Jericho – the oldest city in the world

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Today I will write about Jericho, that is the first known city in the world and still today there are inhabitants in it.

Map of Jericho
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This city developed in the Palestinian territory about 10 thousand years B.C. At the beginning there were only hunters from the Stone Age who lived there. At that time Jericho still had no city status because it had no walls. The oldest urban community has developed about 8 thousand years B.C. because the first walls were built then. At that time around 3 thousand people lived in the city. Archaeologists found the remnants of the canals where the cereals were grown. These canals also flowed with water that swept the plants.

Ancient Jericho
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The city was surrounded by ramparts and towers from which citizens could observe the movement of the enemies. The houses were made of dried brick and these houses were made in round.

The remains of the city of Jericho
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In the city, dead people were buried under the houses. They were buried in fetus position and without head. People thought the soul of the dead people was in the head so they kept their heads in the houses so that soul would not run away.

In the next millenniums a lot of different tribes lived in the city. Because of this there is not much archeological evidence from the earliest periods of the city. Up to 2300 years B.C. there were no major events in the city. In these years Amorites moved to the city and several centuries after Caanans.

Amorites people in Jericho
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So, the city was developed slowly and there are many records of the city in the Bible. The records are from the Old Testament and they say that Jericho was one of the first cities that the Jews had conquered after slavery in Egypt. It happened about 1200 years B.C. and then more than 5 thousand people lived in the city. Jericho was abducted during the Jewish siege.

Jewish siege of Jericho
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Today, Jericho is a city or oasis in which lives around 20 thousand people. The city is about 40 kilometers away from Jerusalem. Because of the current war in Palestine there are no many tourists as it was before. However, Jericho is the city that is most appealing to historians and archaeologists. Today many people consider this is not the oldest city and they think it's just a trick which attracts tourists.

Jericho today
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Thank you for reading this! If you know something interesting about this city, please feel free to share! Cheers 😊