| Top 10 Cities of the Year 100 | |
| Name | Population | |
| 1 | Rome | 450,000 |
| 2 | Luoyang (Honan), China | 420,000 |
| 3 | Seleucia (on the Tigris), Iraq | 250,000 |
| 4 | Alexandria, Egypt | 250,000 |
| 5 | Antioch, Turkey | 150,000 |
| 6 | Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka | 130,000 |
| 7 | Peshawar, Pakistan | 120,000 |
| 8 | Carthage, Tunisia | 100,000 |
| 9 | Suzhou, China | n/a |
| 10 | Smyrna, Turkey | 90,000 |
Most Populous City Through History | Top 10 Cities of the Year 100 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1000 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1500 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1800 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1900 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1950
Source: Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census by Tertius Chandler. 1987, St. David's University Press.
