Every wondered what is the oldest country in the world? The world was once believed to be a supercontinent, known as ‘Pangea’. Meant to describe the way in which all continents were joined together, Pangea existed 240 million years ago and began to break apart to form the countries we are now familiar with about 200 million years later.
Over time, mankind has seen countless nations and countries rise and disappear into the annals of history. It is impossible to say which the oldest country in the world is with complete certainty. Here are 20 of the longest surviving civilizations.
Iran
Since: 3200 BCE
Founder: Cyrus II
Capital: Tehran
Up till the mid-20th century, Iran was referred to as Persia. The nation is one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations. Its historical and urban settlements date back to 7000 BCE. First unified by the ancient Medes people in 625 BCE, Iran was once part of the largest and first world empire of Cyrus The Great, known as the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC).
Later in 1501, under the Safavid dynasty, the nation was named a liberated state. Iran became a Shia monarchy ruled by an emperor almost without interruption from 1501 until 1979. For these reasons, Iran is widely recognized as the oldest country in the world.
Egypt
Since: 3150 BCE
Founder: King Narmer Menes
Capital: Memphis (abandoned in 7th century CE), Cairo
Egypt has existed for almost 30 centuries. In recent years, excavations have discovered a lost city. These new findings in Sohag are believed to be more than 7,000 years old. With the help of these new findings, ancient Egypt‘s early dynastic periods now predate approximately 5 millennia ago. Archaeologists suspect that these newly found dwellings and graves are part of a long-gone capital that is now resurfacing. Other suspicions characterize the area as a separate village, possibly overcome by the historic city, Abydos.