
Hosts an annual festival celebrating the olive picking season.
3600-3200 BC
Żejtun
Marshall Islands
Began as a trading outpost of the German Empire
1884 AD
Delap-Uliga-Djarrit
Mauritania
Once the capital of the Emirate of Trarza.
1640-1902 AD
Rosso
Mauritius
Contains a Chinatown with a pagoda.
1638 AD
Port Louis
Mexico
An Olmec city, though it predates the civilisation. Ten carved heads were found here.
1500 BC
San Lorenzo
Moldova
Was inhabited by Thracians and Geto-Dacians. Capital of a district of the same name.
5000-3000 BC
Rezina
Monaco
Famous for its gambling industry.
500s BC
Monaco
Mongolia
Was the capital of the first Uyghur Khaganate.
744 AD
Ordu-Baliq
Montenegro
Home to a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery complex.
12,000-8,000 BC
Pljevlja
Morocco
Birthplace of Ibn Battuta, also famous for being exotic.
900s BC
Tangier
Mozambique
Diving is popular in nearby coastal areas.
1000s AD
Inhambane
Myanmar
Founded by Princess Pan Htwar.
c.200 BC
Beikthano
Namibia
Home to the Mighty Gunners FC.
1390 AD
Otjiwarongo
Nepal
Famous for its temples. Part of the film Doctor Strange was set here.
723 BC
Kathmandu
Netherlands
Birthplace of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI.
98 AD
Nijmegen
New Zealand
(Two possible answers) A city known as a "gateway" to the Antarctic or a city that is home to New Zealand's largest port in terms of exports.
1250 AD
Christchurch or Tauranga
Nicaragua
(Two possible answers) Birthplace of José Areas or a city recognised for its restaurants.
1524 AD
León or Granada
Niger
Saw a lot of violence between 2007 and 2009.
before 1300s AD
Agadez
Nigeria
Has the same name as another African country.
c.1000s AD
Benin City
North Korea
Home to the unfinished and unoccupied Ryugyong Hotel.
1122 BC
Pyongyang
North Macedonia
Is the city with the largest Roma population in the world. Was a Muslim city until the 19th Century.
4000s BC
Skopje
Norway
Home to five nature reserves.
800s AD
Tønsberg
Oman
Has been an important trading port for a few millenia.
6000s BC
Muscat
Pakistan
The oldest ceramic figures in South Asia were found here.
c.7000 BC
Mehrgarh
Panama
Was the most significant port in the Americas between 1540 and 1580.
1510 AD
Nombre de Dios
Papua New Guinea
Queensland tried to annex the area around where the city is now in 1883.
before 1873 AD
Port Moresby
Paraguay
Home to the Palacio de los López.
15th August 1537 AD
Asunción
Peru
The oldest city in the Americas, built by the Norte Chico Civilisation.
c.2600 BC
Caral
Philippines
The second most natural disaster-afflicted capital city in the world.
c.3000-2000 BC
Manila
Poland
Its Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
c.800s AD
Kraków
Portugal
Famous for its architecture, including the Belém Tower.
1200 BC
Lisbon
Qatar
Contains an artificial island called The Pearl-Qatar.
before 1681 AD
Doha
Republic of the Congo
(Two possible answers) A city home to Maya-Maya Airport or a city that is the centre of the oil industry in the country.
1883 AD
Brazzaville or Pointe-Noire
Romania
The city symbol is a church tower commonly called Stephen's Tower.
c.3600 BC
Piatra Neamț
Russia
Located on a narrow area between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus mountains, this was once a Persian city.
700s BC
Derbent
Rwanda
The most notable feature of this city (now a town) is the King's Palace.
1600s AD
Nyanza
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Was destroyed by the Spanish but re-founded by the French.
1538 AD
Dieppe Bay Town
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The chief port on St. Vincent, it is overlooked by Fort Charlotte.
1722 AD
Kingstown
Samoa
Robert Louis Stevenson lived here towards the end of his life and died here.
before 1800 AD
Apia
San Marino
Founded by Saint Marinus.
301 AD
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Home to Fort São Sebastião, now a museum.
1493 AD
São Tomé
Saudi Arabia
Was called Adummatu by the Assyrians, who describe it as the capital of an Arab kingdom.
