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List of largest cities throughout history

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Not to be confused with Historical urban community sizes.

This article lists the largest human settlements in the world (by population) over time, as estimated by historians, from 7000 BC when the largest populated place in the world was a proto-city in the Ancient Near East with a population of about 1,000–2,000 people, to the year 2000 when the largest urban area was Tokyo with 26 million. Alexandria, Rome, or Baghdad may have been the first city to have 1,000,000 people, as early as 100 BC or as late as 925 AD. They were later surpassed by Constantinople, Chang'an, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Jinling, Beijing, Edo, London (the first city to reach 2 million), and New York (the first to top 10 million), among others, before Tokyo took the crown in the mid-20th century. As of 2020, the Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37.393 million residents.[1]

Many of the figures are uncertain, especially in ancient times. Estimating population sizes before censuses were conducted is a difficult task.[2]

List of the most populous human settlements over time

The following table lists the most populous human settlements by estimated population at specified points in history according to three sources: Ian Morris, George Modelski and Tertius Chandler. City names are in bold where all three sources agree. It shows the evolution of the largest settlement from proto-city to city to urban area to metropolitan area.

Year Morris (2010)[3] Modelski (2003)[4] Chandler (1987)[5]
Population Name Present
Location 		Population Name Present
Location 		Population Name Present
Location
7000 BC [6] 1,000 Beidha Jordan [7] 1,000–2,000 Jericho West Bank      
Basta[8] Jordan
Çatalhöyük Turkey
6500 BC [7][9] 5,000–10,000 Çatalhöyük Turkey
6000 BC [10] 3,000 Çatalhöyük Turkey
4000 BCE 5,000 Uruk Iraq [7] 4,000 Eridu Iraq      
Tell Brak Syria
3800 to
3700 BC		 [11] < 10,000 Dobrovody Ukraine
3700 BC 6,000–10,000 Eridu Iraq
3600 to
3500 BC		       [11] < 10,000 Maydanets Ukraine      
[11] < 10,000 Talianki Ukraine
3500 BC 14,000 Uruk Iraq      
3300 BC 40,000 Uruk Iraq
3200 BC 20,000 Abydos Egypt
3100 BC 20,000 Memphis Egypt
3000 BC [12] 45,000 Uruk Iraq 40,000 Uruk Iraq 30,000 Memphis Egypt
2800 BC 80,000 Uruk Iraq Memphis Egypt
2500 BC [13] 60,000 Lagash[14] Iraq   Memphis Egypt
[13] 20,000 Nippur Iraq
2400 BC       [15] 50,000 Mari Syria   Memphis Egypt
[15] 40,000 Umma Iraq
Girsu[14] Iraq
Mohenjo-daro Pakistan
2300 BC       [16] 80,000 Girsu Iraq   Memphis Egypt
[16] 50,000 Mari Syria
2250 BC       > 30,000 Memphis Egypt
2240 BC Akkad[17] Iraq
2200 BC 50,000 Girsu Iraq Akkad Iraq
2100 BC 100,000 Ur Iraq Akkad Iraq
2075 BC 50,000 Girsu[14] Iraq
2059 BC Girsu Iraq
2030 BC Ur Iraq
2000 BC 60,000 Memphis Egypt [18] 40,000 Isin Iraq 65,000 Ur Iraq
