The oldest city in the world. The oldest city in Russia

The history of human civilization has already lasted more than five thousand years. For a long time people built cities in which a part of the population of any country lived. The reasons for their occurrence were different, but all the cities had to facilitate the existence of people and increase the comfort of their lives.

Causes of the appearance of cities

Urban settlements appeared long before our era. The history of the ancient East is a direct proof of this, it was here that the city planning began. Such settlements appeared as places of compact population residing. So, the progress of mankind in the field of production led to the first serious phenomenon - the separation of craft from agriculture. In fact, this meant the beginning of a rapid development of the productive forces, naturally, if possible, they should have been concentrated in one place. So, small settlements gradually expanded, here craftsmen came to sell their products, and here they stayed. It was very convenient to produce and sell in one place, so soon such settlements acquired city features. The cradle of human civilization is the Middle East, therefore the oldest cities in the world are located here.

Ancient Eastern stage of city formation

The second prerequisite for the emergence of the ancient Eastern cities was trade. The states of that period conducted active commercial activity. Many merchants settled in places most convenient for these purposes - at the intersection of trade routes, coasts of the seas. Many trading caravans were flocking here. Over time, small settlements turned into large cities with commercial specialization. Trade facilitated the inflow of money and allowed to improve the city quarters, improve the quality of life of the population. It was in these cities for the first time in history there was a sewage system, which in European cities came into use almost at the beginning of the New Time. The oldest cities in the world are scattered around biblical places, many of them are described in this sacred book for Christians. Here you can read about the birth of cities, their destruction. Some cities arose because of the will of the cruel, despotic rulers of that era. For example, this is the story of the ancient Egyptian city of Ahetatone. By the order of Akhenaten on an empty, naked, to the same unsuitable place for construction, a new city center emerged. However, the choice was extremely unsuccessful, shortly after the death of the pharaoh, the city came to desolation and ceased to exist.

The oldest urban center

The oldest city in the world is also located in the Middle East. They are considered Jericho, which was located in the sacred for the Jews of Canaan. According to the legend, the Israelis were bound to capture this city without fail, in order to gain access to the sacred places for them. The siege of the city was led by Joshua. For a long time, the Jews walked around the city wall in absolute silence, rather than surprised the citizens. Finally, at the end of the seventh day, the utter silence was interrupted by the cries and screams of the Israelites. The walls could not stand the sound and collapsed. So Jericho was captured, and all its inhabitants were destroyed, except for a woman named Rahab, who helped the Jews take possession of the city. The oldest city in the world then got a second life, becoming already Israeli. According to the descriptions of contemporaries, the city was very beautiful. It had many buildings of different styles and purposes. Jericho was attacked many times. Already after the destruction of the Israeli kingdom, the city was virtually eliminated, but again as a bird the Phoenix rose from the ashes.

Biblical Sites

Jericho - the oldest city in the world - has experienced many disasters in its history and has seen a great many conquerors. The Babylonians attacked him twice, and the second time all the inhabitants were taken prisoner. But this could not interrupt the life of the city, it was quietly rebuilt and settled, only slightly changed its location. In the seventh century BC, Jericho was again destroyed. This time the Persians took him by storm and destroyed the city buildings. Again, the inhabitants had to build a city with armed construction tools. However, this is not the end of the disaster. In the reign of the Roman emperor Vespasian, at his command, the oldest city in the world was again destroyed. But in the reign of another emperor - Adrian - the city was restored again. Since 1284 there was a settlement, which was destroyed by the Turkish troops in the 19th century. But this place did not turn out to be completely deprived of life. Soon there was founded a new settlement, which exists in our days. His story is a mixture of human and national tragedies, which lasted for centuries. However, the name Jericho was preserved as a cultural and historical concept.

Cadiz and Trier

With the decline of the ancient Eastern period of history, the leading positions in the construction of cities pass to another continent. Europe has been in the shadows for a long time, but the moment has come. The Middle Ages are the period of the highest flowering of European urbanism. Here the same principles of the emergence of urban settlements acted. Cities emerged as fortresses, trade and handicrafts, religious centers. At the turn of the eighth century, early European cities formed a huge trade ring from Northern France to Itil on the Volga. In this number of cities stands out the Spanish Cadiz - the oldest city in Europe. According to scientists, the city was founded by the Phoenicians as a transit point, later used as a military base on the coast by the Romans. In Europe there are several ancient urban complexes. The oldest city in Germany - Trier - was founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus and was called for a long time the name of the founder. After the conquest of the city by the barbarians-Germans, the city changes its name, which has been preserved with minor modifications to our days.

The ancestor of Russian cities

Ancient Russia did not lag behind other European states. Not without reason in the Scandinavian sources it was called "Gardarica", which means the country of cities. This shows the active urban development on the territory of our country. By the XII century in the territory of Kievan Rus there were already more than two hundred cities. According to archeology, already at the end of VI century on the Kiev hills there was a fortified urban settlement. According to legend, the oldest city of Russia was founded by three brothers - Shchek, Horev and Kiy. In honor of his older brother, the city was called Kiev, which later became the center of the glades, and after its conquest by Oleg, he became the capital of the ancient Russian state.