The Greatest Empire?

[Lumine]

Rome and nothing but Rome.

Whereas you can make an argument for Achaemenid Persia, Alexander's Macedonian Empire and particularly the Mongols in terms of extension, it is Rome that has survived them all in spirit in a way that has shaped Western Civilization to its very core, to me representing something even larger and more valuable than Christianity.

You can make a similar argument for China in the sense that it created unity, lasted for a rather long period, gave us many valuable technological and cultural advancement and shaped the Eastern world, but it's not the same to me.

As history moves ahead hundreds and thousands of years, we'll still remember Rome as a central part of the world's identity on account of its length, scope and legacy. We'll remember the British Empire or the Mongol Empire as well, but I'm not convinced we will remember them in quite the same way...