Big Cities

This list of the world's largest cities throughout history is as fascinating as Kottke.org claims. I'd like to read more about the compiler's research and standards (what is a "city"?), but even if he's off by a few years (decades, centuries, yadda yadda), I'm amazed at the early date of the first million-person city, at the fact that the big cities in one period weren't always bigger than the biggest cities in an earlier period (Black Death, Mongols, etc.), and at the duration of London's reign as the biggest. Also remarkable is the few number of cities in the West which have held the top ranking.