top 5 empires

[bossx13]

How can you judge the top 5 empires that have ever been? i feel these criteria are the most important.
1. size of the empire
2. influence
3. number of people
4. architecture, art and culture influences.
5. time.

with this concerned i will list my top 5 empires.

#5. Egypt. all though small when it comes to size and ppl. Egypt has many acivments when it comes to the 4th catagory. the great pyramid is most likely one of greatest achievements of men of all time. the tallest building for almost 3000 years, and still one of the biggest buildings ever made. also significant contemporary religious references. the jewish ppl under moses left Egypt to the promised land. likly when ppl think about Egypt they think about great works of art and architecture. they where one of the first civilizations but not the great enoff to make it father up the ladder.

#4. Greece. the first land of science, democracy and philosophy. the greeks where best known for the thinking but at one point greece was the biggest empire of thier time after Alexander the great. alot of what we know today we take from the greeks.

#3. Rome. They where one of the greatest empires in both size of land and population. not to mention the very great influences they have had on our time. the history of western civilization is the history of rome. the most important empire of western antique.

#2. China, the longest lasting empire of all time. also the most populous empire of all time. China is a gerat contender for number one but is hindered by the lack of infulence on the modern world. for 5000 yeasr china has been china they have well over 1 billion ppl now and growing.

#1. the British. The sun never set on the British Empire. The biggest empire of all time. one of the most populated empires of all time. The hands down most significant empire in the modern world. half the world was drawn by the british. the most powerful country in the word is a direct by product of the british. the hands down greatest empire of all time. (in a war right now of the ppl of the list britian would win)

[jamessw]

At 4/7/07 03:42 AM, bossx13 wrote: 1. size of the empire
2. influence
3. number of people
4. architecture, art and culture influences.
5. time.

If you look at those factors, you'll also have to take into account the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan which had over 100 million people in its territory at its peak. For the time of this Empire too, some of it's ideologies were pretty advanced; all men equal under the law, no slavery, free trade, freedom from religious persecution etc.

[Arturus]

At 4/7/07 03:42 AM, bossx13 wrote: (in a war right now of the ppl of the list britian would win)

I'm not so sure.....China is quickly becoming a country that will soon rival America....I don't think England could stop them now, even if they wanted to.

plus, we know there are over 1 billion in China...that doesn't include the hundreds of millions that live elsewhere throughout the world..who would prove to be a political nightmare if a western country declared war on China

[jamessw]

At 4/7/07 04:09 AM, Arturus wrote: I'm not so sure.....China is quickly becoming a country that will soon rival America....I don't think England could stop them now, even if they wanted to.

China is also a nuclear power. No western powers, to my knowledge, have any significant military advantage over them.

[bossx13]

The mongols wher a great empire at one time but they had very little holding time. they are now the outcastes of the world they are now the mong (spell?) but they had a good thing going.

I missed steeped there i ment to say if there was a war at the hieght of there power Britian would win. because britian contorled alot of china for some time and they are the most modern empire.
also america would back England if they needed it. I my self would go to war for England if they chose to go to war with Iran because they are our allies. and when i say the british empire's reach everything the U.S has done is closely related to the British.

[fahrenheit]

1. Roman Empire
The largest and most culturerly diverse empire of its time, its sight ranged from the deserts of egypt to the marshes of england at its height. Romanism defined the modern world as we know it, definetly the most influential of all civilizations. Not to mention at its height no army could even challenge it, they wiped other civilizations off the map for some extra spending.

2. Khan Empire.
The largest empire ever, controlled a majority of Russia, including Asia and Europe. Started off as a horde developed by a peasant (Chengis Khan), used revolutionary and brutal tactics to quickly wipe out his enemies. After his death his empire divided, but still remained strong.
If they could have remained one then they would widely be known as the most dominent empire ever.

3. Greece (including the legacy of Macedonia and the city states)
The founders of democracy, this is one of the greatest empires ever known. The only reason being third is that its mostly remembered as the cousin of Rome and didnt have the power of Khan. But, what a few dont know is that Rome became what it did because of Greece, stealing many of their ideas in culture and war.