900s BC
Dumat al-Jandal
Senegal
Shares its name with a US city.
c.1450 AD
Saint-Louis
Serbia
Once the Roman settlement of Vinceia.
7000-6000 BC
Smederevo
Seychelles
Shares its name with a British queen.
1778 AD
Victoria
Sierra Leone
Started as a place for freed slaves to come to.
1787 AD
Freetown
Singapore
Known for being an environmentally-friendly city.
before 650 AD
Singapore
Slovakia
Home to a castle and located on a river, both of the same name as the city itself.
before 1600 BC
Nitra
Slovenia
The city hosts a ten-day festival called Kurentovanje.
before 69 AD
Ptuj
Solomon Islands
Location of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
before 1942 AD
Honiara
Somalia
Laal Geel complex, with its cave paintings, is located on the outskirts.
c.5000-2000 BC
Hargeisa
South Africa
Overlooked by Table Mountain.
before 1652 AD
Cape Town
South Korea
Hyundai Heavy Industries was founded here.
c.5000 BC
Ulsan
South Sudan
Was once a fishing village, but then became a trading depot.
1860s AD
Bor
Spain
Where Christopher Columbus sailed from on his second and fourth voyages.
1104 BC
Cádiz
Sri Lanka
Home to the Atamasthana.
900s BC
Anuradhapura
Sudan
This city was not founded by the Kingdom of Kush but was settled by it later on.
c.3500 BC
Kerma
Suriname
Located along the Suriname River.
1603 AD
Paramaribo
Sweden
Was an important location for worship of the Norse gods.
200s AD
Uppsala
Switzerland
Home to the Giger Bar, designed by H.R. Giger.
3900-3500 BC
Chur
Syria
Home to the Umayyad Mosque and famous for its age and the many cultures who've lived there.
9000 BC
Damascus
Taiwan
Home to seven Buddhist temples and eight Taoist shrines.
1500s AD
Tainan
Tajikistan
Was a major city along the Silk Road, it sits at the mouth of the Fergana Valley.
544 BC
Khujand
Tanzania
The old area of the city is called Stone Town.
1700 AD
Zanzibar City
Thailand
Founded as a small, Khmer outpost. Home to Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat.
1000s AD
Phitsanulok
The Gambia
Home to Arch 22.
before 1651 AD
Banjul
Togo
The Misahöhe Forest Reserve is located nearby.
before 1700s AD
Kpalimé
Tonga
A new island was created by a volcanic eruption nearby.
before 1777 AD
Nukuʻalofa
Trinidad and Tobago
Home to the Nicholas Tower.
1560 AD
Port of Spain
Tunisia
Was a strategic port during World War Two.
1100 BC
Bizerte
Turkey
People traveled around the city and entered the houses via the rooves.
c.7500 BC
Çatalhöyük
Turkmenistan
Was destroyed by a Mongol horde in 1221 after opening its gates; it was rebuilt later.
2000s BC
Merv
Tuvalu
People moved to here after missionaries arrived.
1800s AD
Savave
Uganda
Home to a University of Science and Technology.
1899 AD
Mbarara
Ukraine
The second capital of Russia.
482 AD (possibly 100s AD)
Kiev
United Arab Emirates
Home to Al Jahili Fort.
c.6000s BC
Al Ain
United Kingdom
Famous for its cathedral.
before 54 BC
Canterbury
United States
Consists of mounds.
600 AD
Cahokia
Uruguay
Home to the Basilica of the Holy Sacrament.
1680 AD
Colonia del Sacramento
Uzbekistan
Was the capital of Sogdiana and the Timurid Empire.
700s BC
Samarkand
Vanuatu
Preceded by the settlement of Franceville. Was heavily damaged by Cyclone Pam.
1200s BC
Port Vila
Venezuela
Shares its name with a Spanish city.
c.200 AD
Valencia
Vietnam
Home to Đồng Xuân Market and the Temple of Literature.
3000 BC
Hanoi
Yemen
Home to Ghumdan Palace and a Great Mosque.
before 300 BC
Sana'a
Zambia
Named after a famous explorer.
1897 AD
Livingstone
Zimbabwe
Consists of enclosures and towers.
1000s AD
Great Zimbabwe
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