Which empire did the most to push civilization further?

I now worship Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Mars, Apollo, Mercury, Venus, Diana, etc.

 

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Why isn't Egyptian and Chinese empire there? To me empires didn't do anything to push civilization further, only certain smart people did. Using the word empire is a discredit to great minds like Eucleds, Imotep, Newton, and that Arabian guy that further developed chemical titration. Many empires contributed many things in their own way but I have really high regards for the Greeks and Persians. 99% of the time empires weren't out to save mankind but to govern it, only certain ones like the Greeks ever payed real attention to civilization. Then, if you asked a Greek man to sail and capture the world, he would ask you "why?"

 

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How come they never did that to the Japanese? I'm sure the Japs were a sort of emipire too, with an emperor and all.

 

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By far the Roman Empire was the most influential in pushing civilization further. Western culture is based on the Roman culture. Ancient Roman works spurred the Renaissance. The loss of Rome is what plunged Western Europe into the dark ages - it wasn't Rome that did it. What a silly comment by G.F.S.

 

the Romans stole allot of stuff from the Chinese!

 

The Romans stole a lot of stuff from everybody. That was part of their secret for success.

 

Yes but the Pheonicians developed the modern form of writing as we know it.

 

everyone does, i dont see why that is an issue.

 

They stole the technique for writing on scrolls from the Chinese!

 

The Chinese didn't steal anything whatsoever.

 

The Romans probably mastered architecture and Politics but they also destroyed a lot of civilizations in their wars and endevours. Its hard to say okay this one empire further developed civilization. I mean, the Romans greed grew so further that it even collapsed their own empire. This is why a lot of societies would be no where without the great minds. There are many pivotal points in history's of empires that contributed greatly; that Egyptian Pharoah that decided to build libraries of Alexandria, the English gave us civility and common law, the French gave us democracy, The Greeks( where can I even start with them), and America gives us...blue Jeans.

 

The Chinese had those mastered 1000 years before the Roman times.

 

The French didn't give us democracy, that was the Greeks.

 

Greed was part of the problem -the fact that most stuff went one way, to Rome, and didn't circulate around the empire. But the fact it was so big and had an extensive frontier meant it was impractical to defend it from the movements of nomadic peoples, many from the Asian steppes: the Sarmatians, the Vandals, and so on. Many were conscripted into the military, some became leaders. Odoacer the Ostrogoth was elected leader in Rome in the 5th century by German troops, deposing the Roman emperor Augustulus.

The western Roman empire was largely overrun by "barbarians" from Europe -the Burgundians, Franks, Ostrogoths (who were adopted as mercenaries by the Romans) ended up running Italy.

 

I would go for the Greeks and their contribution to reason and logic. Two very strong corner stones of lasting civilization.

Though, I got reminded of Monty Pythons, the Life of Brian when I asked myself, "What did the romans ever give us?"

 

The Romans spread Christianity throughout Europe, and then their empire fell apart. It was a combination of the fall of the Roman Empire and Christianity, specifically the Roman version that was responsible for the dark ages, because doing almost anything resulted in either being burned at a stake or going to hell.

It was only when people started seeing the corruption of the Catholic Church and forming their own versions of Christianity aside from the Roman one that Europe was able to actually start getting somewhere again. Free from the legacy of Rome, Europe invented far more in a few hundred years than they or almost anyone had, well, ever.

Therefore, the Romans fucked up Europe for a thousand years, and you completely failed to see that.

 

The Roman Empire that lasted ~1000 years was eventually replaced by the Roman Catholic Church in the West.

The Papal States were a pretty small kingdom, but the Pope was a stabilising influence, because of the power of excommunication, which tended to keep ambitious rulers and princes in line. Mainly because being cast out of the Church meant you had no protection, from those other equally ambitious rulers who saw an opportunity to grab something while God had his back turned, as it were.

The Eastern half of the Empire survived as Byzantium for a few centuries, before finally falling to the Turks.
"The Romans" who spread Christianity were the Catholics.
The Dark Ages are bit of historical myth, largely.

 

do you mean Greek colonies? Marseille, Naples, Syracuse, to name a few...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Greek_colonies

there was no Greek Empire, but several ruled by Greeks
do you mean the

1. Mycenaean civilization
2. Achaean League
3. Delian League
4. Peloponnesian League
5. Boeotian League
6. Phillip's Macedonian Kingdom
7. Alexandros Magnus
8. Hellenistic Kingdoms; like Antigonid, Ptolemaic, Seleucid
9. Byzantine Empire

 

I see you stayed awake during history class; the Romans spread Roman civilization up to England, Germany, N. Africa, the Balkans, Asia Minor & Near East.

Roman citizens converted to Christianity on pain of death for most of the first 300 years, it was an underground religion (hence Catacombs), until Constantine legalized it, then made it the official religion of the Roman Empire, Christians did not become the majority until years later

The Roman Empire fell for a number of reasons, namely your anscestors had a hand in that, ever hear of Germans, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoths? of course not, we've already established that you were asleep during class. hence you speak English instead of Latin

the Romans made several mistakes; namely
1. they let Barbarians fight as mercenaries for them, taught them Roman tactics, stretegies and techniques
2. lead poisoning, they used lead for plumbing & water distribution
3. they became a welfare state, the citizens of Rome, needed food from the provinces to feed the masses
4. they became a welfare state, the citizens of Rome, needed mass entertainment put on at public expense (Coliseum)
5. they overextended themselves fighting the Parthians
6. they were a slave state, the rich had villas with slave labor, tiny middle class because of that
7. lack of innovation, what did they invent, refine or develop after concrete?
8. all empires meet there match or dissolve, hence no British Empire, in case you didn't notice

it took about 300 years to absorb the German tribes into stable states
* in 476 AD Odoacer overthrew the last Roman Emperor of the West, (the East kept going until 1453)

* Huns ~ 370 (Asian peoples, that invaded Rome & pushed Germans toward Rome)

* Vandals ~ 406
* Visigoths ~ 410
* Angles, Saxons & Jutes ~ 421
* Burgundians 429
* Franks ~ 429
* Lombards ~ 568

* in 800 AD Charlemagne crowned emperor (of a Frankish empire that took parts of Italy, & most France & Germany)

then the Vikings came & destabilized Europe again, first invading Britain in AD 793, then Ireland, France, Italy & as 'Normans' conquer Angleland in 1066

then the Black Death killed a 1/3 of Europe starting in 1347 A.D

enlighten yourself about the Dark Ages, read more history

 

The Greeks definitely win, though I don't remember a Greek emipire.