4. Pre-Roman Egypt
One of the oldest civilizations, definetly at the top of the most influential. They built two of the seven ancient wonders of the world, inlucind the still standing periods of Gaza(sp). They are definetly the most architectual, building seemingly impossible structures that architects are just figuring out how they did it. They didnt have one of the most powerfull empires, but they were definetly one of the most influential.

5. Nazi Germany
Yes, they are hated, but they were influential and powerfull. Their infamous blitzkreig stunned their opponents and their propaganda was perfect for breeding the ideal soldier. Probably one of the strongest empires, they led the other countries in scientific discoveries. At the time they had half of the living noble prize winners in their country alone. Even today they're remembered for their atrocious attacks as a reminder of what to avoid, still being one of the most influential empires.

Oh, and by the way, china hasnt been a empire for a long time, they had many dynasties for while.
Saying china has an old empire is like saying they all speak chinese.

[The-evil-bucket]

Why the heck can you not spell "People"?

[Brick-top]

At 4/7/07 06:58 AM, The-evil-bucket wrote: Why the heck can you not spell "People"?

#6 The Grammar Nazi Empire

What relevence does this topic have? It's a non-debatible thread. You are telling us the 5 best empires in the world where it seems that you have not done enough homework. So what?

This thread does not make sense. This is chubacca........

[ForkRobotik]

You didn't include the Ottoman Empire, which had an empire that spanned 3 continents for almost 1000 years! we wouldn't have clocks or combustion engines without them!

[2wiceBorn]

At 4/7/07 04:13 AM, jamessw wrote:

At 4/7/07 04:09 AM, Arturus wrote: I'm not so sure.....China is quickly becoming a country that will soon rival America....I don't think England could stop them now, even if they wanted to.

China is also a nuclear power. No western powers, to my knowledge, have any significant military advantage over them.

China has a stagnant economy, Military run like the old Soviet way (by members of a commitee), millions starving. The American military could destroy that of China.

[Draconias]

At 4/7/07 10:27 AM, ForkRobotik wrote: You didn't include the Ottoman Empire, which had an empire that spanned 3 continents for almost 1000 years! we wouldn't have clocks or combustion engines without them!

Yes, we would have them without the Ottomans. Mechanical clocks were invented by Europeans and were only very slowly adopted by the Ottomans and other Muslims, and even then in only limited ways (few to no public clocks). A small number of Ottomans did take part in the progression of internal combustion engines to the ones we know today, but they were by no means uniquely important in the process, which involved dozens of inventors all across Europe making step-by-step improvements.

[Arturus]

At 4/7/07 10:33 AM, 2wiceBorn wrote:

China has a stagnant economy, Military run like the old Soviet way (by members of a commitee), millions starving. The American military could destroy that of China.

Stagnant economy?......they are pretty much the fastest growing economy in the world. Maybe you should research a little more.

[ForkRobotik]

At 4/7/07 11:48 AM, Draconias wrote:

At 4/7/07 10:27 AM, ForkRobotik wrote: You didn't include the Ottoman Empire, which had an empire that spanned 3 continents for almost 1000 years! we wouldn't have clocks or combustion engines without them!

Yes, we would have them without the Ottomans. Mechanical clocks were invented by Europeans and were only very slowly adopted by the Ottomans and other Muslims, and even then in only limited ways (few to no public clocks). A small number of Ottomans did take part in the progression of internal combustion engines to the ones we know today, but they were by no means uniquely important in the process, which involved dozens of inventors all across Europe making step-by-step improvements.

Please read non-eurocentric history before posting such nonsense.

[bossx13]

In my opion most technological advancement are the result of previous ones and are biased to the time of the empire so they are not concedered as important as other factors.

the ottomans would likely be a close 6th but they where not a dominant empire of thier time the british crushed them in WW1. and

The nazti's where very influential and significant millitary achments. but they had no lasting power, it only lasted something like 20 years. there where alot of other empires with greater numbers during the same time (Russia China)

there is plenty to debate in this topic. history is a fact in that it has happened, what we think about history is very important and can differ greatly.

