Can't take it anymore

[Carlos Matthews]

The aim is for your cities to reach the maximum population level, whether it be 24000 or 6000, and then for population growth to stop completely. In cities such as Patavium or Alexandria this is nigh impossible so these cities should be your main recruitment centres, keep a constant full recruitment line and hope for the best. Now I haven't actually told you how to cap the population, for me it is a no-brainer, I rarely fail to cap the population with minimal effort. I either occupy or exterminate, slavery boosts population growth and you may be able to get away with it very early on, do slaves resource last for 25 turns or something similar? Turtling therefore not only makes your empire grow slowly but also your cities, minimal population-boosting buildings (farming/health) should be avoided and then you should easily cap your population at the highest tier.

[Megas Methuselah]

.... I never have this problem. But that's probably because I play a realistic game and don't blitz the map like crazy. Besides, whenever I capture an enemy town/city, I always exterminate the population if it proves difficult to control.

[Quirinus]

But doesn't turtling make your cities grow faster, since you don't have to churn out troops like crazy?