Tigers are older than lions
The oldest fossils of tigers are indeed much older than those of lions. The earliest known tiger fossils date back to around 2 million years ago.
Tigers and lions belong to the Panthera genus, but the tiger's lineage diverged from other members of the genus earlier than lions, jaguars, and leopards did.
Depending on who you ask, the data differs significantly.
But it is always consistent in the fact that TIGERS are older than lions.
''The tiger and snow leopard diverged from the ancestral big cats approximately 3.9 Ma. The tiger then evolved into a unique species towards the end of the Pliocene epoch, approximately 3.2 Ma. The ancestor of the lion, leopard, and jaguar split from other big cats from 4.3–3.8 Ma.''
''The tiger
then evolved into a unique species towards the end of the Pliocene
epoch, approximately 3.2 Ma. The ancestor of the lion, leopard, and
jaguar split from other big cats from 4.3–3.8 Ma. Between 3.6 and 2.5
Ma, the jaguar diverged from the ancestor of lions and leopards.''
Tiger distribution map:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Tiger_distribution.png