Favorite historical empire/nation

[No*s]

What Empire or nation has stuck out to you the most in history, if any?

For me, it's the Roman Empire. I became fascinated about it when I was real little. It was late enough that we had our yellow pick-up but early enough that it still had its original bed. That would put it in the 9-11 yrs. old category for me . We were listening to the radio (which still worked), and somebody mentioned "Latin." When I inquired what Latin was, my Father informed me that it was a language that people spoke a long time ago, but nobody really cared about now. Naturally, hearing it on the radio and being told nobody cared about it was something of an oxymoron, and it sparked a rather long-lasting interest for me .

Several things piqued my interest. These included the myth of Romulus and Remus being raised by a wolf, and the brothers' fighting and the outcome. Another was the event with Lucretia in the fifth century BC, when the overthrew Superbus for raping her. It sparked a revolution for "justice" and "freedom," good old American values. Rome, likewise, was quite brutal just like what I was used to.

As I grew, I ran into thinkers like Seneca and Cicero that would make a permanent mark in my thinking process. Cicero has a statement that I have tried to conform myself to (without much success, I'm afraid): "He who does not know both sides, knows neither side." Julius Caesar was somebody I admired up until my conversion, and whom I now look down on (except I must recognize the man was a genius just as much as he was a monster).

Rome is also the Empire that has lasted the longest to my knowledge. It lasted for two thousand years from the fifth century BC to the fifteenth century AD (the line between Republic/Empire is pretty blurry, and really, it was an organic evolution). It even became a multicultural multiethnic Empire for a period. This was so true that a Semite, Greek, and Latin could have equal standing legally at the height of its power (though the seat of power remained Graeco-Roman for a good bit...and it was hard for the Greeks to break into more than just being slave-educators).

It had a concept of liberty, even if human rights hadn't yet been invented. This was insured by a principle of lex rex, the law is king. Early on, the Empire was guided by written stipulations on how it was to behave and live. It began to morph into rex lex with Caesar, and eventualy an autocracy.

Rome was also the Empire the Ecumenical Councils occured under, and always when the problem disturbed the public life. Then the Emperor would summon them, and basically say "Fix it fast," and seek to enforce his conclusion (notably, Emperors were never successful at changing dogma). This symphony of powers has been a crucial, poignant force in Christian history.

Thus, we have some of my favorite empire/nation in history. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has something like that .

 

[SK2005]

I will have to agree with you on this one. I think that my fav is the Roman Empire, probably because I know the most about it than any other(s). And it is very interesting and fun to learn about!

 

[No*s]

I will have to agree with you on this one. I think that my fav is the Roman Empire, probably because I know the most about it than any other(s). And it is very interesting and fun to learn about!

Yes it is. The Roman Empire, both Eastern and Western, will always hold a special place for me historically .

 

[SK2005]

Yes, I am looking forward to learning more about it in my future years!

 

[No*s]

Yes, I am looking forward to learning more about it in my future years!

Good, I wish you the best .

However, do No*s a favor, and never talk about the "Byzantine" Empire if you can help it. Call it the Roman Empire, because that's what it was. Besides it furthers the good (and bad) things it did .

 

[meogi]

The Mongols.

The way they just seemed unstoppable back in the day... took over most all of Asia (minus Japan, silly Divine Wind) and good portion of Eastern Europe. They even scared Rome at the time... but they wern't just barbaric killers either, they promoted trade and foreign contact between all of Asia as well as religious tolerance. I really need to study more about them, if only I wern't so busy!

 

[No*s]

The Mongols.

The way they just seemed unstoppable back in the day... took over most all of Asia (minus Japan, silly Divine Wind) and good portion of Eastern Europe. They even scared Rome at the time... but they wern't just barbaric killers either, they promoted trade and foreign contact between all of Asia as well as religious tolerance. I really need to study more about them, if only I wern't so busy!

Yeah, Geghis and his son were quite the conquerors. I read in one history (I can't remember which) that a virgin could travel his empire with a sack of gold and do so unmolested. Genghis also cared only about the power and prestige from what I gather, but couldn't care less about the gold himself. That was important to keep his men behind him.

They certainly are an interesting empire, and so was their empire-builder .

