Mark Twain says Benares in India is a city ‘older than history, culture, or even mythology’. Although his beliefs were certainly not correct. So where is the oldest city in the world?
At one time there was a city on earth called Crocadilopolis, whose citizens worshiped the crocodile god Sobec. As Sobec's earthly representative, the people of Crocadilopolis paid homage to a living crocodile named Petsuchos-Sobeck's son. Petsuchos was covered with gold and precious gems in the temple, where Petsuchos had his own reservoir and was entrusted with the task of providing food to a special priest. When one Petsuchos died, his body was mummified and specially buried - and the new Petsuchos was replaced as Sobek's son.
Crocodilopolis
The city of Crocadilopolis w inas located on the west bank of the Nile River, southwest of Memphis, and was founded in 4000 BC. The Egyptians named this city Shedet and it was probably the oldest city in Egypt. Since the people of Shedet were worshipers of Sobec, the Greeks named it ‘Crocadilopolis’ which means ‘city of crocodiles’. Currently, Crocadilopolis is part of the Egyptian city of Fayyum - making Fayyum the oldest living city in the world.
But that's just the idea. Excluding every city in North America and Australia, identifying the oldest city in the world would be like an uncertain business. This “business” has claims, there are counter claims; There are also myths and folklore; There is also evidence of controversial data. The reason for the stability of this issue is the whole process behind the development of a settlement city - according to many to improve self-reliance and trade, while according to many to improve the drainage process. But there are also some long-term disruptions within academic councils that provide forecasts about a city’s agriculture.
However, there are some places that can undoubtedly be called cities, and its claimants range from Benares in India to the city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria. About Benares or Banarasi, Mark Twain says, "Benares is a city older than history, culture, or even a myth, and all this combined would make it look twice as old." According to folklore, Benares was created in 3000 BC by the god Shiva, where all other sources indicate that the city was founded on the banks of the Ganges after 2000 years. On the other hand, the city of Plovdiv can be traced back to 6000 BC, and there is some strong evidence for this period.
Benares or Banarasi
But the most fertile land among the ancient cities was the Middle East and Fertile Crescent or Fertile Crescent (the historical region in the shape of the moon in the Middle East). However, this does not mean that they can easily wear the badge of the ancient city. None of the cities in this province have claimed or researched themselves as the oldest cities, nor have they ever had the same business acumen as the famous cities like Rome, Athens or Syracuse.
The Iraqi city of Kirkuk, once the ancient Assyrian capital of Arafa, was founded around 2,200 BC, and the ruins of its 5,000-year-old fortress testify to its existence. Then there is Erbil, another neighboring city, which was the capital of Kurdistan, and it is claimed that this city was founded in 6000 BC.
Similarly, there is Susa in Iran, whose current name is Sush, whose founding date, according to archaeologists, is 4395 BC (Carbon-date) and 600 years before that. In the lower part of the Zagros Mountains, 250 km away from the Tigris River, lies the area between Karkheh and Dej River. However, Sushma's claim to be the oldest city in the world is somewhat weak, as the city was reduced to a "small settlement" in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Susa
Jerusalem and Beirut can also be considered as ancient cities as their urbanization period was reduced to 3000 BC. For the same reason, Jericho, located on the west bank of the Jordan River, is considered an ancient city. Archaeologists have unearthed a series of 20 settlements in Jericho that date back to 9000 BC. At that time, a 12-foot-high, 6-foot-wide wall was built around Jericho, highlighting the remarkable and unprecedented defensive architectural style. According to the Bible, the walls of Jericho developed. The city later became Alexander the Great's personal estate, and Herod সেই that Herod মুক্ত liberated the city from Cleopatra, to whom Mark Anthony gave it as a gift.
Although Jericho is neatly known as a "continuously inhabited" city, it has been abandoned for centuries. Byblos is probably the first Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon to have been inhabited since 5000 BC, although it was not an ancient city like Jericho, founded in 6000 BC.
At one time, Damascus was arguably the oldest city in the world. Damascus is located in the southwest of Syria. The city is mentioned in the Bible in Genesis and there is evidence that the city was founded in 9000 BC. Unfortunately, the present-day city of Damascus has no evidence of special activity until 2,000 BC - much like West Bromwich, which was founded 6 centuries before Birmingham. Damascus was not famous as an important city until the arrival of the Armenians. The city's overall development has improved since the Mesopotamian Armenian nomads settled in Damascus.
Damascus
Surprisingly, Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, is the oldest city in the world, not Damascus. Poor and superstitious, Aleppo was once the biggest rival to Cairo and Constantinople (now Istanbul). Evidence suggests that the city was founded in 6000 BC. But excavations north of the city have revealed that nomads roamed the city 5,000 years ago.
According to written records, Aleppo was an important city long before Damascus. Only after the opening of the Suez Canal did Aleppo drop out of the list of important commercial cities. Prior to the recent civil war, efforts were made to preserve the city's ancient forts, which date back to the 1st century BC, mosques, and medieval hammams. Much of it has now been reduced to dust and Aleppo has become a kingdom of broken stones.
The debate over which is the oldest city in the world may never end. This argument is many days old. There is a constant search for new information. However, considering all the evidence available so far, it would not be wrong to declare Aleppo as the oldest city in the world - it is safe to say that Aleppo deserves this title.
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