Your Favorite Empire

[The Archregimancy]

Not true. Both Mexican Empires lasted onlt 3 years.

Latin Empire of Constantinople lasted less than the German Empire as well.

1871 to 1919 is, what, 48 years?

The Latin Empire, meanwhile, lasted from 1204 to 1261, which is, I believe, 57 years.

Therefore the Latin Empire lasted some 9 years longer than Bismarck's German Empire.

And therefore, young man, your maths are incorrect.

Though Third Mexican Empire's point about the brevity of the two post-independence Mexican Empires is also well-made, I give you, ladies and gentlemen, an empire that lasted less than three years:

The Central African Empire of Bokassa I, December 1976 - September 1979.


Anyway, on the actual topic of the OP, I'm with William Butler Yeats on this one....

That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.

O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.

[Fedeledland]

I like the Spanish, Portuguese, Roman, Sassanid and British empires.

EDIT: I forgot the First Mexican Empire and, if literature counts, the Galactic Empire in Asimov' writings.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

I think this should be fairly obvious coming from me, but the Russian Empire, especially in the days of Peter the Great.

[St George of England]

I thought in terms of size the British Empire was the biggest?

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire.

But it wasn't the largest empire.

Latin Empire of Constantinople lasted less than the German Empire as well.

1871 to 1919 is, what, 48 years?

The Latin Empire, meanwhile, lasted from 1204 to 1261, which is, I believe, 57 years.

Therefore the Latin Empire lasted some 9 years longer than Bismarck's German Empire.

And therefore, young man, your maths are incorrect.

Feck. Really? I thought it was less, considering it was almost definitely doomed to fail.

[Farnhamia]

Latin Empire of Constantinople lasted less than the German Empire as well.

1871 to 1919 is, what, 48 years?

The Latin Empire, meanwhile, lasted from 1204 to 1261, which is, I believe, 57 years.

Therefore the Latin Empire lasted some 9 years longer than Bismarck's German Empire.

And therefore, young man, your maths are incorrect.

Though Third Mexican Empire's point about the brevity of the two post-independence Mexican Empires is also well-made, I give you, ladies and gentlemen, an empire that lasted less than three years:

The Central African Empire of Bokassa I, December 1976 - September 1979.


Anyway, on the actual topic of the OP, I'm with William Butler Yeats on this one....

That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.

O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.

Why, Arch, you old sentimentalist, you.

[Old Tyrannia]

I feel it rather unfair that the earliest known empire, Sargon's Akkadian Empire, isn't included. Neither is my own choice, the Egyptian Empire. In fact, many are left off the list; my top ten are below. *=On the poll.

1. Egyptian Empire/New Kingdom
2. Tang Chinese Empire
3. Roman Empire*
4. British Empire*
5. Byzantine Empire*
6. Tahuantinsuyu (Inca Empire)
7. Hittite Empire
8. Holy Roman Empire
9. Akkadian Empire
10. Japanese Empire*

[OMGeverynameistaken]

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire.

But it wasn't the largest empire.

Oh yes, the Brits beat the Mongols out by a FULL 100,000 square kilometers. So, basically, Wyoming.

[Farnhamia]

I feel it rather unfair that the earliest known empire, Sargon's Akkadian Empire, isn't included. Neither is my own choice, the Egyptian Empire. In fact, many are left off the list; my top ten are below. *=On the poll.

1. Egyptian Empire/New Kingdom
2. Tang Chinese Empire
3. Roman Empire*
4. British Empire*
5. Byzantine Empire*
6. Tahuantinsuyu (Inca Empire)
7. Hittite Empire
8. Holy Roman Empire
9. Akkadian Empire
10. Japanese Empire*

Because Sargon's father was a dung beetle and his mother a she-camel. And I'm sure I need not remind you of the three things the Holy Roman Empire was not.

[The Soviet Technocracy]

But it wasn't the largest empire.

Oh yes, the Brits beat the Mongols out by a FULL 100,000 square kilometers. So, basically, Wyoming.

That's a pretty big piece of land...

...kinda

Brits were white, thus superior.

[Republicke]

Oh yes, the Brits beat the Mongols out by a FULL 100,000 square kilometers. So, basically, Wyoming.

That's a pretty big piece of land...

...kinda

Brits were white, thus superior.

Plus they invented Thailand.

[Farnhamia]

That's a pretty big piece of land...

...kinda

Brits were white, thus superior.

Plus they invented Thailand.

Inventing a whole 'nuther country has to count for something. They also invented Kuwait, I believe.

[New Manvir]

RULE BRITANNIA!

Anyone who doesn't pick the British Empire is obviously a dirty Hun, or French.

