5 Most Powerful Empires

[Gauntleted Fist]

1. Mongol Empire (controled the world)
2. USSR (controled or influenced most of Asia, Europe, and some of Africa)
3. Roman Empire (controled most of the know world at that time)
4. Napoleonic Empire
5. British Empire (a lot of colonies all over the world)

You mean the world Rome knew. Rome was only powerful if you didn't pay attention to the rest of the world.

True, but Rome was similar in size and/or power to China and India at that time. Also Rome was the most influential Empire of it's time period so its the first thing that comes to many people's minds.

I thing fame has a bit to do with most powerful...

Rome influence was limited like all the other powers. Rome mostly influenced Europeans, China influenced east Asia, and India southern Asia.

Then why do we still use Roman Architecture (Classical) today around the world?

[Arumdaum]

The problem with the Chinese Empire is that they didn't really get out of China much,

I can't see an argument for not putting Rome up top, in terms of length, size and influence it clearly stands out. I'll accept the Mongolian Empire as well on reflection.

I have issues with the British as well, they were lucky to be placed off the coast of Europe in some senses, it was a naval empire otherwise they took land from poor competition, still, for influence..

So..

Rome
Mongolia
Britain for the top 3.

I can accept the Ottoman to some extent, but not sure if they make the top 5.

Persia
Abbasid - for influence.

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

[Arumdaum]

1. Mongol Empire (controled the world)
2. USSR (controled or influenced most of Asia, Europe, and some of Africa)
3. Roman Empire (controled most of the know world at that time)
4. Napoleonic Empire
5. British Empire (a lot of colonies all over the world)

You mean the world Rome knew. Rome was only powerful if you didn't pay attention to the rest of the world.

True, but Rome was similar in size and/or power to China and India at that time. Also Rome was the most influential Empire of it's time period so its the first thing that comes to many people's minds.

I thing fame has a bit to do with most powerful...

Rome influence was limited like all the other powers. Rome mostly influenced Europeans, China influenced east Asia, and India southern Asia.

Then why do we still use Roman Architecture (Classical) today around the world?

Because of the age of European Dominance. I didn't mean modern eras anyway.

[Odhinnia]

What ever happened to the Macedon Empire... Alexander the Great, Come on?

I vote for the Atlantean Empire... Im pretty sure it was fucking awesome.

Let's not forget Odhinnia... the Norraen Heidninn Keiserrike(Norse Heathen Empire) of Odhinnia has been known to be pretty powerful in Scandinavia.

[Maurepas]

The problem with the Chinese Empire is that they didn't really get out of China much,

I can't see an argument for not putting Rome up top, in terms of length, size and influence it clearly stands out. I'll accept the Mongolian Empire as well on reflection.

I have issues with the British as well, they were lucky to be placed off the coast of Europe in some senses, it was a naval empire otherwise they took land from poor competition, still, for influence..

So..

Rome
Mongolia
Britain for the top 3.

I can accept the Ottoman to some extent, but not sure if they make the top 5.

Persia
Abbasid - for influence.

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

I thought it was the Han?

[Lackadaisical2]

You mean the world Rome knew. Rome was only powerful if you didn't pay attention to the rest of the world.

Oh, yes, because we all know how stable China was at that time, what with it's highly respected and well-run military and strong, yet fairly progressive (Relatively speaking) state.

Well, it depends which era of Rome ... and which era of China ... you mean. From the founding of the Roman state to the final dissolution of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire is a span of almost two thousand years, and China has an even longer Imperial history. Both waxed and waned. Neither exhibited truly dramatic - or lopsided - influence on the other at any point during that span.

The problem I have with china is the literally hundreds of years that they spend as far from a unified nation/empire. If you look at it, it spent as much time in chaos as in order...

[Patoma]

1. British Empire
2. British Empire
3. British Empire
4. British Empire
5. America

The world speaks OUR language!