 

[Druidus]

Damn, I was going to do this one! Naturally, I would say the Brittanic tribes, because of my heritage, but that wouldn't be very interesting. Hmmm... Roman Empire was ok, but still not my favourite... Carthage had a wonderful society, and a good war system to boot (War elephants anyone?). Greeks were a center of philisophical thought, and the sciences. The Ptolemaic empire was good, for the achievements it had. I'm probably going to have to say the Mongols too. They conquered more land than anyone else, ever, and might have taken Europe too, if Kahn had lived longer. Of course, if I'm going to be the leader of what I choose, it's Rome. Better managed, it could have ruled all of Eurasica (I made up a new word! ), though I wouldn't live long enough to see it.

 

[No*s]

Damn, I was going to do this one! Naturally, I would say the Brittanic tribes, because of my heritage, but that wouldn't be very interesting. Hmmm... Roman Empire was ok, but still not my favourite... Carthage had a wonderful society, and a good war system to boot (War elephants anyone?). Greeks were a center of philisophical thought, and the sciences. The Ptolemaic empire was good, for the achievements it had. I'm probably going to have to say the Mongols too. They conquered more land than anyone else, ever, and might have taken Europe too, if Kahn had lived longer. Of course, if I'm going to be the leader of what I choose, it's Rome. Better managed, it could have ruled all of Eurasica (I made up a new word! ), though I wouldn't live long enough to see it.

Sure there's plenty of interesting things about the Birttanic peoples from their conquests and migrations (a group of Britons settled on the coast of France, reconquered England, and permanently influenced our language) to their structures and buildings (I'm not sure if Stonehenge was created by the Britons, but if not, it was certainly a lively part of their culture).

On th ephilisophical thought, from the second century BC, almost every Greek thinker was also a Roman thinker .

Your word is also awfully close to an existing word to denote the concept. If you simply changed it to "Eurasia" you have exactly what you seemed to imply .

 

[Lightkeeper]

I have been fascinated by the Aztecs and remember when I was younger wondering why they were so much like the Egyptians and Incas. Joseph Campbell helped explain the common myths. Not only the myths were similar, but also the pyramids.

 

[No*s]

I have been fascinated by the Aztecs and remember when I was younger wondering why they were so much like the Egyptians and Incas. Joseph Campbell helped explain the common myths. Not only the myths were similar, but also the pyramids.

I haven't ever gotten my mitts on his works (there's so much to read), I don't see how the similarity of pyramids would really be anything but what we expect. The basic structure is observed everywhere we look in nature where something loose is simply piled up, like when we pour sand out or seed. It's a fundamentally sound structure. I would expect to see it elsewhere (the ziggarauts, for example, have a very pyramidic structure).

What fascinates me about the Aztecs is their weaponry. I read about the obsidian weapons they used, and I'm only impressed. Their sowrds were just as lethal as a European swords, but were designed to fight opponents without armor. Fascinating stuff...

 

[Jaymes]

My favorite is ancient Japan. The tales of feudal lords and nine-tailed foxes taking the shape of humans and demons just fascinates me.

No*s, have you heard the story about the Spartan boy and the fox? (I think Sparta is Greek, though, isn't it? I always get the two so confused!)

 

[michel]

I have been fascinated by the Aztecs and remember when I was younger wondering why they were so much like the Egyptians and Incas. Joseph Campbell helped explain the common myths. Not only the myths were similar, but also the pyramids.

Same here; i have always been fascinated by the similarities, as you say, between the Aztecs and the incas and egyptians. I remember reading about the Kon-tiki expedition, which further fueled my interest.
QUOTE: Encyclopedia Britannica;
Thor- Heyerdahl


http://www.britannica.com/ebc/art?id=11589&type=Aborn Oct. 6, 1914, Larvik, Nor.
died April 18, 2002, Colla Michari, Italy
Norwegian ethnologist and adventurer.

After a trip to Polynesia convinced him that Polynesian culture bore traces of South American cultures, he built a raft, the Kon-Tiki, and sailed it from South America to Polynesia in 1947 to demonstrate the possibility of such contact, a trip recounted in his best-selling Kon-Tiki (1950). In 1969 he sailed a reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian reed boat (the Ra) from Morocco to the Caribbean to show that the Egyptians could have had contact with the early peoples of Central and South America. In 1977 he took the reed craft Tigris from the Tigris River in Iraq across the Arabian Sea to Pakistan and back to the Red Sea to demonstrate the possibility of two-way trading journeys that could have spread ancient Sumerian culture eastward. Although he inspired many with his daring expeditions, his theories have not been generally accepted by anthropologists and his methods have been questioned.:tsk:

 

[No*s]

My favorite is ancient Japan. The tales of feudal lords and nine-tailed foxes taking the shape of humans and demons just fascinates me.

