@ fasces
You’re right, mate, you’ve been the first to mentioned Rome, I just felt like 10 words weren’t enough.

@ goldfinger
The dates I wrote about are technically wrong. I am aware and I apologize for that.
I wrote about the time span of the whole Roman era.
753 b.C. is the birth date of Rome as city. “Ab Urbe Condita” according to Roman history.
Firstly it’s been a small monarchy for a couple of centuries, then a Republic (time span 500 b.C. to 31 b.C.) then, technically, an Empire as form of government from 31 b.C. until the collapse of the western half of the Empire, 476 b.C. …but indeed it’s in the Roman Republic period that the seeds of all the things I’ve mentioned in my earlier post have been sown.

About Carthage.
Yes, Carthage has been literally destroyed. It took a while to do that, 3 wars in 150 years. You know how it goes, when you cannot deal with your arch-enemy, it’s going to be you or him, “mors tua vita mea”. Had Carthage not been destroyed, Rome shouldn’t have conquered the Mediterranean sea “mare internum nostrum” becoming an Empire. I correct myself: had Carthage not been destroyed, it should’ve been Rome in its place.

About Art.
“Roman art borrowed heavily from Greek art that preceded it”.
Definitely true. The Romans are not primarily known in history to be artists. During the Republic, Rome came in contact with the previous Greek colonies in southern Italy and they assimilated Greek art, spreading what we call Classic art in space and time in the whole Empire and in the future centuries. Art cannot be a point against Rome. I do not recall one single form of Art left by the Mongol Empire, though.

About religion.
I’ve read in this thread Rome being called harassing religious minorities while Islamic & Ottoman Empire being introduced as religious tolerant… this is kinda funny.
If you lived under the Roman Empire you were not asked to worship Roman Gods. There has been repression, yes, but not primarily because of religion. Lack of tax income and threat for public order and stability of the Provinces have always been the actual reasons of inside-border repression during the Roman Empire. Eventually, under the emperor Constantine, 300 a.D, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire.
Byzantium, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, lasted for further a thousand years after the demise of the western part. I have visited Istanbul and I have seen with my eyes the fate that occurred to the symbols of Christianity after the so-called religious tolerant Ottomans successfully sieged Constantinoples.
Nowadays, two thousand years after Rome, religious tolerance is still a dream in ½ of the world. Not in the western half… It’s a shame for all Humankind, a shame whose roots are not certainly in the heritage left by the Roman Empire.

476 b.C., a typo. 476 a.D.
By the way. a.D. stands for Anno Domini.
Latin.
You're still using it English...

I like the British empire most, having the largest landmass of all, closely followed by the Mongol Empire, and I also like the Macedonian empire.

well I would start by saying the British Empire would be the most far-reaching as far as global influence, since it was the birthplace of the agricultural and industrial revolutions. That being said, it's hardly my favorite.

Mughal Empire- Many people mention the mongols, no doubt an impressive and long-lasting empire. However, I greatly admire the Mughal Empire in India, an offshoot of the ancient mongols. They ruled in India for about 300 years until the British in the 19th century. They were impressive architects, engaged in global commerce, a surprisingly sophisticated and refined culture, much more than the ruthless mongols, their ancestors. For many years also, religious toleration and cooperation (which was hard to be found anywhere in the world) was an important part of their society and greatly improved their society. However, like always, a couple bad emperors ruined all that.

Comanches- I also read a book about the Comanche Indian Empire, who basically ruled the southwest (U.S.) in a imperial nature. For hundreds of years, even though the Spanish who were the major colonial empire in the southwest, were forced to put up with Comanche dominance in all matters of trade and control of resources. The Comanches were the masters of horse culture in the U.S., which was responsible for their incredible power in the west. Every single Comanche Indian rode a horse!, and their were 3 horses to every person. Of course, this made them very powerful (militarily and economically) over other tribes, the Spanish, and it would have been the same for the mestizos and Texans too if not for uncontrollable environmental factors. Only because of many natural and geographical elements, such as diseases like small-pox, the western expansion of America and, consequently, other native tribes (which overtook horse and bison pasture lands), the decimation of the bison population, were the Comanches eventually overpowered. Without these environmental factors, one can reasonably assume that Comanches would have ruled for many more centuries than they actually did.

You from India Raro?