You are are an ego. Your country is the most messed up in the world right now.

[Arumdaum]

The problem with the Chinese Empire is that they didn't really get out of China much,

I can't see an argument for not putting Rome up top, in terms of length, size and influence it clearly stands out. I'll accept the Mongolian Empire as well on reflection.

I have issues with the British as well, they were lucky to be placed off the coast of Europe in some senses, it was a naval empire otherwise they took land from poor competition, still, for influence..

So..

Rome
Mongolia
Britain for the top 3.

I can accept the Ottoman to some extent, but not sure if they make the top 5.

Persia
Abbasid - for influence.

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

I thought it was the Han?

I meant about where the area of the Song. Han grew out of China.

[Barringtonia]

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

I thought it was the Han?

I meant about where the area of the Song. Han grew out of China.

I'm not sure I understand these 3 sentences.

[Arumdaum]

1. Mongol Empire
2. British Empire
3. Islamic Caliphate
4. Russian Empire
5. Chinese Empire

[Lackadaisical2]

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

I thought it was the Han?

I meant about where the area of the Song. Han grew out of China.

I'm not sure I understand these 3 sentences.

there's 3

[Gauntleted Fist]

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

I thought it was the Han?

I meant about where the area of the Song. Han grew out of China.

I'm not sure I understand these 3 sentences.

there's 3

I think there are eight.

[Arumdaum]

They're out of China today. China is mostly what made up the Song dynasty.

I thought it was the Han?

I meant about where the area of the Song. Han grew out of China.

I'm not sure I understand these 3 sentences.

Han grew into the areas of Vietnam, Korea, and parts of central Asia.

[Odhinnia]

Atlantean Empire
Macedonian Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Mongol Empire
Odhinnian Empire

[Barringtonia]

there's 3

I think there are eight.

Yeah yeah - I sort of meant posts as opposed to sentences *shakes fist at meddlesome kids*

Han grew into the areas of Vietnam, Korea, and parts of central Asia.

I just think there's some confusion in the distinction between the Han dynasty and the Han people

[Nadkor]

1. British Empire
2. British Empire
3. British Empire
4. British Empire
5. America

The world speaks OUR language!

You are are an ego. Your country is the most messed up in the world right now.

Oh, I don't know, I hear Zimbabwe's pretty nasty these days.

[The Parkus Empire]

1. Napoleonic Empire
2. Mughal Empire
3. Austria-Hungary
4. Prussian Empire
5. British Empire

How is it that the nation on the bottom kicks the crap out of the nation on the top?

Three Words: Napoleon is Awesome

You are right.

[Maurepas]

1. British Empire
2. British Empire
3. British Empire
4. British Empire
5. America

The world speaks OUR language!

You are are an ego. Your country is the most messed up in the world right now.

Oh, I don't know, I hear Zimbabwe's pretty nasty these days.

Which is Britain's fault! She wants to recolonize it, Mugabe told me so!

[The Parkus Empire]

1. Napoleonic Empire
2. Mughal Empire
3. Austria-Hungary
4. Prussian Empire
5. British Empire

How is it that the nation on the bottom kicks the crap out of the nation on the top?

they had a lot of help?

Particularly Russia. Giving them credit for winning the Napoleonic Wars would be like giving America credit for winning WWII in Europe.

[Maurepas]

1. Napoleonic Empire
2. Mughal Empire
3. Austria-Hungary
4. Prussian Empire
5. British Empire

How is it that the nation on the bottom kicks the crap out of the nation on the top?

Three Words: Napoleon is Awesome

You are right.

It is true, his influence is pretty far reaching too...He's still rumored to have died in New Orleans, for example,

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Ancient: The Roman Empire
The Greek Empire

Others: Spain during the Conquista
The Golden Age of the British Empire
The USA

[The Parkus Empire]

Napoleon was the world's greatest strategist,

Though that was not what he wanted to be remembered as.

he was just unlucky. At Waterloo, Field Marshall Blucher just so happened to arrive at the time he did, forcing Napoleon to use the Old Guard. Once they retreated, his army collapsed.

