Jericho. Populated no later than 3000 BC. According to the Old Testament, for the first time the city was destroyed by ancient Jews. Subsequently, Jericho was once more the arena of battles, but always rebuilt.
During the Crusades, Jericho experienced the power of the sword for the last time. Then, during the battles of the Crusaders with the Muslims, the city was destroyed and lay in ruins almost until the 19th century.
The city of Erbil was first mentioned in the holy Sumerian writings of 3 thousand years BC. Throughout history, it has been controlled by many states.
Erbil even for a time was the center of Syrian Christianity, but with the arrival of the Arabs, the local people were Islamized. By the way, currently the main population of Erbil is the Kurds.
Damascus. The official date of its founding is 4300 BC. It is the second largest city in Syria. As befits an ancient city, Damascus is rich in architectural monuments. But now because of the fighting, unfortunately, many of them are destroyed.
The city for many years was under the rule of the Egyptian pharaohs, the states of Persia, Assyria, the Seleucid kingdom, the Ottoman Empire and others.
Kirkuk. It was founded around 2000 BC. The city is located on the site of the ancient Hurri and Assyrian capital Arraha. Kirkuk was the eternal cause of war between the three empires – Assyria, Babylon and Midia.
At this time, Kirkuk is occupied by Kurds, who keep the defense. This is still the only city that repulsed the onslaught of the ISIS on its own.
Balkh. Populated since 1500 BC. It is considered the birthplace of Zarathustra. During the late Antiquity in Balkh, there were more than a hundred temples, but almost all of them were destroyed in 645, when the Arabs first plundered the city.
For a long time Persia and Bukhars fought for domination over this city. In the dispute, the point was set by the emir of Afghanistan – he finally captured Balkh.