Larsa Iraq
Girsu Iraq
1991 BC Ur Iraq
1980 BC Thebes Egypt
1900 BC       40,000 Isin Iraq   Thebes Egypt
Larsa Iraq
1800 BC       60,000 Mari Syria > 25,000 Thebes Egypt
1770 BC 60,000 Babylon Iraq
1700 BC 60,000 Babylon Iraq Babylon Iraq
1670 BC Avaris[19] Egypt
1650 BC [20] 100,000 Avaris Egypt
1600 BC 50,000–100,000 Avaris[19] Egypt 100,000 Avaris Egypt
1595 BC Avaris Egypt
1580 BC Avaris Egypt
1557 BC Memphis Egypt
1500 BC 75,000 Uruk Iraq 60,000 Thebes Egypt   Memphis Egypt
Thebes Egypt
1400 BC 80,000 Thebes Egypt Thebes Egypt
1375 BC [20] 100,000 Thebes Egypt
1360 BC 80,000 Thebes Egypt
1350 BC Thebes Egypt
1300 BC 120,000 Yinxu
(Anyang)		 China Thebes Egypt
1205 BC Memphis[21] Egypt
1200 BC 80,000 Babylon Iraq 160,000 Pi-Ramses[19] Egypt [21] 50,000 Memphis Egypt
Thebes Egypt
1188 BC Thebes Egypt
1184 BC 120,000 Thebes Egypt
1100 BC 120,000 Pi-Ramses Egypt   Thebes Egypt
1000 BC 35,000 Qiyi (Qi) China [22] 120,000 Thebes Egypt [23] > 50,000 Thebes Egypt
[22] 100,000 Haojing
(Xi'an)[24]		 China [23] > 50,000 Haojing
(Xi'an)[24]		 China
Memphis Egypt [23] 50,000 Chengzhou
(Luoyang)[25]		 China
Babylon Iraq [20] 100,000
900 BC 120,000 Haojing China Thebes Egypt
800 BC 125,000 Haojing China > 50,000 Thebes Egypt
700 BC 100,000 Thebes Egypt   Thebes Egypt
Memphis Egypt
Nineveh Iraq
Babylon[26] Iraq
Luoyi
(Luoyang)[25]		 China
Linzi China
668 BC [20] 100,000 Nineveh Iraq
650 BC 120,000 Nineveh Iraq
612 BC Babylon Iraq
600 BC 200,000 Babylon Iraq [20] 100,000 Babylon Iraq
Luoyi China
562 BC 200,000 Babylon Iraq
500 BC 150,000 Babylon Iraq [27] 200,000 Babylon Iraq   Babylon Iraq
Luoyi China
Linzi China
479 BC Babylon Iraq
460 BC Babylon Iraq
440 BC Babylon Iraq
430 BC 200,000 Babylon Iraq
400 BC 320,000 Xiadu China Babylon Iraq
320 BC > 300,000 Alexandria Egypt
300 BC 500,000 Carthage Tunisia   Pataliputra
(Patna)		 India
220 BC Pataliputra India
206 BC Pataliputra India
200 BC 300,000 Alexandria Egypt 600,000 Alexandria Egypt [28] 350,000 Pataliputra India
400,000 Chang'an
(Xi'an)[24][28]		 China
195 BC Chang'an China
190 BC Chang'an China
170 BC Chang'an China
160 BC Chang'an China
100 BC 1,000,000 Alexandria Egypt   Chang'an China
25 BC Rome Italy
AD 1 1,000,000 Rome Italy 800,000 Rome Italy Rome Italy
100 1,000,000 Rome Italy 450,000 Rome Italy
180 600,000 Rome Italy
200 800,000 Rome Italy 1,200,000 Rome Italy Rome Italy
280 500,000 Rome Italy
300 1,000,000 Rome Italy Rome Italy
340 Constantinople
(Istanbul)		 Turkey
350 Constantinople Turkey
361 300,000 Constantinople Turkey
400 500,000 Rome Italy 800,000 Rome Italy Constantinople Turkey
410 Constantinople Turkey
450 Constantinople Turkey
500 500,000 Constantinople Turkey 400,000 Constantinople Turkey
Jiankang
(Nanjing)[29]		 China
Luoyang[25] China
570 Ctesiphon[30] Iraq
575 500,000 Ctesiphon Iraq
600 [31] 600,000 Daxing
(Chang'an)[24]		 China 600,000 Constantinople Turkey 500,000 Ctesiphon Iraq