Largest Empires
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_empires

1. British Empire
22.63% world land area
20.00% world population
1938

2. Mongol Empire
16.11% world land area
25.60% world population
1279

3. Russian Empire
15.31% world land area
9.80% world population
1913

4. Spanish Empire
13.43% world land area
12.30% world population
1790

5. Qing Dynasty
9.87% world land area
36.60% world population
1820

6. Yuan Dynasty
9.40% world land area
17.10% world population
1290

7. Umayyad Caliphate
8.92% world land area
28.80% world population
750

8. French Colonial Empire
8.73% world land area
5.10% world population
1938

9. Abbasid Caliphate
7.45% world land area
20.00% world population
1258

10. Portuguese Empire
6.98% world land area
1815

11. Rashidun Caliphate
6.04% world land area
19.10% world population
654

12. Brazilian Empire
5.71% world land area
1880

13. Achaemenid Empire
5.36% world land area
17.00% world population
450 BC

14. Japanese Empire
4.97% world land area
5.90% world population
1942

15. Roman Empire
4.36% world land area
117

16. Ming Dynasty
4.36% world land area
28.80% world population
1600

17. Han Dynasty
4.36% world land area
26.00% world population
2

18. Nazi Germany
4.30% world land area
1942

19. Gokturk Khaganate
4.03% world land area
557

20. Mauryan Empire
4.03% world land area
43.30% world population
250 BC

21. Golden Horde Khanate
4.03% world land area
1310

22. Tang Dynasty
2.70% world land area
23.80% world population
715

23. Macedonian Empire
3.49% world land area
323 BC

24. Ottoman Empire
3.49% world land area
7.10% world population
1683

25. Mughal Empire
2.69% world land area
29.20% world population
1690

@DL - I agree with you on most of your points about the Roman empire, except a small part in your religious section. Constantine didn't legalize Christianity - he essentially just renamed all the old Roman idols after biblical characters and declared himself head of the Christian religion. This was a much more intelligent approach than Nero's or other emperors as it actually worked (quite a large amount of Christians turned to it for safety from persecution) but Christians who refused to worship him as God's representative were still persecuted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire

Well it sounds like the 4 most popular are Greek, Mongolian, Roman and British. Do we want to do an elimination game to determine which is the best?

@Fasces, I'll be the Mongol Champion.

No, I didn't mean diplomacy.

There is a forum game called elimination. Basically what happens is we create our list of empires and you give a +1 to one empire and a -1 to another. (with explanations) and the last one standing wins. Our list (based on all mentions in the thread above):
Greek Empire 10
American Empire 10
British Empire 10
Roman Empire 10
Mongolian Empire 10
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 10
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 10
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 10
Byzantium Empire 10
Israeli Empire 10
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

Greek Empire 10
American Empire 10
British Empire 11 (+1) Largest landmass, massive global influence, we speak their language today for a reason.
Roman Empire 10
Mongolian Empire 10
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9 (-1) rather insignificant, crushed by the mongols, haven't heard of them before they came up in this thread.
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 10
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 10
Byzantium Empire 10
Israeli Empire 10
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

Ahhhhhhh, okay. Now I understand.

Greek Empire 10
American Empire 11 (+1) (As far as power relative to rest of the world at time of dominance, the USA wins. Also, a reason that hasn't come up yet: it was/is (Puerto Rico?) very good at incorporating territory it acquired into the Empire as an equal partner. If you think about it, the move Westward was an Imperial conquest. However, because of the Northwest Ordinance, the Western states are not imperial colonies. Rather sane and equitable governance, and a good strategic move.)
British Empire 11
Roman Empire 10
Mongolian Empire 10
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 10
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 10
Byzantium Empire 10
Israeli Empire 9 (-1) To assert that Jewish thinkers are part of a collective unit that exercise cultural influence is a bit shaky, and Israel as a regional superpower is just too new to really count on this list.
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

"To assert that Jewish thinkers are part of a collective unit that exercise cultural influence is a bit shaky, and Israel as a regional superpower is just too new to really count on this list."
Maybe I should clarify that this was the ancient Israelites...

Ahhh, makes more sense. Was basing interpretation off of, "Plus they were able to keep their identity despite persecution and being driven from there traditional homeland. Only to make a comeback in the mid 1900s. despite how you feel about any modern controversies, you gotta admit that's impressive. To top it off many great thinkers, inventors, and even politicians have been Jews." from the previous page.


In that case, make my argument (-1) (Too small, purely regional. Cultural impact by its people, yes, but mainly after kingdom was defeated and dispersed by Rome.)

Greek Empire 9 (-1) Not even Greek really, Alexander was from Macedonia and not Sparta, Athens, Thebes , or any of the Greek city states that were really "Greek" as the Alexander and his people was considered barbarians by the Greeks. While mighty on the map at its peak. Once Alexander died, the whole emprie fell apart and civil war erupted. too much conquered, too fast leaving the subjects of the empire no stability
American Empire 11
British Empire 11
Roman Empire 11 (+1) One of the most stable empires in history lasting to 1453 with the Eastern Roman Empire. With one of the greatest miltary forces and the greatest engineering and technological state. It's no wonder after the fall of the Western Empire the time period is called the "Dark Age"
Mongolian Empire 10
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 10
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 10
Byzantium Empire 10
Israeli Empire 9
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

2 people have voted which means I am now entitled to another vote:
Greek Empire 9
American Empire 11
British Empire 11
Roman Empire 11
Mongolian Empire 11 (+1) largest continental empire of all time, tsubodai easily tops my list f greatest generals of all time, and as John Green put it. Its the Mongols:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxPar0BcMo
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 9 (-1) The reason Akkadia made this list is because they were the so called first empire, but we later established that Egypt happened before hand and therefore makes Akkadia's place on this list unjustified.
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 10
Byzantium Empire 10
Israeli Empire 9
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

Sorry if some of the reasons in this are invalid - I've not got time to go to wikipedia right now so I'm doing this from memory...

