# What is the oldest city in Romania? It depends what oldest means

Three cities claim the title: Histria, Constanta and Mangalia. Each wins under another definition. Pick a meaning and see its winner, with the year exactly as the sources give it.

By Marius Comper · 22 September 2026 · every date comes from a checked source, listed under [sources](#surse)

## Four meanings, four winners

Press each definition. The winner and its explanation change, because each meaning measures something else.

### First city: Histria

*657/656 or c. 630 BC* CIMEC calls it the oldest town attested on the territory of present-day Romania. Settlers from Miletus founded it in the 7th c. BC. Eusebius gives 657/656, Ps.-Scymnos c. 630. Histria is no longer inhabited: it lasted until the 7th c. AD, then was abandoned.

### Still inhabited: Constanta / Tomis

*7th–6th c. BC, inhabited today* Settlers from Miletus founded Tomis in the 7th–6th c. BC. Constanta City Hall calls it the oldest continuous settlement in the country. The honest caveat: no habitation is proven inside the ancient fortified perimeter between the destruction of 679–680 and the 13th century.

### First record: Histria, in Eusebius: 657/656 BC

*two ancient datings, both cited* The oldest defensible date comes from ancient literature: Eusebius, 33rd Olympiad (657/656 BC), and Ps.-Scymnos (c. 630 BC). This page prints both datings wherever Histria appears. The single-year precision belongs to the ancient author, not to the dig.

### Medieval town: Arad, 1078–1081

*recorded as Orod; Oradea follows in 1113* Among towns with a medieval first record, Arad (Orod, 1078–1081) is the earliest in the table. Oradea (Varadinum, 1113) is often presented as the oldest medieval town, yet no checked source here uses that wording. This page shows it as claimed, without awarding the title.

## About 2,683 years on one scale

From Histria (657/656 or c. 630 BC) to today: 9 selected marks. Bars show how long each ancient citadel lasted, with the Tomis gap from 679–680 to the 13th c.; dots show the first record of six medieval towns. Touch a marker to see its record.

- **Histria** (657/656 or c. 630 BC – 7th c. AD) First attested city. Settlers from Miletus. Abandoned after the 7th c. AD.
- **Tomis / Constanta** (7th–6th c. BC – today) Oldest city still inhabited, with the caveat of the 679–680 to 13th c. gap inside the fortified perimeter.
- **Callatis / Mangalia** (second half of 6th c. BC – 7th c. AD) Settlers from Heraclea Pontica. Ancient habitation breaks in the 7th c. AD; the name Mangalia appears only in the late 16th c.
- **Arad** (1078–1081, as Orod) Earliest medieval first record in the table.
- **Oradea** (1113, as Varadinum) Zobor Abbey diploma. The oldest-medieval-town title has no checked source.
- **Sibiu** (1191, as Cibin) Pope Celestine III confirmation.
- **Brasov** (1235, as Corona) The 1235 deed.
- **Sighisoara** (1280, as Castrum Sex) The 1280 record.
- **Suceava** (10 February 1388) The Petru Musat deed.

## Four cities, in brief

Each claimant's record: date, proof, continuity and source.

### Histria (archaeological site, Constanta county)

Ancient name: Histria / Istros; Oldest date: 657/656 or c. 630 BC; Founders: settlers from Miletus; Proof: ancient literary + archaeological; Continuity: no: abandoned after the 7th c. AD. CIMEC; Eusebius / Ps.-Scymnos.

### Constanta (ancient Tomis)

Ancient name: Tomis; Oldest date: 7th–6th c. BC; Founders: settlers from Miletus; Proof: archaeological + literary; Continuity: uncertain: 679–680 to 13th c. gap inside the fortified perimeter. Britannica; Constanta City Hall 2021; Manucu-Adamesteanu et al. 2018.

### Mangalia (ancient Callatis)

Ancient name: Callatis; Oldest date: second half of 6th c. BC; Founders: settlers from Heraclea Pontica; Proof: archaeological + literary; Continuity: no: break after the 7th c. AD; new name from the 16th c.. Callatis Museum; Acta Arch. Lodz..

### Oradea (medieval Varadinum)

Ancient name: Varadinum (medieval); Oldest date: 1113; Founders: —; Proof: documentary record: Zobor diploma; Continuity: yes, as a medieval and modern town. History of Oradea; Crisana.

## Sources answer different questions

The contradiction is apparent. Each answer starts from another definition of oldest.

Histria wins as the first attested city, yet it was abandoned in the 7th c. AD. Constanta wins as the oldest city still inhabited, yet its continuity has a proven gap between 679–680 and the 13th c. inside the fortified perimeter. Mangalia loses both titles: Callatis is younger than Histria, and its ancient habitation breaks in the 7th c. AD.

False precision adds to the mix: Constanta City Hall gives Tomis the exact year 657 BC without naming the ancient source behind the year. This page prints both ancient datings for Histria (657/656 and c. 630 BC) and the 7th–6th c. BC range for Tomis given by Britannica and [romaniatourism.com](http://romaniatourism.com/constanta.html).

The right question starts with a definition: first attested, still inhabited, first record with an exact year, or medieval town. The selector above maps to four answers, each with its source.

## 14 candidates, one measure

Each city with its oldest defensible date, proof and continuity. Sort the table by date to see the ranking.