622 500,000 Ctesiphon Iraq
637 400,000 Chang'an[24] China
650 Chang'an China
700 1,000,000 Chang'an[24] China 800,000 Chang'an China
750 800,000 Chang'an China
775 600,000 Baghdad Iraq
800 1,000,000 Chang'an China 800,000 Chang'an China 700,000 Baghdad Iraq
833 900,000 Baghdad Iraq
900 [3] 750,000 Chang'an China 900,000 Baghdad Iraq 900,000 Baghdad Iraq
925 1,100,000 Baghdad Iraq
932 1,100,000 Baghdad Iraq
935 350,000 Cordoba Spain
1000 1,000,000 Kaifeng China [32] 1,200,000 Baghdad Iraq 350,000 Cordoba Spain
1013 400,000 Kaifeng China
1050 400,000 Kaifeng China
1071 400,000 Kaifeng China
1100 1,200,000 Baghdad Iraq 442,000 Kaifeng China
1102 442,000 Kaifeng China
1126 420,000 Kaifeng China
1127 200,000 Constantinople Turkey
1145 200,000 Merv Turkmenistan
1150 200,000 Merv Turkmenistan
1153 200,000 Constantinople Turkey
1160 200,000 Constantinople Turkey
1170 200,000 Fez Morocco
1180 200,000 Hangzhou China
1200 [33] 1,000,000 Hangzhou China 1,000,000 Baghdad Iraq 255,000 Hangzhou China
Hangzhou China
Kaifeng China
1210 260,000 Hangzhou China
1250 320,000 Hangzhou China
1273 432,000 Hangzhou China
1300 1,500,000 Hangzhou China 432,000 Hangzhou China
1315 432,000 Cairo Egypt
1325 500,000 Cairo Egypt
1348 432,000 Hangzhou China
1350 432,000 Hangzhou China
1358 Jinling
(Nanjing)		 China
1391 473,000 Jinling China
1400 500,000 Jinling
(Nanjing)		 China 1,000,000 Jinling
(Nanjing)		 China 487,000 Jinling China
1420 Jinling China
1425 Beijing China
1450 600,000 Beijing China
1492 669,000 Beijing China
1500 600,000 Beijing China 1,000,000 Beijing China 672,000 Beijing China
1550 690,000 Beijing China
1575 706,000 Beijing China
1579 706,000 Beijing China
1600 700,000 Beijing China 1,000,000 Beijing China 706,000 Beijing China
1635 Beijing China
1637 Beijing China
1650 700,000 Constantinople[34] Turkey
1670 Constantinople Turkey
1675 750,000 Constantinople Turkey
1684 Constantinople Turkey
1685 Constantinople Turkey
1690 700–800,000 Constantinople Turkey
1700 650,000 Beijing China 1,000,000 Ayutthaya Thailand 700,000 Constantinople Turkey
1710 Beijing China
1720 Edo[35] Japan Beijing China
1750 900,000 Beijing China
1775 1,000,000 Beijing China
1800 1,100,000 Beijing China 1,100,000 Beijing China 1,100,000 Beijing China
1821 1,300,000 Beijing China
1825             1,350,000 Beijing China
1,335,000 London
(urban area)		 United Kingdom
1841 1,948,000 London United Kingdom
1850 2,320,000 London United Kingdom
1851 2,362,000 London United Kingdom
1861 2,803,000 London United Kingdom
1875 4,241,000 London United Kingdom
1900 6,600,000 London United Kingdom 6,500,000 London United Kingdom 6,480,000 London United Kingdom
1914 7,419,000 London United Kingdom
1925 7,774,000 New York
(urban area)		 United States
1936 10,150,000 New York United States
1950 12,463,000 New York United States
1965 15,000,000 Tokyo
(urban area)		 Japan
1975 20,500,000 Tokyo Japan
2000 [36]26,400,000 Tokyo Japan