Greek Empire 9
American Empire 11
British Empire 11
Roman Empire 11
Mongolian Empire 10 (-1) While this empire was indeed impressive, like the Greek/Macedonian empire it owed all of it's success to one man. After Ghengiz Khan died, the empire crumbled incredibly quickly.
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 9
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 10
Byzantium Empire 11 (+1) Byzantium outlived the western Roman empire by almost a thousand years, despite attacks from barbarian tribes early on, Constantinople being sacked several times and it being attacked by crusaders and Islamic forces. It is possibly the longest lasting empire of all of these (although I am not certain how long the Indian empires lasted).
Israeli Empire 9
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

Greek Empire 9
American Empire 11
British Empire 11
Roman Empire 11
Mongolian Empire 10
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 9
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 11 (+1) History never was the same after Islam
Byzantium Empire 11
Israeli Empire 8 (-1) If you refer to the current country, well, I won't even say anything,(I don't wanna enter in politics) . And there was no ancinet "Israeli Empire"
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

P.S. I'm not muslim nor anything near, just in case you wonder.

"While this empire was indeed impressive, like the Greek/Macedonian empire it owed all of it's success to one man. After Ghengiz Khan died, the empire crumbled incredibly quickly."
I would disagree unlike Alexander, Genghis Khan was fighting wars on multiple fronts with multiple competent generals, and unlike Alexander, the empire continued to expand during the rein of Ogedie, Mongke and Kublai. The Empire peaked in size in 1294, 67 years after Genghis died.

I'm with fasces. Genghis Khan set the stage, but it's not like Alexander's empire at all. Genghis set up a new law code and a system to choose the next ruler, while Alexander did absolutely nothing to prevent a succession crisis after his death. It stayed united for a relatively long period of time, especially considering the distances involved, and the rather dumb rule that made everyone return to vote on a new khan every time the old one died.

Greek Empire 9
American Empire 11
British Empire 11
Roman Empire 11
Mongolian Empire 11
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 9
Egyptian Empire 10
Islamic Empire 11
Byzantium Empire 11
Israeli Empire 7
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

For ease, I'm putting my comments below. Mongols +1, Israeli -1. I think anything that needs to be said about the Mongols already has been. While the achievements of the Jewish people have been impressive, I have to say that I think they did better as a diaspora than as an empire. They top my list of top diasporas in history, though, so there's that.

I apologise - I'll retract my previous -1. I was under the impression the Mongols crumbled very quickly after Ghengiz.
I'll take my next vote now as well, seeing as two people have been:

Greek Empire 9
American Empire 11
British Empire 12 (+1) Patriotism may have a part to play in my choosing of this, but there is no doubt that the British Empire was one of the greatest empires in history. The fact that Britain itself is so small only makes this more impressive. The fact that English is the most widely spoken language today shows the incredibly long-lasting impact the British Empire had on cultures of people all over the world.
Roman Empire 11
Mongolian Empire 12 (retracted -1)
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 9
Egyptian Empire 9 (-1) As far as I can remember, Egypt was overrun several times during its empire period, by the Numidians and the Assyrians, and never really expanded anywhere.
Islamic Empire 11
Byzantium Empire 11
Israeli Empire 7
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

Greek Empire 9
American Empire 11
British Empire 12
Roman Empire 12 (+1)
Mongolian Empire 12
Chinese Empire 10
Persian Empire 10
Ghurid Empire 9
Japanese Empire 10
Ottoman Empire 10
Akkadian Empire 9
Egyptian Empire 9
Islamic Empire 11
Byzantium Empire 10 (-1)
Israeli Empire 7
Mughal Empire 10
Comanche Indian Empire 10

plussed the Romans because as said earlier, Religion, Culture, Legal System and politics of moder western civilization all branch from the Roman republic. I am backing Rome, Mongolia and Britain (as stated in my opening post) and will aim to make them finish first second and 3rd.
I gave a minus to the Byzantium because, based on all the Byzantium fanboys in civfanatic and paradox plaza, the most overrated empire I know of.

Okay, so what are the rules for repeat voting? I'm probably going to be backing 'Murrica, Britain, and Rome, so we've got a lot of agreement.

"Okay, so what are the rules for repeat voting? I'm probably going to be backing 'Murrica, Britain, and Rome, so we've got a lot of agreement."
2 people have to vote between you and your next vote.

So the next voter is allowed to be anyone other then me and Captainmeme since we were the last 2 people to vote.

Once someone else votes, then captainmeme (now being the 3rd last to vote) would be allowed to vote again.

@fasces
no, not from India- just studied the mughal empire in a world civilizations course

"@fasces
no, not from India- just studied the mughal empire in a world civilizations course"
Fair enough, just the only other person I know who has nominated multiple Indian empires for a greatest empire ever thread was from India, so I was just wondering if you had nationalist motivations for believing it.