- **Histria (archaeological site)** (Histria / Istros), 657/656 or c. 630 BC; no; [CIMEC; Eusebius / Ps.-Scymnos](http://www.cimec.ro/web-histria/1sit/2_eng.htm)
- **Constanta** (Tomis), 7th–6th c. BC; uncertain; [Britannica; Constanta City Hall 2021](https://www.britannica.com/place/Constanta-Romania)
- **Mangalia** (Callatis), second half of 6th c. BC; no; [Callatis Museum; Acta Arch. Lodz.](https://www.muzeucallatis.ro/istoricul-cetatii-callatis/)
- **Arad** (Orod), 1078–1081; yes; [first official mention as Orod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arad%2C_Romania)
- **Oradea** (Varadinum), 1113; yes; [Zobor Abbey diploma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Oradea)
- **Sibiu** (Cibin / Cibinium), 1191; yes; [Pope Celestine III confirmation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Sibiu)
- **Alba Iulia** (Castrum Albense), 1206; uncertain; [Roman Apulum layer below](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alba_Iulia)
- **Timisoara** (Castrum Temesiensis), 1212 (some: 1266); yes; [Andrew II decree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Timi%C8%99oara)
- **Cluj-Napoca** (Castrum Clus), 1213; uncertain; [Roman Napoca layer below](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluj-Napoca)
- **Brasov** (Corona), 1235; yes; [Romfilatelia, after the 1235 deed](https://romfilatelia.ro/en/romanias-cities-brasov-2/)
- **Sighisoara** (Castrum Sex), 1280; yes; [Castrum Sex record](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sighi%C8%99oara)
- **Baia Mare** (Rivulus Dominarum), 1328; yes; [Charles I documents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baia_Mare)
- **Suceava** (—), 10 February 1388; yes; [Petru Musat loan deed](https://usv.ro/en/about-us/history-of-the-place/about-suceava/)
- **Targoviste** (—), 1396; yes; [Schiltberger account](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A2rgovi%C8%99te)

## How we know all this

Ancient dates come from checked site records and encyclopedias: CIMEC for Histria, Britannica for Tomis, the Callatis museum for Mangalia. Medieval dates come from each town's first documentary record, as cited by the table sources. Where sources give different values, this page prints both.

Two common claims are not printed as facts: Oradea's oldest-medieval-town title (no checked source uses that wording) and the exact year 657 BC for Tomis (Constanta City Hall gives it without naming the ancient source). Both are flagged as such in the text.

- CIMEC, Histria: the archaeological site record (in Romanian and English). http://www.cimec.ro/web-histria/1sit/2_eng.htm — oldest attested town; settlers from Miletus; Eusebius 657/656, Ps.-Scymnos c. 630 BC
- Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, s.v. Istros (via Perseus, Tufts). https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0006:entry=istros — Histria inhabited until the early 7th c. AD, then abandoned
- Constanta County Council, press release 16.05.2024, “Romania atractiva” (PDF). https://www.cjc.ro/dyn_doc/media/comunicate/2024/09_CP_16.05.2024_Romania_atractiva.pdf — Histria, first Greek colony on the western Black Sea shore, 7th c. BC
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Constanta entry. https://www.britannica.com/place/Constanta-Romania — Tomis founded in the 7th c. BC by Greek settlers from Miletus
- romaniatourism.com, Constanta (overview page). http://romaniatourism.com/constanta.html — Tomis founded in the 6th c. BC by settlers from Miletus; confirms the 7th–6th c. range
- Constanta City Hall, 2021 municipal report, p. 10 (PDF). https://primaria-constanta.ro/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/05.-raport-mun-constanta-2021.pdf — oldest continuous settlement; first record 657 BC
- Manucu-Adamesteanu et al. 2018, in Constantine's Letters, vol. 11 (PDF). https://www.constantinesletters.ukf.sk/images/issues/2018_v11_iss1/CL_v11_iss1_003to015.pdf — caveat: no proven habitation inside the fortified perimeter between 679–680 and the 13th c.
- Callatis Archaeology Museum Mangalia, history of the citadel (in Romanian). https://www.muzeucallatis.ro/istoricul-cetatii-callatis/ — Callatis, settlers from Heraclea Pontica; dating hampered by the three Amyntases; break after the 7th c. AD
- Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia, abstract of the Callatis study. https://czasopisma.ltn.lodz.pl/Acta-Archaeologica-Lodziensia/article/view/838 — probable foundation in the second half of the 6th c. BC
- Wikipedia, Arad, Romania (citing the first mention as Orod, 1078–1081). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arad%2C_Romania — Arad 1078–1081; the 1131 mention
- Wikipedia, History of Oradea; Crisana (citing the 1113 diploma). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Oradea — Oradea 1113 as Varadinum, Zobor Abbey diploma
- Wikipedia, Sibiu: timeline; romaniatourism.com, Sibiu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Sibiu — Sibiu 1191, Cibin/Cibinium, Pope Celestine III confirmation
- Wikipedia, Alba Iulia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alba_Iulia — Alba Iulia 1206; below, the ruins of the Roman fort Apulum
- Wikipedia, History of Timisoara. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Timi%C8%99oara — Timisoara 1212, Castrum Temesiensis, Andrew II decree (some historians: 1266)
- Wikipedia, Cluj-Napoca. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluj-Napoca — Cluj 1213, Castrum Clus; below, Roman Napoca, evacuated in 274
- Romfilatelia, Romania's cities: Brasov. https://romfilatelia.ro/en/romanias-cities-brasov-2/ — Brasov 1235, Corona
- Wikipedia, Sighisoara. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sighi%C8%99oara — Sighisoara 1280, Castrum Sex
- Wikipedia, Baia Mare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baia_Mare — Baia Mare 1328, Rivulus Dominarum, Charles I documents
- Suceava University, About Suceava. https://usv.ro/en/about-us/history-of-the-place/about-suceava/ — Suceava, 10 February 1388, Petru Musat loan deed
- Wikipedia, Targoviste. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A2rgovi%C8%99te — Targoviste 1396, Schiltberger account