<P> 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). </P> <P> 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 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Historical region </Th> <Th> Location </Th> <Th> Continuously inhabited as a "city" since </Th> <Th> Notes </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Byblos (Jubayl) </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Lebanon </Td> <Td> Chalcolithic; 3000 BC </Td> <Td> Settled from the Neolithic (carbon - dating tests have set the age of earliest settlement around 7000 BC), a city since the 3rd millennium BC . Byblos had a reputation as the "oldest city in the world" in Antiquity (according to Philo of Byblos). </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Damascus </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Syria </Td> <Td> Chalcolithic; 3rd millennium BC </Td> <Td> 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 . However, it is not documented as an important city until the arrival of the Aramaeans . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jericho </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Palestine </Td> <Td> 1st millennium BC </Td> <Td> Traces of habitation from 9000 BC . Fortifications date to 6800 BC (or earlier), making Jericho the earliest known walled city . <P> 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 . </P> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Rey </Td> <Td> Media </Td> <Td> Iran </Td> <Td> 3000 BC </Td> <Td> 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 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Beirut </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Lebanon </Td> <Td> 3000 BC </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jerusalem (Old City) </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Israel / Palestine </Td> <Td> 2800 BC </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Tyre </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Lebanon </Td> <Td> 2750 BC </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jenin </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Palestine </Td> <Td> c. 2450 BC </Td> <Td> 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 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Aleppo </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Syria </Td> <Td> 2nd millennium BC </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Homs </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Syria </Td> <Td> possibly early 3rd century BC </Td> <Td> May have been founded by Seleucus I Nicator </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Erbil </Td> <Td> Mesopotamia </Td> <Td> Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq </Td> <Td> 2300 BC </Td> <Td> The Citadel of Arbil is a fortified settlement in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan . The city corresponds to ancient Arbela . Settlement at Erbil (Kurdish: Hewlêr) can be dated back to possibly 5000 BC, but not urban life until c. 2300 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Kirkuk (as Arrapha) </Td> <Td> Mesopotamia </Td> <Td> Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq </Td> <Td> 3000--2200 BC </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Ankara </Td> <Td> Anatolia </Td> <Td> Central Anatolia, Turkey </Td> <Td> at least 2000 BC </Td> <Td> The oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belonged to the Hattic civilization which existed during the Bronze Age . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jaffa </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Israel </Td> <Td> c. 2000 BC </Td> <Td> Archaeological evidence shows habitation from 7500 BC . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Sidon </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Lebanon </Td> <Td> 2nd millennium BC </Td> <Td> Sidon becomes a city - state during the 2nd millennium BC . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Hebron </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Palestine </Td> <Td> c. 1500 BC </Td> <Td> "Hebron is considered one of the oldest cities and has been continuously inhabited for nearly 3500 years ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Gaziantep </Td> <Td> Anatolia </Td> <Td> Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey </Td> <Td> c. 3650 BC </Td> <Td> 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 . Assuming this to be the case, the founding date of the present site would be about 1000 BC . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Eskişehir </Td> <Td> Anatolia </Td> <Td> Turkey </Td> <Td> c. 1000 BC </Td> <Td> 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 . Many Phrygian artifacts and sculptures can still be found in the city's archeological museum . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Gaza </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Palestine </Td> <Td> c. 1000 BC </Td> <Td> 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 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Hamadan (as Ecbatana) </Td> <Td> Media </Td> <Td> Iran </Td> <Td> c. 800 BC </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Yerevan </Td> <Td> Urartu </Td> <Td> Armenia </Td> <Td> 782 BC </Td> <Td> Founded as Erebuni . The Shengavit Settlement in the southwestern district of Yerevan was founded in the late 4th millennium BC, during the Calcolithic period . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Istanbul (as Byzantion) </Td> <Td> Thrace, Anatolia </Td> <Td> Turkey </Td> <Td> 685 BC Anatolia; 667 BC Thrace </Td> <Td> Neolithic site dated to 6400 BC, over port of Lygos by Thracians c. 1150 BC . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Lod </Td> <Td> Levant </Td> <Td> Israel </Td> <Td> 200 AD </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Tabriz </Td> <Td> Caucasus </Td> <Td> Iran </Td> <Td> 3rd - 7th century AD </Td> <Td> 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 . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Yazd </Td> <Td> Media </Td> <Td> Iran </Td> <Td> 5th century AD </Td> <Td> It has long been a haven for Zoroastrians . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Historical region </Th> <Th> Location </Th> <Th> Continuously inhabited as a "city" since </Th> <Th> Notes </Th> </Tr>

What is the oldest city in the middle east
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