No*s, have you heard the story about the Spartan boy and the fox? (I think Sparta is Greek, though, isn't it? I always get the two so confused!)

I think ancient Japan fascinates a lot of people .

And yes, I've read that story. Quite a story, though. They raised their children to have some tenacity . I'd hate to be the guy on the other side of the Spartans in their early days (and yes, they were one of the Greek peoples )

 

[Jaymes]

Yea, the Spartans were scary little buggers. My World History teacher knew a lot of the gory details they didn't have in the books, and would always tell them to us in excruciating detail right before lunch. :biglaugh: After hearing about the way Assyrians invaded, I lost my appetite.

 

[No*s]

Yea, the Spartans were scary little buggers. My World History teacher knew a lot of the gory details they didn't have in the books, and would always tell them to us in excruciating detail right before lunch. :biglaugh: After hearing about the way Assyrians invaded, I lost my appetite.

Yeah. I get a kick out of people who think of ancient warfare as noble and whatnot, absent of dirty weapons like poison (in that case...where did those stories about heroes dipping their arrows in poison come from?) :biglaugh:. The Assyrians were particularly cruel IMO.

Now, on the Spartans, here is a story you might enjoy (not sure if you know it, and I don't doubt you might):

An observer, when seeing the carnage of the Spartans, asked, "How is it that these men could fight thus and die thus?" He was informed, "They did not want to be humiliated in the eyes of their lovers." (the No*s paraphrase from a long forgotten source).

 

[Jaymes]

Yea I forget where I read about it, but I've heard that homosexuality among the Spartans was pretty common. I was pretty surprised a few days ago when I learned it was common among samurai, too.

EDIT: A quick tidbit I thought interesting:

"Like the No theater, the Kabuki was also a form of entertainment performed by companies on stage. Originally it was women who performed the dance, but they were banned from performing as they were thought to corrupt public morality. It was then young boys, dressed as girls who continued the Kabuki. These two theaters made popular the admiration and love of the adolescent boy. They thought that the face of a young boy to be the ideal of feminine beauty. Both theaters were involved in prostitution of the young males. "Many men were so enchanted by the charms of the young boys that they ended up swearing their eternal love and wounding their arms." The "wounding of their arms" is a strange tradition of two lovers mixing their blood as a sign of their eternal love. Many rich men spent fortunes on these young actors for their love and companionship."

 

[No*s]

Yea I forget where I read about it, but I've heard that homosexuality among the Spartans was pretty common. I was pretty surprised a few days ago when I learned it was common among samurai, too.

EDIT: A quick tidbit I thought interesting:

"Like the No theater, the Kabuki was also a form of entertainment performed by companies on stage. Originally it was women who performed the dance, but they were banned from performing as they were thought to corrupt public morality. It was then young boys, dressed as girls who continued the Kabuki. These two theaters made popular the admiration and love of the adolescent boy. They thought that the face of a young boy to be the ideal of feminine beauty. Both theaters were involved in prostitution of the young males. "Many men were so enchanted by the charms of the young boys that they ended up swearing their eternal love and wounding their arms." The "wounding of their arms" is a strange tradition of two lovers mixing their blood as a sign of their eternal love. Many rich men spent fortunes on these young actors for their love and companionship."

That is true of many ancient cultures (the ancient Greeks made pedophilia an institution of the polis). Of course, ancient perceptions of marriage, love, and everything else were quite different from the modern conceptions, so naturally the application of homosexuality in the institutions was different (I know most about the Graeco-Roman situation ). In many ways, I think the ancients, Christian and pagan, would be appalled by how we look at the issue, both in the heterosexual sense and the homosexual sense (of course, the Romans and the bulk of Greek thinkers had little good to say about democracy either lol).

 

[Druidus]

When I said "Eurasica", I meant Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In terms of military, I'd go for the Spartans. Definately, in my opinion, the single greatest military force ever. They won, or severely hindered, the enemy, in places where their numbers seemed much to low to do anything!

 

[No*s]

When I said "Eurasica", I meant Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In terms of military, I'd go for the Spartans. Definately, in my opinion, the single greatest military force ever. They won, or severely hindered, the enemy, in places where their numbers seemed much to low to do anything!

Ah, well I stand corrected on the term .

Yes, the Spartans were amazing. I love telling people that three hundred men held off three million for three days. Then, when I finally explain the pass they used to do this, it doesn't lesson the feat. In fact, if it weren't for Ephialtes, they may have outlasted the Persian supplies. I give cuudoes to those men.