Bonaparte's mistake was dividing his forces in the first place. He should have thrown 'em all at Wellington.

Prussia was defeated numerous times during Napoleon's Reign. When the mobilized in 1805 (I think), they were defeated within 3 weeks, at Ulm.

Though Bonaparte would not have won if Frederick II were still alive, or, at least, that is what he claimed.

[King Arthur the Great]

1. Pax Americana
2. Pax Sinica
3. Pax Britannica
4. Pax Romana
5. Pax Mongolica

These are ranked in no particular order, but are rather used to demonstrate the varying factors that go into empire-building and the extreme typification of such factors:

Pax Americana was selected since the United States, as a political entity and nation-state, has existed for only 233 years at the time of this writing. As a result, it has the distinction of the fastest rise to power of any of the others, and of all is the only one that has never had any form of inherited monarchy or absolute rule, in addition to being the one that has maintained the longest tradition of constitutional rule. The nearest thing to usurpation of power by an individual was Abraham Lincoln's few declarations of Martial Law, which could have technically passed absolute scrutiny due to Congress's status of not being in session at the time.

Pax Sinica was chosen for duration of culture. While the other examples all have a single political system and clear handovers of power, China's long history is marked by continuation of cultural practices and national identity, which in turn overcomes the disruptive effects of political turmoil that was not seen when the Western Roman Empire collapsed in Europe. These clear notions of identity that were established in early Chinese empires, and continue to the modern day, show the stabilization effect of an imperial culture that endured.

Pax Brittanica was chosen for the sheer amount of absolute and relative control that it exerted. At its height, the UK controlled almost a quarter of the planet's territory and the same percentage in population. As a military power, it was unquestionably unequaled by any outside power, making security of the homeland islands the least troubled of any of the given examples. This, combined with the widespread influence in the forms of imperial measurements, the spread of the English Language, and the export of western customs merit recognition on the list.

Pax Romana was chosen for two important reasons: as an empire, the period from Augustus's victory at Actium to Marcus Aurellius's death marks the longest period of continuous political rule and dominance of any empire in history. When one includes the Roman Republic and Late Imperial Age, it becomes one of the longest lasting political entities of all time. Secondly, in the coining of the term 'Pax Romana', the influence of this time period and rule on history becomes disproportionately high. In essence, by becoming the measuring stick by which other empires are measured, it demonstrates is impressive influence on history. And additional, auxilliary reason is that, when accounting for relative levels of technology, internal advance, and scientific knowledge, the Roman Empire had the fastest rates of growth and expansion of any society relative to its time and geography.

Pax Mongolica stands as the example with the fastest rate of expansion and conquest. The vast size of the Mongolian Empire was reached within two generations of its inception, and while the Mongol people have existed as a people for a long time (thereby marking the distinction from America's rise from a literal non-existence less than four hundred years ago), their sudden rise to power and influence under Genghis Khan and his descendants represents an incredibly fast and impressive rise to power. Coupled with the widespread common associations of Pax Romana to Pax Mongolica and the significance of the export of that term, the Mongol Empire makes the list.

[South Lorenya]

If you include rome, you have to include china; even when divided (say, the three kingdoms era) it usually had some strong nations in that area.

[Null-A Renegades]

1. British Empire
2. British Empire
3. British Empire
4. British Empire
5. America

The world speaks OUR language!

Only because we wanted independence and then:
figured out how to fly
use electromagnetic waves and radio frequencies for data transmission
invented the internet
harnessed nuclear power
saved you twice in world wars and then kept you from having to learn russian
figured out how to transplant organs
cured blindness

ok, so we didn't necessarily do all those things... nor are any of them necessarily causal to the world speaking english... I just hope somebody laughed.

now seriously, what criteria are we using here?