All empires have had diffrent leaders and dynesties. this makes it hard say how long an empire lasted. in my opion after the first emperor chin China has been china, if there was i time that china has changed the most it would have been recent, the communist revolution.

[Der-Lowe]

Persians, anyone?
And I wanted to say that the Greeks weren't an Empire, they even weren't a single nation, they were a bunch of cities that eventually fought together, but they also between each other, too.

[Slat]

At 4/7/07 10:27 AM, ForkRobotik wrote: You didn't include the Ottoman Empire, which had an empire that spanned 3 continents for almost 1000 years! we wouldn't have clocks or combustion engines without them!

Wrong, its almost 600 years..

and if Ottomans didnt take Istanbul from greeks and capture important trade routes, europeans wont even think of discovering new places.. Including America..

[Demosthenez]

Empires may be based on military strength but the most important aspect of empires is the culture and influence and learning they leave behind them, in my belief. For that reason you really have to start from the bottom and move up as to most significant empires/cultures in my opinion. Because history is the test of what works and what doesnt and what will be remembered. And the ancient empires have a LOT more history and trial and error of their ideas.

1) Greek/Roman (I combined them because they are virtually just an extension of one another and duh for why they are on here)
2) Persian Empire (In all its various forms until it is swallowed by the Islamic Caliphate)
3) Chinese (Were centuries ahead of the West in almost all catagories deserving of consideration for a significant amount of time, they obviously were doing something right)
4) Umayyad Caliphate (not as long lived as the Abbasid Caliphate but they spread Islam all over North Africa, Mid East, and Central Asia. Ruled HUGE swaths of land)
5) British/American (Probably the two most powerful entities on the world stage ever seen in human history. Never before this time was there ever a world hegemon or anything coming close to it)

At 4/7/07 10:27 AM, ForkRobotik wrote: You didn't include the Ottoman Empire, which had an empire that spanned 3 continents for almost 1000 years! we wouldn't have clocks or combustion engines without them!

1) 1000 years even on paper, no, not even close. 1000 years in reality, even farther from the truth. For the last century or so of their reign the Sultans power extended only marginally outside of Anatolia.
2) I dont know about clocks, but the combustion engine is a Western invention.
3) The Ottoman Empire may be regionally significant but the effect they have had on the world at large is marginal at best. They didnt advance any arts or culture, they didnt invent much of anything of significance, they didnt come up with any significant advances in the way we think, they didnt honestly do much of anything except conquest. They were in all honesty a rather stagnant, decentralized empire. Its a wonder they survived for as long as they did. So I would not even place them in the top 10.

[Eoewe]

1. Egyptian
2. Chinese
3. Roman
4. British
5. Mongolian

[pixelz]

The British was the most powerful empire ever, over all other empires because they had dominions all over the world, until all the fucking idiots in those dominions didn't want to be british anymore. England had the world! China is going to be the most powerful because they are taking over the economy.

[The-Yokai]

Hmm, in my opinion...
1. British...ever heard of "guns, germs and steel"?
2. Roman...that huge influence on today's world, plus it stretched around the Mediterranean.
3. Mongol...Had northern China, Korea, Russia, and Persia under control, almost Japan, and were looking towards eastern Europe.
4. Chinese...Most populous, and so many inventions.
5. Could be any number of things....I'd say the Greek Empire.

[TheCommunist]

I agree with fahrenheit's ranking of the empires. The fact that the sun never set on the british didnt mean that what they did was any good, the train of consequence that followed them has a far more lasting effect than Nazi Germany.

[D2Kvirus]

1.) Rome - most of Europe still uses the language (French is essentially Latin with a ridiculous accent, and there is plenty of influence on Spanish - before you get to the use of the Roman alphabet being widespread).

2.) China - mainly through the fact they repeatedly come up with great kingdoms throughout the ages, so rank high because of persistence. Over 4000 years of persistence, to be accurate.

3.) Greece - althought this is a bit of a misnomer as they were City States for a long time (and Alexander the Great was Macedonian, not Greek), the Greeks were the model that the Romans were based upon and did a lot to set the die for the modern world. Archemedes invented streaking, for example.

