Geography is not only an ancient subject, but one of the oldest scientific studies in history. It's so old, in fact, that it becomes difficult to pin-point an exact era or location. Most of what we know about early geography is known through geographical texts and maps that have been preserved for thousands of years.

Almost all ancient cultures had geographical theories about the world. The ancient Egyptians, for example, viewed the Nile as the center of the Earth. The first maps, however, can be traced back to Babylon, and date to around the 9th century BC. The most famous of these maps would be the Imago Mundi, which depicts the Babylon and the Euphrates as the center of the Earth. Though these maps may not be wholly accurate, they prove that interest in geography was widespread in the ancient world - and, of course, vital for the maintaining of trade routes.

The Greco-Romans were also obsessed with geography, and there are a lot more maps and geographical texts preserved from this time period. Hecataeus of Miletus, one of the most famous cartographers of the classical world, would interrogate sailors in various ports around the Mediterranean to get a better understanding of how the world looked. The map he made shows a remarkably accurate portrayal of the mediterranean.

So the answer is that geography as an academic study goes back thousands of years, as the ability to map out and get a bearing of one's surroundings would have been paramount to early societies. As an academic study, it has, as far as we know, existed as long as academia itself has existed.