Which country/culture in history has had the most influential/powerful empire?

[GB Boy]

Of course we have the Greeks and Romans that gave us the modern alphabet, wine and sewers (not to mention the roads!), and then there are there is the amazing Mongol empire of Genghis Khan.

Looking to modern times, USA and their economy, China with millennia of culture, art and influence or Britain and the colonial empire. But which nation would you say has influenced the world the most?

 

[Hot Mega]

Of course we have the Greeks and Romans that gave us the modern alphabet, wine and sewers (not to mention the roads!), and then there are there is the amazing Mongol empire of Genghis Khan.

Looking to modern times, USA and their economy, China with millennia of culture, art and influence or Britain and the colonial empire. But which nation would you say has influenced the world the most?

Great Britain. Primarily because her language is spoken almost universally.:2 cents:

 

[sproing99]

....and gave the world cricket, rugby and the appreciation for a good queue

 

[Neutron66]

Rome.

The Roman empire lasted in one form or another for almost 2000 years.

Rome lasted so long that if mankind manages to not destroy itself...in a few more thousand years history will refer to our time right now as something like the Early Post Roman Age.

 

[free4440273]

Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is a superb book :thumbsup:

 

[pussy+dickdenice]

Of course we have the Greeks and Romans that gave us the modern alphabet, wine and sewers (not to mention the roads!), and then there are there is the amazing Mongol empire of Genghis Khan.

Looking to modern times, USA and their economy, China with millennia of culture, art and influence or Britain and the colonial empire. But which nation would you say has influenced the world the most?

India. It gave the world, Zero (0); thereby mathematics, counting beyond the fingers and science.

The concept of zero as a number and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India where by the 9th century CE practical calculations were carried out using zero, which was treated like any other number, even in case of division.[7][8] The Indian scholar Pingala (circa 5th-2nd century BCE) used binary numbers in the form of short and long syllables (the latter equal in length to two short syllables), making it similar to Morse code.[9][10] He and his contemporary Indian scholars used the Sanskrit word śūnya to refer to zero or void.

dd

 

[Friday on my mind]

Great Britain. Primarily because her language is spoken almost universally.:2 cents:

While they started the reign of the anglo empire which the US now heads IMO the US and the history of the last century dwarfs everything that came prior.The 20th century has been history on steroids.Between the immense difference in technology and population that the 20th century and now the 21st have over the past is like night and day.People had relatively still lived tha same as they had for centuries till the late 19th century and that change just accelerated in the 20th.We split the atom ,went to the moon,population exploded,world shrank etc.Empires will never last the timespan they once did,everything just moves so much faster now.Comparing the ancient empires to the modern ones is like comparing the horse to the jet.The ancient ones don't begin to compare.It's like what I say about Jesus.Compared to when he supposedly visited lol to now hardly anyone was alive and the dilemas ( nuclear holocaust,climate change etc facing mankind) are just so vastly beyond now what they were then.

 

[Hot Mega]

While they started the reign of the anglo empire which the US now heads IMO the US and the history of the last century dwarfs everything that came prior.The 20th century has been history on steroids.Between the immense difference in technology and population that the 20th century and now the 21st have over the past is like night and day.People had relatively still lived tha same as they had for centuries till the late 19th century and that change just accelerated in the 20th.We split the atom ,went to the moon,population exploded,world shrank etc.Empires will never last the timespan they once did,everything just moves so much faster now.Comparing the ancient empires to the modern ones is like comparing the horse to the jet.The ancient ones don't begin to compare.It's like what I say about Jesus.Compared to when he supposedly visited lol to now hardly anyone was alive and the dilemas ( nuclear holocaust,climate change etc facing mankind) are just so vastly beyond now what they were then.

Hmm..well the question relates to the most influential/powerful empire...which to me are two, different questions.

In my mind, the British Empire is clearly the most influential empire in human history. And only very recently has that empire begun to loosen it's direct influence over vast parts of the world. The ability to successfully hold their reign over so many different parts of the world with different languages, customs and cultures from a fairly smallish island in the western hemisphere is flat out astonishing.

Their ability to connect the world through a common language is probably the most important accomplishment in human history.

In the proper sense America (the US) has never been an empire (proper) and I don't know that we actually count per se. We are certainly the most powerful nation in terms of our economic, industrial and military might the world has ever seen but even as such it's pretty plausible to argue the US would currently not exist as it is today but for the British empire.

