The earliest cities in history were in the

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization, spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran (or Persia), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Nea ...

, an area covering roughly that of the modern

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

in the 6th century BC or with that by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

in the 4th century BC. The largest cities of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

housed several tens of thousands of people. Memphis in the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, with some 30,000 inhabitants, was the largest city of the time by far.

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

is estimated to have had a population of 40,000 inhabitants in the Intermediate Bronze age. Ur in the

Middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

is estimated to have had some 65,000 inhabitants;

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

in the

Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

similarly had a population of some 50,000–60,000. Niniveh had some 20,000–30,000, reaching 100,000 only in the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

(around 700 BC). In Akkadian and Hittite orthography, URU became a determinative sign denoting a city, or combined with

KUR The ancient Mesopotamian underworld (known in Sumerian language, Sumerian as ''Kur'', ''Irkalla'', ''Kukku'', ''Arali'', or ''Kigal'', and in Akkadian language, Akkadian as ''Erṣetu''), was the lowermost part of the Ancient near eastern cosmol ...

"land" the kingdom or territory controlled by a city, e.g. "the king of the country of (the city of)

Ḫattuša Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittites, Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great ...

". The KI determinative is used following place names (toponyms) in both Sumerian and Akkadian.

Mesopotamia

Lower Mesopotamia

(ordered from north to south)

Upper Mesopotamia

(ordered from north to south) *

Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...

* Shanidar cave * Urkesh (Urkish) (''Tell Mozan'') *

Tell Leilan Tell Leilan is an archaeological site situated near the Wadi Jarrah in the Khabur River basin in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The site has been occupied since the 5th millennium BC. During the late third millennium, the site was ...

(''Shekhna'', ''Shubat-Enlil'') * Tell Halaf *

Tell Arbid Tell Arbid is an ancient Near East archaeological site in the Khabur (Euphrates), Khabur River Basin region of Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria, about 50 kilometers north northeast of modern Al-Hasakah. It is located 45 kilometers south of Tell Mozan ...

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

* Chagar Bazar * Mardaman ('' Bassetki'') * Kahat (''Tell Barri'') * Tell Fekheriye ('' Washukanni?'') * Hadatu (''Arslan Tash'') *

Carchemish Carchemish ( or ), also spelled Karkemish (), was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its history the city was independent, but it was also part of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo-Assyrian ...

(''Djerabis'') * Til Barsip (''Tell Ahmar'') *

Tell Chuera Tell Chuera (also Tell Ḫuera and Tall Ḥuwaira and Tall Chuera and Tell Khuera) is an ancient Near Eastern Tell (archaeology), tell site in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria. It lies between the Balikh River, Balikh and Khabur (Euphrates), Khab ...

* Al-Rawda * Nabada (''Tell Beydar'') * Nagar (''Tell Brak'') *

Hamazi Hamazi or Khamazi ( Sumerian: , ''ha-ma-zi''ki, or ''Ḫa-ma-zi2''ki) was an ancient kingdom or city-state which became prominent during the Early Dynastic period. Its exact location is unknown. History In the early days of archaeology two pot ...

* Yarim Tepe * Telul eth-Thalathat * Tepe Gawra * Tell Arpachiyah (''Tepe Reshwa'') * Tell Maghzaliyah * Shibaniba (''Tell Billa'') * Tarbisu (''Sherif Khan'') *

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

(''Ninua'') * Qatara or Karana (''Tell al-Rimah'') * Tell Hamoukar * Dur Sharrukin (''Khorsabad'') *

Tell Shemshara Tell Shemshāra (ancient Shusharra) (also Tell Shimshara) is an archaeological site located along the Little Zab in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, in the Iraqi Kurdistan autonomous administrative division of Iraq. The site was inundated by Lake Dukan ...

(''Shusharra'') * Bestansur * Tell Bazmusian *

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

(''Urbilim'', ''Arba-Ilu'') * Kurd Qaburstan (''Qabra?'') * Qasr Shemamok (''Kilizu/Kilizi/Kakzu'') * Qal'at Jarmo * Tell Taya * Tell Hassuna * Balawat (Imgur-Enlil) * Tell es-Sweyhat * Tell Hadidi (''Azu'') * Mumbaqat (''Tall Munbāqa, Ekalte'') *

Nimrud Nimrud (; ) is an ancient Assyrian people, Assyrian city (original Assyrian name Kalḫu, biblical name Calah) located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah (), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. ...