See also

References

  1. ^ "The World's Cities in 2018" (PDF). United Nations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. ^ Rosenberg, Matt (4 November 2019), "Largest Cities Throughout History", ThoughtCo, archived from the original on 18 August 2016, retrieved 28 December 2020
  3. ^ a b (a) Morris, Ian (October 2010). "Social Development" (PDF). Ian Morris. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. This contains supporting materials for the following book: (b) Morris, Ian (2010). Why the West Rules—For Now. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-29002-3.
  4. ^ Modelski, George (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000. Washington DC: Faros2000. ISBN 0-9676230-1-4. Figures in main tables are preferentially cited. Part of former estimates can be read at Modelski, George (12 January 2008). "The Evolutionary World Politics Homepage". The Evolutionary World Politics Homepage. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008.
  5. ^ Chandler, Tertius (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0-88946-207-0. Chandler defined a city as a continuously built-up area (urban) with suburbs but without farmland inside the municipality. Figures in main tables are preferentially cited. Part of Chandler's estimates are summarized or modified at: (a) Chase-Dunn, Christopher. "Polities and Settlements Research Working Group". The Institute for Research on World-Systems. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022. (b) Rosenberg, Matt (4 November 2019). "Largest Cities Throughout History: Determining population prior to census-taking was no easy task". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020. (c) "Populations of Largest Cities in PMNs from 2000BC to 1988AD". Etext Archives. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008.
  6. ^ The date that the population of Beidha, Basta and Çatalhöyük is estimated to be 1,000 is given as 7500 BC in Morris's published text (p. 632).
  7. ^ a b c Suggested to be the largest cities in Modelski's text, but not given constantly prior to 3700 BC (p. 3, p. 17, and p. 20). No entry is suggested for the Halafian and Ubaid periods.
  8. ^ A Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement located ca. 25 km north of Petra.
  9. ^ The rough year that Çatalhöyük was supposed to be the largest is not given in Modelski's text which cites Ian Hodder's report (p. 3 and p. 17). The year 6500 BC is based on the recent report by Hodder (Inhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995–99 Seasons (Çatalhöyük Research Project), Cambridge, UK: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, 2005.) where less inhabitants (1,500 to 2,000) are suggested by Craig Cessford (pp. 323–326).
  10. ^ The date that the population of Çatalhöyük is estimated to be 3,000 is given as 6500 BC in Morris's published text (p. 632).
  11. ^ a b c Suggested to be housing up to 10,000 people in Modelski's text (pp. 24–25), but only Eridu is listed as the largest city in Table 2 (a) (p. 22). The estimate is based on the author's personal communication with Mikhail Videiko, Institute of Archaeology, Kiev, October 2002 (p. 75). The previous estimates by S. I. Kruts for Maydanets and Talianki are 8,000 (1,575 housed within 270 ha) and 14,000 (2,700 houses within 450 ha), respectively (Pitskhelauri, K. N., and Chernykh, E. N. Eds., Kavkaz v sisteme paleometallicheskikh kultur Evrazii, Metsniereba, Tbilisi, 1989, pp. 146–156.).
  12. ^ Suggested to be more than 45,000 in Morris's published text (p. 632).
  13. ^ a b According to Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 218), Nippur shares the top with Lagash with 60,000 inhabitants in 2500 BC, though Table 2 (b) suggests that the population of Nippur is 20,000, the value of which is even lower than those estimated for Mari (50,000); Uruk and Umma (40,000); Memphis, Ebla, Urkesh, and Shuruppak (30,000) (p. 28).
  14. ^ a b c Girsu (Telloh), the later capital of the state of Lagash, was situated 25 km NW of Lagash (Tell al Hiba), though both sites are frequently referred as Lagash.
  15. ^ a b According to Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 218), Girsu shares the top with Mari with 50,000 inhabitants, though Table 2 (b) suggests that the population of Girsu as well as Umma and Mohenjo-daro is 40,000 (p. 28).