[Cairuland]

I think that my favorite empire was the Holy Roman Empire, even though it was more of a confederacy than an actual empire.

[Farnhamia]

I think that my favorite empire was the Holy Roman Empire, even though it was more of a confederacy than an actual empire.

Well, you know what M. Voltaire said on that score ...

[Minnysota]

I think that my favorite empire was the Holy Roman Empire, even though it was more of a confederacy than an actual empire.

Was it the Holy Roman Empire that was responsible for the horrors during the Crusades, or was that just a bunch of individual kingdoms that listened to the Vatican?

[Farnhamia]

I think that my favorite empire was the Holy Roman Empire, even though it was more of a confederacy than an actual empire.

Was it the Holy Roman Empire that was responsible for the horrors during the Crusades, or was that just a bunch of individual kingdoms that listened to the Vatican?

The latter.

[Old Tyrannia]

I feel it rather unfair that the earliest known empire, Sargon's Akkadian Empire, isn't included. Neither is my own choice, the Egyptian Empire. In fact, many are left off the list; my top ten are below. *=On the poll.

1. Egyptian Empire/New Kingdom
2. Tang Chinese Empire
3. Roman Empire*
4. British Empire*
5. Byzantine Empire*
6. Tahuantinsuyu (Inca Empire)
7. Hittite Empire
8. Holy Roman Empire
9. Akkadian Empire
10. Japanese Empire*

Because Sargon's father was a dung beetle and his mother a she-camel. And I'm sure I need not remind you of the three things the Holy Roman Empire was not.

1. Which makes his rise all the more impressive
2. Yes, but I doubt anyone would understand what I said if I'd said 'secular German confederation'.

[Cairuland]

Eh...so it wasn't holy, or roman, or an empire...so it's sort of the ___ ____ ____.

[Albaron]

French Empire.

[Farnhamia]

Because Sargon's father was a dung beetle and his mother a she-camel. And I'm sure I need not remind you of the three things the Holy Roman Empire was not.

1. Which makes his rise all the more impressive
2. Yes, but I doubt anyone would understand what I said if I'd said 'secular German confederation'.

Yes, I suppose Sargon did do well for a barbarian. It's just ... those awful, awful Akkadian voices echoing around my temple and ... *shudder* It was not good times.

[Third Mexican Empire]

I like the Spanish, Portuguese, Roman, Sassanid and British empires.

EDIT: I forgot the First Mexican Empire and, if literature counts, the Galactic Empire in Asimov' writings.

Yeah! Go Mexican Empires!

[Ceannairceach]

I'm tied between the Byzantines, British, and Russians...

[Jolthig]

my favorite empire is the Roman Empire.

[The Archregimancy]

<snip>

Brits were white, thus superior.

Plus they invented Thailand.

No we didn't.

We invented quite a few places, but not Thailand. The Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya was founded some 300 years before the arrival of European traders in Southeast Asia. The sack of Ayutthaya, and its consequent replacement with the modern Bangkok-based kingdom took place in 1761, and was caused by a conflict with the Burmese, not the British.

It would be more correct to say that the primary reason that Thailand, uniquely among Southeast Asian nations, was never colonised by a European power is that it was a convenient buffer state between British and French colonial interests; but it wasn't 'invented' by either Britain or France. It was already there when we turned up.

I think that my favorite empire was the Holy Roman Empire, even though it was more of a confederacy than an actual empire.

Well, you know what M. Voltaire said on that score ...

Voltaire was correct for his day, but applying his 'neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire' formulation retrospectively across the entirety of the Empire's history is anachronistic.

From the accession of Otto I through to the death of Frederick II, the Holy Roman Empire was no more or less unified than many other Western European feudal states; certainly the Emperor's power often compared very favourably to that of the king of France. It's an oversimplification, but it might be said that where France started as a disunited feudal confederacy with a weak king whose remit barely extended beyond Paris, the Holy Roman Empire went in the opposite direction, with an initially strong feudal monarchy becoming increasingly weak. But even then, as late as Maximilian II in the 16th century, the Holy Roman Emperor was a serious European power to be reckoned with - and it would have been a very brave European monarch who would have gone unopposed against Maximilian's uncle Charles V (even if part of Charles' power came from his additional role as king of Spain). It was only the 30 years war which finally destroyed the power of the Holy Roman Emperor, and definitively turned the Empire into the loose confederation that we usually associate with it - but which only really encompassed the last 150 years of a state which had begun (in effective continuity) in 962 AD.

[Kyraina]

YOU CANT BEA THE YEW LONGBOWS OF ENGLAND OR THE FAmOUA OR INFAMOUS DENPENDING ON WHO U ASKED WILLAM WALLCE