* Emar (''Tell Meskene'') *

Tall Bazi Tall Bazi, is an ancient Near East archaeological site in Raqqa Governorate of Syria in the same general area as Mari and Ebla. It is located on the east bank of Euphrates river in upper Syria, about 60 kilometers south of Turkey border. It is c ...

(''Baṣīru'', '' Armanum?'') * Arrapha * Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta *

Assur Aššur (; AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; ''Āšūr''; ''Aθur'', ''Āšūr''; ', ), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Midd ...

Ekallatum Ekallatum ( Akkadian: 𒌷𒂍𒃲𒈨𒌍, URUE2.GAL.MEŠ, Ekallātum, "the Palaces") was an ancient Amorite city-state and kingdom in upper Mesopotamia. Ekallatum, whose name means "the palaces," became the capital of an Amorite dynasty related ...

* Nuzi (''Yorghan Tepe'', ''Gasur'') * Tell al-Fakhar (''Kurruhanni?'') * Tell Taban (''Ṭābetu'', ''Ṭābatum'') *

Terqa Terqa is an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its name had b ...

(''Tell Ashara'') * Doura Europos * Mari (''Tell Hariri'') *

Tuttul Tuttul (Akkadian language, Akkadian: tu-ut-tu-ulki, Ugaritic: 𐎚𐎚𐎍 – ) was an ancient Near East city. Tuttul is identified with the archaeological site of Tell Bi'a (also Tall Bi'a) in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. Tell Bi'a is located near t ...

(''Tell Bi'a'') * Haradum (''Khirbet ed-Diniyeh'') * Tell es-Sawwan * Nerebtum or Kiti (''Tell Ishchali'') * Tell Agrab *

Dur-Kurigalzu Dur-Kurigalzu (modern ' in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq) was a city in southern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers, about west of the center of Baghdad. It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I (di ...

(''Aqar Quf'') * Shaduppum (''Tell Harmal'') * Tell al-Dhiba'i * Tell Muhammad *

Seleucia Seleucia (; ), also known as or or Seleucia ad Tigrim, was a major Mesopotamian city, located on the west bank of the Tigris River within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. It was founded around 305 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as th ...

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

(''Taq Kisra'') *

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

(''Halabiye'') *

Hatra Hatra (; (); ) was an ancient Arab city in Upper Mesopotamia located in present-day eastern Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. The ruins of the city lie northwest of Baghdad and southwest of Mosul. It is considered the richest archaeologi ...

* Idu * Rabana-Merquly (''Natounia?'')

Iran

Anatolia (Turkey)

(ordered from north to south)

Egypt

Levant

Arabian Peninsula

Cyprus

* Enkomi * Idalion *

Kition Kition (Ancient Greek: , ; Latin: ; Egyptian: ; Phoenician: , , or , ;) was an ancient Phoenician and Greek city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus (in present-day Larnaca), one of the Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus. Name The name of the ...

Kourion Kourion (; ) was an important ancient Greek city-state on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. In the twelfth century BCE, after the Mycenaean Greece#Collapse or Postpalatial Bronze Age (c. 1200–1050 BC), collapse of the Mycenaean p ...

(''Koύριov'', ''Curium'')

Nubia

Jebel Barkal Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal () is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 104 m tall, has a f ...

Kerma Kerma was the capital city of the Kerma culture, which was founded in present-day Sudan before 3500 BC. Kerma is one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, including t ...

Meroë Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: ; and ; ) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site is ...

Napata Napata
(2020). (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic language, Meroitic ''Napa''; and Ναπάται) was a city of ...

Horn of Africa

Adulis Adulis (Sabaic, Sabaean: 𐩱 𐩵 𐩡 𐩪, , ) was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean list of cities in Eritrea, city of Zula. It was the emporium (antiquit ...

* Aksum (Axum) * Keskese * Matara * Qohaito * Sembel * Yeha

References

External links

Geospatial: Mapping Iraq's Ancient Cities

Ancient cities grew pretty much like modern ones, say scientists
(February 2015), ''

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cities Of The ancient Near East

Ancient Near East Lists of cities Ancient history-related lists