Q of the Week - Greatest Empire?

[lentulus]

I meant within the period we're calling the 'British Empire', which is the last what, 400 years?  Meaning that as a power, it's never been beaten on home ground, whereas a large chunk of China was controlled by the Mongols at one point?

Followed by the Mongols becoming the next imperial dynasty; invaders of China have tended to be assimilated.  It's been argued that, were in not for the P&O line, the British would have been assimilated in India in much the same way.

[Leon]

Followed by the Mongols becoming the next imperial dynasty; invaders of China have tended to be assimilated.  It's been argued that, were in not for the P&O line, the British would have been assimilated in India in much the same way.

Weren't the upper classes of both the Indians/Brits firmly against any mixing between the troops and the Indian people?  Although, I suppose, given enough time, they wouldn't have been able to stop it anyway.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Sort of ....

IanS

[17-21l]

The British Empire - although not long lived it created the modern world, inventions, Political policies, freedom of speech.

[jchaos79]

achaemenid persian!

what a luxury!!

But the barbarian Alexander "the destroyer" end it up by force.

[Patrick R]

I vote for Rome.  It left a lasting impact and for centuries people yearned a return to this "Golden Age"

The Empire's legacy survived for more than 1500 years in the Byzantine empire, and after it fell, everybody styled themselves after Caesar, with Czars and Kaisers ...

[lentulus]

Weren't the upper classes of both the Indians/Brits firmly against any mixing...

I believe their wives were, more to the point.

[Sandinista]

The Chinese gets my vote, though from a european point of view you can't argue with Napoleon's, a lot of modern europe stems from then politically

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

I think we're seeing the British Empire from too close a distance to put it into perspective.  We'd need to be at least another hundred years down the track to come to a comparative quasi-objective view.

As far as the Romans were concerned their empire lasted until 1453AD (though largely titular after the Fourth Crusade) and left lots of countries jurisprudence, language base, script as well as lots of ideas that began to resurface in Western Europe with the Renaissance.

China as an Empire has to be considered extremely successful as it has managed to transform virtually all of its territorial expanse into a single modern nation state.

Regards

Edward

[Leon]

That's interesting, I didn't know the Roman's were still around in the 15th C.

I think China's acheivements within it's own boundary are good, but it's never really attempted anything on a global scale has it?

[lentulus]

That's interesting, I didn't know the Roman's were still around in the 15th C.

I think China's acheivements within it's own boundary are good, but it's never really attempted anything on a global scale has it?

Well, what does "attempting on a global scale" really mean?  No-one has tried an empire in which they were not aware of some bit they didn't try to conquer.  The most they try is to get the "good bits".

[Leon]

Well, what does "attempting on a global scale" really mean?  No-one has tried an empire in which they were not aware of some bit they didn't try to conquer.  The most they try is to get the "good bits".

In the sense that England/Britain, and many other European nations, have explored the world, influencing a huge number of different cultures on the way.  Whereas the Chinese Empire never pushed their boundaries to that extent.  It's a different level of ambition.

[lentulus]

In the sense that England/Britain, and many other European nations, have explored the world, influencing a huge number of different cultures on the way.  Whereas the Chinese Empire never pushed their boundaries to that extent.  It's a different level of ambition.

Or a different level of timing.  Who was it said that the British created their Empire in a fit of absent-mindedness?

[Leon]

Or a different level of timing.  Who was it said that the British created their Empire in a fit of absent-mindedness?

I've no idea on that one.

[lentulus]

Ah, here we go:

from http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article389186.ece

In 1883, Sir John Seeley published The Expansion of England, in which he famously observed that the English (or did he mean the British?) seemed to have acquired their far-flung empire in what he called “a fit of absence of mind”.

[Leon]

Haha!

For a 'fit of absence of mind' they did pretty well though?!