Athens

City · 7,001 BCE · in Europe

Capital of Duchy of Athens (1206–1311), Kingdom of Greece (1945–1966), Greek junta (1967–1974), and 1 more.

Adana (6,001 BCE): Capital of Ramadanid Emirate (1385–1515).
Aleppo (5,001 BCE): Capital of Hamdanid Emirates (936–1004), Zengid dynasty (1139–1250), French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon (1923–1923).
Jerusalem (4,001 BCE): Capital of Kingdom of Israel (1000 BCE–930 BCE), Kingdom of Judah (900 BCE–701 BCE), Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291), and 1 more.
Anshan Persia (4,000 BCE – 675 CE): Capital of Elam (2700 BCE–601 BCE).
Thebes (3,200–801 BCE): Capital of Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2000 BCE–1782 BCE), New Kingdom of Egypt (1500 BCE–801 BCE).
Kozan (3,000 BCE): Capital of Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1099–1374).
Tyre (2,750–501 BCE): Capital of Phoenicia (1150 BCE–501 BCE).
Assur (2,500–609 BCE): Capital of Assyria (1800 BCE–901 BCE), Neo-Assyrian Empire (900 BCE–609 BCE).
Babylon (2,201 BCE – 1 CE): Capital of Babylonia (1800 BCE–601 BCE), Neo-Babylonian Empire (600 BCE–539 BCE), Achaemenid Empire (550 BCE–330 BCE).
Damascus (2,001 BCE): Capital of Umayyad Caliphate (661–744), Zengid dynasty (1139–1250), French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon (1923–1945), and 4 more.

Around the same time and place

Çatalhöyük (c. 7,100–5,700 BCE): Very large Neolithic settlement in central Anatolia of densely packed mudbrick houses entered through roofs, decorated with wall paintings and bull horns.
Abu Hureyra (c. 11,500–6,000 BCE): Settlement on the Euphrates occupied from about 13,500 years ago (c. 11,500 BCE), which shows the transition from foraging to farming; its site is now under Lake Assad.
Lepenski Vir (c. 9,500–6,000 BCE): Mesolithic and early Neolithic settlement in the Iron Gates gorge of the Danube with trapezoidal houses and fish-faced stone sculptures.
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (c. 8,800–6,500 BCE): Neolithic phase with rectangular houses, fully domesticated crops and herded goats, sheep and cattle, spreading across the Levant, Anatolia and Cyprus.
Ain Ghazal (c. 7,250–5,000 BCE): Large Neolithic town near Amman, known for its lime-plaster human statues, among the oldest large-scale depictions of the human figure.
Çayönü (c. 8,600–6,800 BCE): Neolithic village in southeastern Anatolia with planned buildings, early domestic pigs, and some of the earliest known objects hammered from native copper.
Plastered human skulls (c. 7,500–6,000 BCE): In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Levant, skulls of the dead were modelled with plaster and shell eyes, likely part of ancestor veneration; famous examples come from Jericho.