The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: 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 in the 6th century BC or with that by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The largest cities of the Bronze Age Near East housed several tens of thousands of people. Memphis in the Early Bronze Age, with some 30,000 inhabitants, was the largest city of the time by far. Ebla is estimated to have had a population of 40,000 inhabitants in the Intermediate Bronze age. Ur in the Middle Bronze Age is estimated to have had some 65,000 inhabitants; Babylon in the Late Bronze Age 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 (around 700 BC). In Akkadian and Hittite orthography, URU became a determinative sign denoting a city, or combined with KUR "land" the kingdom or territory controlled by a city, e.g. LUGAL KUR URUHa-at-ti "the king of the country of (the city of) Hatti". The KI determinative is used following place names (toponyms) in both Sumerian and Akkadian.

Mesopotamia

Lower Mesopotamia

(ordered from north to south) • Eshnunna (Tell Asmar) • Me-Turan (Tell Haddad and Tell al-Sib) • Tell Yelkhi (Awal?) • Tutub (Khafajah) • Der (Tell Aqar) • Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah) • Sippar-Amnanum (Tell ed-Der) • Tell Uqair (Urum?) • Kutha (Tell Ibrahim) • Jemdet Nasr (NI.RU) • Kish (Tell Uheimir & Ingharra) • Babilim (Babylon) • Borsippa (Birs Nimrud) • Malgium (Tulūl al-Fāj / Tell Yassir) • Mashkan-shapir (Tell Abu Duwari) • Dilbat (Tell ed-Duleim) • Nippur (Afak) • Marad (Tell Wannat es-Sadum) • Adab (Tell Bismaya) • Isin (Ishan al-Bahriyat) • Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab) • Shuruppak (Tell Fara) • Karkar (Tell Ĝidr?) • Bad-tibira (Tell al-Madineh?) • Zabalam (Tell Ibzeikh) • Umma (Umm al-Aqarib, Tell Jokha) • Girsu (Tello or Telloh) • Lagash (Tell al-Hiba) • Tell Zurghul (Nigin) • Uruk (Warka) • Larsa (Tell as-Senkereh) • Pašime (Tell Abu Sheeja) • Tell Khaiber • Tell al-Wilayah (Irisaĝrig?) • Tulul al-Baqarat (Kesh?) • Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar) • Tell al-Lahm (Dur-Iakin?, Kisik?, Kuara???) • Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain) • Tell al-'Ubaid (Nutur?) • Akshak • Akkad

Upper Mesopotamia

(ordered from north to south)

Iran

• Ecbatana (Hamadan?) • Behistun • Godin Tepe • Rey (Rhages, Europos, Shahr-e-Ray, Arsacia) • Chogha Mish • Tepe Sialk • Susa (Shush, Shushan) • Kabnak (Haft Tepe) • Dur Untash (Chogha Zanbil) • Shahr-e Sukhteh • Pasargadae (Pasargad, Pasargadai) • Naqsh-e Rustam • Estakhr (Istakhr) • Persepolis (Parsa) • Tall-i Bakun • Anshan (Tall-i Malyan or Tepe Malyan) • Konar Sandal • Tepe Yahya • Teppe Hasanlu • Khaydalu • Kermanshah • Isfahan (Aspadana) • Tabriz • Shahdad • Marlik • Chogha Bonut • Ganj Dareh • Ali Kosh • Geoy Tepe • Baba Jan Tepe • Shah Tepe • Hajji Firuz Tepe • Kul Tepe • Shir Ashian Tepe • Tepe Hissar • Tepe Sofalin • Tureng Tepe • Yarim Tepe • Vahrkana (Gorgan) • Narezzash (Neyriz) • Zranka (Dahan-e Gholaman) • Nahavand • Mahallat • Hashtgerd • Bastam • Ganzak

Anatolia (Turkey)

(ordered from north to south) • İnandıktepe • Miletus • Sfard (Sardis) • Nicaea • Sapinuwa • Yazilikaya • Alaca Höyük • Maşat Höyük • Alishar Hüyük • Hattusa • Ilios (Wilusa, Ilion, Troas, Troy) • Kanesh (Nesa, Kültepe) • Arslantepe (Malatya) • Çayönü (Amed, Diyarbakir) • Sam'al (Zincirli Höyük) • Çatalhöyük • Beycesultan • Karatepe • Tushhan (Ziyaret Tepe) • Üçtepe Höyük (Šināmum/Sinābu?, Tušḫan?) • Adana • Tarsus • Zephyrion (Mersin) • Gözlükule • Titris Hoyuk • Tilmen Hoyuk • Sultantepe • Attalia (Antalya)

