Gomel was founded at the end of the 1st millennium AD on the lands of the Eastern Slavic tribal union of Radimichs.

Archeological data have shown that the city was badly damaged during the Mongol-Tatar assault in the first half of the 13th century.

During the Second Muscovite–Lithuanian War of 1500–1503, Lithuania tried to regain Gomel and other lands transferred to Moscow, but suffered defeat and lost one-third of its territory.

In 1535, Lithuanian and Polish forces under Jerzy Radvila, Jan Tarnowski and Andrzej Niemirowicz re-captured the city after the surrender of Moscow's deputy, D. Shchepin-Obolensky.

From this moment on, the city became the arena of numerous attacks and battles between Cossacks, Russia and the Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth.

He and his sons held the city until 1667 and then began to serve under Alexis of Russia, however, after the Truce of Andrusovo Gomel at last returned to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where it first belonged to M. K. Radvila and then – till the annexation by the Russian Empire – to the Czartoryski family.

During the Great Northern War Russian forces under Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov stood in Gomel.

The period when Gomel was part of the Russian Empire was marked by rapid growth of the population, urban infrastructure, and industrial capacity, predominantly after the construction of railways in the late 19th century.

Nikolay Rumyantsev opened the first high school, hotel courtyard, glass, tile, distilleries, weaving and spinning factories, and he built a church, a synagogue, a pharmacy, a hospice and a permanent wooden bridge across the Sozh river.

However, due to lack of money, Sergei indebted Gomel with the state treasury of the Russian Empire.

Gomel Palace was acquired by Prince Ivan Paskevich, and the rest of the city by Nicholas I (1838).

[8] This was preceded by the construction of the St. Petersburg–Kiev highway and St. Petersburg–Sebastopol telegraph line, both of which passed through Gomel,[9] and the opening of a beet sugar factory.

[12] Preceding the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, on 1 March 1918 the city was occupied (the Executive Committee of the Gomel Council of Workers' Deputies had left already on 21 February) by German forces.

Rebels seized strategic facilities and executed members of the Soviet leadership in the city.

As a result of the disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on 26 April 1986, Gomel suffered radioactive contamination.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a scientific centre and practice for radiation medicine and human ecology was built in Gomel to overcome and study the consequences of the catastrophe at Chernobyl.

[15] The development of radiological dose values varies between individual villages in severely contaminated regions, depending on the surroundings and the economic orientation.

[further explanation needed][16] On 27 July 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was drafted.

Novobelitskiy district, which is located on the left bank of the river (i.e., towards the south), has elevations averaging 10–15 meters lower than the northern and central parts of the city.

[27] Like the rest of the central band of the East European Plain, the city has its minimum of relative humidity in May, which results from the rapidly rising temperatures and increased air’s water holding capacity.

[28] Unlike the eastern portion thereof, however, it does not have a second minimum in July or August as the temperatures are not high enough to dry out the soil to the extent where evapotranspiration drops significantly, thus preventing the surface layers of the air from moisturizing.

Winters, on the other hand, beginning in December and ending in early March, are generally marked by persistently gray skies, subfreezing daily means, and rather moderate snow depths.

Thaws are not by any means uncommon and only 48 days throughout the three winter months won’t have temperatures climb above freezing.

[30] Coming with the prevailing westerlies, the frequent invasion of maritime air masses from the Atlantic moderates the climate, explaining the mild winters and relatively cool, somewhat cloudy summers compared to those farther inland.

The city is an important railroad hub in the southeastern part of Belarus, as it is situated midway on the Minsk–Kyiv rail link.

The strategic location of Gomel near the border with Russia and Ukraine provides a direct connection to both countries’ vast railroad networks.

On 15 December 2010, following the construction of an overhead wire network in Egorenko, Sviridov, and Chechersk Streets, a new trackless trolley line opened to the terminus "Klinkowski Neighborhood," which resulted in a change of the trolleybus routes 9, 16, and 17.

Gomel is home to a wide range of sports facilities that have been developed and improved in recent years.

[citation needed] Gomel State Medical University provides classes in both English and Russian.

Since the topography of Gomel is relatively flat, the height of the surrounding buildings makes it easy to view the city from the wheel and the watchtower.