The US is not even close in terms of most influential IMO. All of our culture comes almost exclusively from somewhere else.

 

[Jane Burgess]

Hmm..well the question relates to the most influential/powerful empire...which to me are two, different questions.

In my mind, the British Empire is clearly the most influential empire in human history. And only very recently has that empire begun to loosen it's direct influence over vast parts of the world. The ability to successfully hold their reign over so many different parts of the world with different languages, customs and cultures from a fairly smallish island in the western hemisphere is flat out astonishing.

Their ability to connect the world through a common language is probably the most important accomplishment in human history.

In the proper sense America (the US) has never been an empire (proper) and I don't know that we actually count per se. We are certainly the most powerful nation in terms of our economic, industrial and military might the world has ever seen but even as such it's pretty plausible to argue the US would current not exist as it is today but for the British empire.

The US is not even close in terms of most influential IMO all of our culture comes almost exclusively from somewhere else.

Nice posting :thumbsup:

 

[Johan]

In terms of size, The Macedonian Empire built by Alexander The Great is the greatest, ever : From Greece to India, including Egypt.

Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebannon, Jordany, Egypt, Irak, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan conquered in 10 years with only one army :bowdown:

 

[deltaoscarbravo]

As an Irishman, it kills me to have to admit this - I think that the British empire has had the most influential empire.
(only joking, although Irish, I have a lot of British in-laws : my grandmother was english born and when she married my grandfather she moved over here).

As others have said : the english lanuage, sports like cricket/golf/rugby have spread throughout the world.
Consider the Industrial Revolution : Britain was the engine for that huge leap forward :

Look at the areas of science (Faraday and the alternating/direct current : Alexander Fleming and pennicillin : Newton, father of physics ) and these are just a minute sample of pioneers in those fields.
Look at their literature (Shakespeare, Orwell, Dickens).

There is no field of human achievement where the British have not been to the forefront.

 

[Hot Mega]

In terms of size, The Macedonian Empire built by Alexander The Great is the greatest, ever : From Greece to India, including Egypt.

Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebannon, Jordany, Egypt, Irak, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan conquered in 10 years with only one army :bowdown:

As compared the North American continent, Australian continent, African continent, Asian and Central American continents by the British?

 

[Neutron66]

In terms of size, The Macedonian Empire built by Alexander The Great is the greatest, ever : From Greece to India, including Egypt.

Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebannon, Jordany, Egypt, Irak, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan conquered in 10 years with only one army :bowdown:

It also fell apart as soon as Alexander died.

 

[The Paulinator]

Egyptians are credited with inventing beer. I don't know if that's true, but that's reason enough for me:thumbsup:

:glugglug::beer:

And I think they went around topless:boobies:

 

[Facial_King]

I think it surely must be Canada.

 

[Hot Mega]

I think it surely must be Canada.

Good point!!! Kimberly Franklin, Shyla Stylez, Lanny Barbie, Lauren Phoenix, Sophia Santi, Zeina Heart, etc....

I'm sure they have been quite influential.

 

[Facial_King]

Good point!!! Kimberly Franklin, Shyla Stylez, Lanny Barbie, Lauren Phoenix, Sophia Santi, Zeina Heart, etc....

I'm sure they have been quite influential.

Sophia Santi is from Canada??? Ok, then, I wasn't joking!

 

[Hot Mega]

Sophia Santi is from Canada??? Ok, then, I wasn't joking!

http://www.freeones.com/html/n_links/bio_Natalia_Cruze.php

 

[Baill Inneraora]

As an Irishman, it kills me to have to admit this - I think that the British empire has had the most influential empire.
(only joking, although Irish, I have a lot of British in-laws : my grandmother was english born and when she married my grandfather she moved over here).

As others have said : the english lanuage, sports like cricket/golf/rugby have spread throughout the world.
Consider the Industrial Revolution : Britain was the engine for that huge leap forward :

Look at the areas of science (Faraday and the alternating/direct current : Alexander Fleming and pennicillin : Newton, father of physics ) and these are just a minute sample of pioneers in those fields.
Look at their literature (Shakespeare, Orwell, Dickens).

There is no field of human achievement where the British have not been to the forefront.

Gotta agree

 

[lovejoy]

I think it surely must be Canada.