Levant

• Abel-beth-maachah • Acre • Adoraim (Adora, Dura) • Afqa (Afeka) • Alalakh (Alakhtum, Tell Atchana) • Aleppo (Halab, Ha-Lam, Yamhad) • Al-Rastan (Arethusa) • Antioch (Antakiya) • Apamea (Afamiya) • Aphek (Antipatris, Tell Afik) • Arad (Arad Rabbah?; Tel Arad) • Arpad (Tell Rifaat) • Arqa (Arkat, Irqata) • Arwad (Aradus, Arvad, Arphad, Ruad Island) • Ashdod • Ashkelon • Azekah • Baalbek (Heliopolis) • Batroun (Botrys) • Banias • Beersheba • Beirut (Berytus) • Beth Shean • Bet Shemesh • Bethel • Bethsaida • Bethlehem • Bosra • Byblos (Gubla, Kepen) • Dan, former Laish (Tel Dan, Tell el-Qadi) • Damascus (Dimasqu) • Deir Alla (Pethor?) • Dhiban (Dibon) • Dor (D-jr, Dora) • Dura-Europos (Dur) • Ebla (Tell Mardikh) • Edessa (Ar-Ruha, Urfa) • Ein Gedi (Hazazon-tamar, Tel Goren) • En Esur • Enfeh (Ampi) • Ekron (Tel Miqne, Khirbet el-Muqanna) • Et-Tell (Ai?) • Gath (Tell es-Safi?) • Gaza • Gezer • Gibeah (Tell el-Ful?) • Hama (Hamath, Epiphania) • Harran (Carrhae, Hellenopolis) • Hazor • Hebron • Hermel • Homs (Emesa) • Jawa • Jericho (Ariha) • Jerusalem (Jebus, City of David) • Jezreel • Kadesh (Syria) (Tell Nebi Mend) • Karnaim (Ashteroth Karnaim) • Kedesh (Qadesh in Galilee) • Khirbet Kerak (Al-Sinnabra) • Khirbet el-Qom (Makkedah/Maqqedah) • Khirbet Qeiyafa (Sha'arayim? / Neta'im?) • Kinneret (Tel Kinrot, Tell el-Oreimeh) • Kumidi (Kamid el-Loz) • Lachish (Tel Lachish, Tell ed-Duweir) • Manbij (Manbug, Mabog, Bambyce, Hierapolis) • Megiddo (Tel Megiddo, Tell el-Mutesellim) • Petra (Raqmu) • Qatna (Tell Mishrifeh) • Rabbath Ammon (Philadelphia) • Tel Rehov (Rehov?) • Samaria (Shomron, Sebastie) • Sam'al • Sarepta (Sarafand) • Sharuhen (Tell el-Far'ah (South))?, Tell el-'Ajjul?, Tel Haror?) • Shiloh • Saida (Sidon) • Sumur (Sumuru, Simirra) • Tadmor (Palmyra) • Tall Zira'a • Tel Yarmuth • Tell Abu al-Kharaz (Jabesh-Gilead?) • Tell Afis (Hazrek) • Tell Ashtara (Ashteroth Karnaim) • Tell Balata (Shechem) • Tell Beit Mirsim • Tel Burna • Tell el-Burak • Tell el-Hesi (Eglon?) • Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah in Benjamin?) • Tell es-Sakan • Tel Kabri (one of several cities called Rehob) • Tell Kazel • Tell Qaramel • Tell Qarqur (Qarqar?) • Tell Tayinat (Kinalua?) • Tell Tweini (Gibala?) • Tel Yokneam (Yokneam, "'En-qn'mu") • Tirzah (Tell el-Farah North) • Tripoli (Tripolis) • Tulul adh-Dhahab (Mahanaim? Penuel?) • Tyre (Tylos) • Ugarit (Ras Shamra) • Umm el-Marra • Zahiran ("Sahiri") • Zoara (Zoar, Bela)

Arabian Peninsula

• Al Ain • Al-Ashoosh • Awwam • Barran • Bakkah (Mecca) • Barbar Temple • Bidaa Bint Saud • Al Bithnah • Dalma • Al Da'asa • Dedan (Al-'Ula) • Dibba • Dumat Al-Jandal (Adummatu) • Ed-Dur • Failaka • Gerrha • Ḥaram • Hili Archaeological Park • Ibri • Izki • Jeddah • Jubbah • Julfar • Kalba • Al-Kharj • Khaybar • Khor Rori (Sumhuram) • Kaminahu (Kamna) • Lihyan • Mada'in Saleh (Al-Hijr, el Hijr, and Hegra) • Al Madam • Al-Magar • Ma'rib • Maṣna'at Māriya • Mleiha • Muweilah • Najran • Nashan • Nashaq • Nizwa • Petra • Qatif • Qarnawu • Qaryat al-Faw (Dhat al-Jnan) • Qal'at al-Bahrain • Sakakah • Sanaa • Ṣirwāḥ • Shabwa • Shimal • Sohar • As-Subiya • Tarim, Yemen • Tayma (Tema) • Tell Abraq • Thula • Tarout • Umm Al Nar • Yathrib (Medina)

Cyprus

Nubia

Horn of Africa

Egypt