Greatest Empire ever

[@tt!tud3]

Now who do you think were the greatest empires ever in the history of the world. And I must admit that there have been some pretty good ones over time.

I say first off

1. Viking Empire; it was big, and it the Vikings were the dominant people for many hundreds of years. They were the ones that destroyed the Romans weren't they?

2. British Empire

3. Roman Empire

4. Ottoman Empire

5. American Empire

[nihil]

@tt!tud3 old chap, might I suggest that you invest in a history book or three and read them carefully

Viking Empire

no such animal. The Vikings were not imperialists, they went in for a bit of plundering and so on, but that was de riguer for the times. They were actually traders, colonists and farmers by nature. They never had an "Emperor" and their kings were not fully in control. The concept of absolute monarchy was alien to them.

American Empire

................should I move this to tech humour? The entire political structure of the US precludes them from imperialism. Incidentally, sticking your nose in where it is not wanted is NOT imperialism.

And there are a few other contenders:

1. Spain
2. Portugal
3. France
4. Mongols
5. China
6. Egypt
7. Persia
8. Moguls

And the Vikings never even met the Romans, by several hundred years

[dalek]

Yah, what nihil says....start here...To Rule The Earth

#1 British
#2 Soviet
#3 Mongol

Mostly because of land area and the period.

The Roman Empire ended because they were pooped and were open to outside invasions from the Germanic peoples (former serfs/slaves, people who didn't like the Romans) and they saw an opportunity to plunder the bloated and has been Roman Empire....

Another read:Roman Empire

I had to laugh at the idea that Vikings had any sort of an empire, I suppose some huts on the eastcoast of Scotland or Ireland might qualify for foreign land ownership???? The Vikings were mainly interested in taking what wasn't theirs, and pillaging/raping (this is where these terms originated, long before Pirates)....

[@tt!tud3]

LOL @ Nihil... your always saying that Im old chap...

The Viking people are believed to have started in Scandanavia connected to Germanic people

Could the Visigoths be the Vikings later on, because the Vikings are just a romantic name.

[nihil]

Thanks, dalek that list included all the other ones that I mentioned................"history is forever" is it not?

I would correct you on the Vikings though. I was born and raised in the city of York. It was a Roman fortress/garrison town and was called Eboracum. Subsequently it became a Viking settlement called Yorvik ("Alas! poor Yorvik, I knew him well, Horatio" William Shakespeare: Hamlet) and the name got corrupted to "York"

Now, my wife is from the west coast of Ireland, and was born in the city of Limerick. That was also a Viking settlement. Her capital city (Dublin), and my Grandmother's birthplace, is on the east coast, and was also a large Viking settlement. Please remember that they were a maritime nation, when those were very rare..........they had the Bawlz to cross the "poison sea" (the North Sea) in "big rowing boats"

Their style was to create small, stable farming and agricultural "trading stations" once this had been done they would just trade with the hinterland. This was mutually beneficial.

Much later, the European imperialists did much the same thing......a small enclave for shipping and trade. Goa, on the west coats of India is a good example of a Portuguese "trading outlet" of this type.

OK...........much later on, and China, we had free ports?

[dalek]

I would correct you on the Vikings though. I was born and raised in the city of York. It was a Roman fortress/garrison town and was called Eboracum. Subsequently it became a Viking settlement called Yorvik ("Alas! poor Yorvik, I knew him well, Horatio" William Shakespeare: Hamlet) and the name got corrupted to "York"

Hey nihil, I was speaking rather loosley about the vikings, I do know quite a bit about how they used to roam up and down both coasts of England and Ireland,(and go after those pesky monks) and eventually to Iceland, then Greenland and then whoops Newfoundland......or would that be Vinland ...

We still have the argument of who discovered North America first, was it in fact Eric the red or John Cabot.....the plot thickens.....I would go with Eric, as they have found the remains of Viking settlements in Newfoundland, so if they made it that far, it is quite conceivable they made it as far as Nova Scotia and maybe beyond?????....:-)

[Trevoke]

Originally posted here by nihil

And the Vikings never even met the Romans, by several hundred years

What are you saying? I played Civilization, I know how things are. Don't try to fool me.

[Egaladeist]

Depending upon the definition of an Empire...there is quite a few that can be added to these lists...I agree the Vikings were never an Empire...however...there are two ways to define an Empire...

1. A colonial power...eg. an expansionist Nation

and...

2. A cultural power...eg. an overwhelming or far-reaching culture

Under the second definition Greece and America ( as two examples ) would be considered Empires as their cultures were/are far reaching and in some cases over-whelming...the Sioux, the Aztec, and the Incas might also fit this bill.

The Vikings would not fit in either category...they were not expansionist, and their culture was not adopted by or consumed by other Nations.

Eg

[dalek]

Originally posted here by @tt!tud3
LOL @ Nihil... your always saying that Im old chap...

The Viking people are believed to have started in Scandanavia connected to Germanic people

Could the Visigoths be the Vikings later on, because the Vikings are just a romantic name.

@tt!tud3 If you are really interested in History, and don't want to get books, then go to this site Timelines and bookmark it.....there is a wealth of information out there regarding anything to do with History, it's a huuuuuge subject....

[|3lack|ce]

Greatest empires (In order IMHO):

Alexander's, which is the reason they call him 'The Great'.

Constantine's, Caesar's, Brittania, The Ottomans, and finally Napoleon's.

The rest weren't empires.