4.) Japan - again due to the long history of creating Empires (the best part of 3000 years), to create an influence when separated from the rest of the world at the time (that's a lot of water between them and the major landmass), yet were in dialogue with traders all the way from Holland and Portugal until the Tokugawa Period. Also anyone that can come back from losing WWII to become a dominant economic power deserves credit.

5.) The Maya - despite being separated from much of the world by water and rainforest (and large gaps of mountain and plainland), they were an advanced race that could come up with localised solutions to problems that confounded those who tried to move in. Shame about all that gold, though...

[TwO-FaCeD-PaRaNoID]

#1 Karel the Great's Empire.

Karel was one of the most succesful conquerers A.D. His empire was devided between his three sons after his death, but two of those still exist unto this day: France and Germany.
His Feodalistic system was so strong that it wasn't abolished until the French revolution.
His nobility existed for 1000 years.

#2 Arabian Empire.

During the life of it's founder Muhammed, it already conquered the whole Arabian peninsula.
They performed great works of science.
The influence of it are even noticable in the west.

#3 Spanish Empire

Ofcourse i've got to enlist an Empire that fell apart because of it's own succes.
The gold won in their colonies caused their economy to collaps, because nobody wanted to do the shitty jobs anymore.
The sun never set in their Reich.

#4 Nazi Germany
Conquering almost the entire continent of Europe in less then 3 years is memorable.

#5. The Dutch Empire.

I think it is one of the greatest empires ever, because this little shit hole dominated the world for a centurie, and kept on being influencial for another one.
Because of the succes of my ancestors, we are still one of the greatest economies in Europe, and we are still the mainport of western europe.

[Metroidgeek69]

um to jamessw comment, the United States still is the world's sole military superpower with forces stationed everywhere like in Germany, Great Britian, Italy, Greece, South Korea, Japan as power projection. The Americans have superior military technology and have a navy to boot. and to this empire post in general. Indeed the British had the largest empire on Earth with the Russian Empire bein huge as well before the Russian Revolution in 1917. One other empire that must be mentioned is the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire that withstood the test of time after the colaspe of the Western Roman Empire and lasted 11 centuries after. My people the Greeks were excellent rulers and were just and fair with our captial of Constantinopale bein the richest Medival European city and the most fortified at the time.

[SouthAsian]

In order of influence and chronological order

1.British Empire(Victorian period, also during the age of exploration)
2.Various Muslim Empires(Ottomans,Mughals,Ummayads,Abbassids)
3.Roman Empire(Western and Eastern empires)
4.Greek Empire(Alexander the Great)
5.Babylonians/Sumerians/Assyrian empires

[TwO-FaCeD-PaRaNoID]

The Soviet Union was enormous at it's top. Her influence was larger then that of the Us. The states had an Enormous Influence as well, but Soviet Russia had direct Influence, something that the US and A never had, or never will have.
They Threated Eastern Europe like their backyard, They could do whatever they liked with Central Asia, so the Soviet Empire was the greatest of the 20st centurie.

[iamclaudius]

Top five errr ... that's a tough one.

1.Egption Empire
2. Instead of Greece or the Macedonian Empire i chose Persia
3. Roman Empire
4. Instead of Mongolian
5. British Empire/America

I chose these more of the influence they all had towards the improvement of technology, the culture, the achievement they all made and why we have certain things we take for granted because of these empires. Also i had America and British as one because frankly i don't see a damn difference between an American and an Britain apart from his or her voice assent (plz don't argue on me on this it's my opinion and it just be interfering with the topic)

[Solidone]

At 4/7/07 03:42 AM, bossx13 wrote: How can you judge the top 5 empires that have ever been?
#1. the British.

British is definitely the best. we were just so good at trading and business and just generally running the world in an awesome manner.

[Sir-S-Of-TURBO]

At 4/9/07 07:28 AM, Solidone wrote: British is definitely the best. we were just so good at trading and business and just generally running the world in an awesome manner.

And that's why you're doing it today.

OH SH-

[Nasty-Nas]

The Huns and Mongols deserve some slack.