  16. ^ a b According to Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 218), the population of Girsu for 2300 BC is estimated as 50,000, which is less than that appears in Table 2 (b) and is the same value with that estimated for Mari (p. 28).
  17. ^ Location uncertain. Maybe west of Sippar.
  18. ^ Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 218) excludes Girsu for 2000 BCE, though Table 2 (b) lists Girsu with 40,000 inhabitants (p. 28), sharing the top with Isin and Larsa.
  19. ^ a b c The palace of Pi-Ramses (Qantir) was founded 2 km NE of Avaris (or Hawaret, Tell el-Dab'a), the residential area of which overlaps.
  20. ^ a b c d e When the city first passed 100,000, suggested by Richard Forstall (pp. 541–542).
  21. ^ a b According to Chandler's list of the largest cities (pp. 523–527), Thebes was the largest for 1400–668 BC, but Memphis was also supposed to be somewhat larger during 1205–1188 (p. 94, p. 460).
  22. ^ a b Modelski's list of the world's largest cities treats Thebes and Haojing as the top cities with 100,000 inhabitants (p. 218), though the same list on the next page (p. 219) as well as Table 2 (c) place the population of Thebes at 120,000, while that for Haojing as well as Memphis and Babylon at 100,000 (pp. 33–34).
  23. ^ a b c Chandler listed Thebes, Haojing, and Chengzhou (Luoyang) as the largest, second-largest, and third-largest cities (p. 460), though Luoyang is supposed to pass 100,000 in 1000 BC (p. 541).
  24. ^ a b c d e f Haojing, which formed the capital of Western Zhou together with Fenghao, was located 15 km SW of Chang'an, the capital of Tang Dynasty as well as the present center of Xi'an. Han capital was located 5 km NW of the center of modern Xi'an. All these sites are now within the sub-provincial city of Xi'an.
  25. ^ a b c Chengzhou was founded on the east side of the Luo river with Wangzheng on the west side. Both cities were later annexed to form Luoyi (Luoyang), the center of which has often shifted.
  26. ^ According to Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 219), the population of Babylon for 700 BC is estimated as 120,000, which makes Babylon the only city to appear as the largest, while Table 8 (a) shows that Babylon has 100,000 inhabitants in 700 BC (p. 55).
  27. ^ Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 219) excludes Linzi for 500 BC, though Table 5 (a) lists Linzi with 200,000 inhabitants (p. 41).
  28. ^ a b According to Chandler's list of the largest cities (pp. 523–527), Pataliputra was the largest for 300 to 195 BC, but Chang'an is listed as the largest already in 200 BC (p. 462).
  29. ^ Based on historical documents, in Southern Liang dynasty, Jiankang (Nanjing) had 280,000 registered households, and assuming an average Nanjing household had about 5.1 people at that time, the city had more than 1.4 million residents. (Shufen Liu, "Jiankang and the Commercial Empire of the Southern Dynasties", in Pearce, Spiro, Ebrey eds. Culture and Power, 2001:35.)
  30. ^ Seleucia was founded on the right bank of Tigris opposite to Ctesiphon. Figures for Seleucia include the population of Ctesiphon as a suburb during the Seleucid era and vice versa during the Sassanid era.
  31. ^ The population of Daxing (Chang'an) in AD 600 is estimated at 250,000 in Morris's published text (p. 632), while the supporting material describes 600,000.
  32. ^ Modelski's list of world's largest cities (p. 219) estimates the population of Baghdad for AD 1000 as 1,500,000, which is much higher than the value listed in Table 8 (b) (1,200,000 inhabitants) (p. 55).
  33. ^ The population of Hangzhou in AD 1200 is estimated at 800,000 in Morris's published text (p. 632), while the supporting material describes 1,000,000.
  34. ^ Includes Üsküdar in Asia Minor as a suburb.
  35. ^ According to Morris (p. 483), Edo grew into the world's biggest city by 1720, but the estimated population for Edo is not given.
  36. ^ The population of Tokyo in AD 2000 is estimated at 26,700,000 in Morris's published text (p. 632), while the supporting material describes 26,400,000.
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