Count old city man earthly (9)

I believe the answer is:

tellurian

'earthly' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'count old city man' is the wordplay.
'count' becomes 'tell' (I've seen this before).
'old city' becomes 'ur' (ancient city state).
'man' becomes 'ian' (man's name).
'tell'+'ur'+'ian'='TELLURIAN'

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.