Title says it all. Of all the nations that have existed in the past, but are no longer with us, which would you count as your favourite, and why? And to clarify, this can be any region that has been it's own nation at some point, be it a country, city-state or even a massive empire of some sort. The only condition is that it HAS to be a nation that doesn't, at this moment in time, exist anymore.
Your favourite "historic" nations
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The Roman empire. Sure, washing yourself with human urine was pretty gross, but the Colosseum made up for it. Also, there was Caligula, or as like to call him, "George W. Bush 2.0."
Athens is a good choice. I mean their whole "democracy" thing was roughly 20 years long and only applied to male citizens. And trying to play nice withe the Persians really came back to haunt them.
Sparta was pretty sweet. I mean except the whole beat and torture slaves thing, but no one is perfect. But the first implantation of heavy infantry formations dominated. And stabbing dudes with spears appeals to me in a Freudian sorta' way.
Can't go wrong with Rome. Those motherfuckers were brutal, but damn if beating the rest of the region to dust didn't work. Not to get political, but we Americans could learn a thing or two from them; if you have military bases in other countries to "protect" them, might as well tax them too. Harsh, yes, but history shows us the biggest fucker wins. Might as well go whole hog.
Golden Age European Islam wouldn't have been so bad. Again it was like 20 years long and benefited men more than women, but those were a decent 20 years considering the time. But then again, it was basically a second attempt to recreate Rome/Greece/Egypt with a few bells and whistles. Still, considering all of history, you could do worse.
Hmmm...Victorian England/New World would have been fun in a Lovecraftian-Sherlock sorta' way. But lots of poop related deaths and bad teeth. Can't imagine tongue kissing a woman who has never brushed. *Shudder*
Sparta was pretty sweet. I mean except the whole beat and torture slaves thing, but no one is perfect. But the first implantation of heavy infantry formations dominated. And stabbing dudes with spears appeals to me in a Freudian sorta' way.
Can't go wrong with Rome. Those motherfuckers were brutal, but damn if beating the rest of the region to dust didn't work. Not to get political, but we Americans could learn a thing or two from them; if you have military bases in other countries to "protect" them, might as well tax them too. Harsh, yes, but history shows us the biggest fucker wins. Might as well go whole hog.
Golden Age European Islam wouldn't have been so bad. Again it was like 20 years long and benefited men more than women, but those were a decent 20 years considering the time. But then again, it was basically a second attempt to recreate Rome/Greece/Egypt with a few bells and whistles. Still, considering all of history, you could do worse.
Hmmm...Victorian England/New World would have been fun in a Lovecraftian-Sherlock sorta' way. But lots of poop related deaths and bad teeth. Can't imagine tongue kissing a woman who has never brushed. *Shudder*
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Yeah, Rome probably sucked for a lot of the people living there but it was a fascinating state, from founding to it's eventual collapse. If Roman Britain counts as a nation then I'd definitely mention that, I would love to know what would have happened to the Romano-British if their culture hadn't been supplanted by the Anglo-Saxons. Would we be speaking a Romance or Celtic language now? How many nations would there be on the island of Britain? Possibly two, one covering where England and Wales is now, and another in the north for the Picts. So many what ifs!Queen Michael said:
I bias to say the Chinese Dynasty despite not knowing them in great detail (I always insterested in my heritage).
The Despotate Of Epirus, largely because of John the bastard, Despot of Epirus. You can't get a much better title than that.
Its "Other states possess an army; Prussia is an army which possesses a state" by the violent French right wing bigot, Mirabeau.G.O.A.T. said:
Personal favorite is the Tang, one of least corrupt, most open and marked an artistic flowering.Scarim Coral said:
The Aztec were pretty cool. History writes them off as barbaric, heart-extracting fanatics that were the -second- best pyramid builders in Mesoamerica, but really, they were actually quite civilized.
They waged wars only against those who openly challenged their rule; rival soldiers were captured for sacrifice rather than tortured, enslaved, or kept as political leverage (inhumane and brutal by modern standards, but necessary and honorable to them). The Aztec did very little conquering - rather than exterminate or assimilate other tribes, they allowed them sovereignty and autonomy, asking only for consistent tribute to the empire - hell, the Aztec even allowed their annexed tribes to retain their own religion and methods of worship, provided they recognized and adhered to the Aztec's laws.
They waged wars only against those who openly challenged their rule; rival soldiers were captured for sacrifice rather than tortured, enslaved, or kept as political leverage (inhumane and brutal by modern standards, but necessary and honorable to them). The Aztec did very little conquering - rather than exterminate or assimilate other tribes, they allowed them sovereignty and autonomy, asking only for consistent tribute to the empire - hell, the Aztec even allowed their annexed tribes to retain their own religion and methods of worship, provided they recognized and adhered to the Aztec's laws.
Whoa, whoa, WHOA. That's offensive, and a serious exaggeration. I mean, Caligula was bad, but he was no George Bush.Queen Michael said:
OT: Probably ancient Greece. Bedrock of democracy? Check. Bedrock of western philosophy and science? Check. Some of the best storytellers in world history? Check. Breathtaking architecture and art? Check. Basically invented the action movie one liner? Check. Routinely defeated the greatest empire in the world, armed with only salt and vinegar, giving us some the most epic battles ever recorded? Check. Did all of this despite being a disparate group of loosely associated city states that scratched a living of rocks? Double check. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you the Greeks.
Carthage is pretty cool to read about but Ancient China and their treasure fleets are really interesting too. I still love reading about Rome though.
TOO MANY CIVILIZATIONS D:
TOO MANY CIVILIZATIONS D:
Can't imagine any US president that could possibly be associated with Caligula. A horse for a senator, insecst, the invention of the finch tongue platter, crazy torturous Colosseum bouts, mandatory theater showings and you better clap!, making himself a god, his war on the ocean and his treasures taken from Neptune himself...
Now -- in a twist of fate that later Caligula, in other ways, he did set better efficiency with the armies and other reforms.
Now -- in a twist of fate that later Caligula, in other ways, he did set better efficiency with the armies and other reforms.
Hmmm...
I'll have to go with the Vikings, who wouldn't want to observe a culture that was never defeated, always feared, and they were too north for anyone to attack. Pillaged coastal towns. Drank heavy booze, bloodied each other up for fun, and who knows how vast their adventures brought them.
I'll have to go with the Vikings, who wouldn't want to observe a culture that was never defeated, always feared, and they were too north for anyone to attack. Pillaged coastal towns. Drank heavy booze, bloodied each other up for fun, and who knows how vast their adventures brought them.
Feudal Japan, definitely. Had a very cool aesthetic, the gorgeous Japanese countryside, the intriguing concepts of bushido and the caste system (as well as having an Emperor who was only sort of the one in charge), Samurai, and, of course, Ninja. It gave us tons of bad-ass Samurai movies, many of which inspired bad-ass western movies.
I also say that because it's a time peroid that doesn't seem to get nearly as much love as it should in gaming terms.
I also say that because it's a time peroid that doesn't seem to get nearly as much love as it should in gaming terms.
A culture that was never defeated? That would be pretty darned impressive... but the vikings don't qualify; witness Brian Boru and Alfred the Great. "Vikings" weren't even a culture; what they were was a pack of high-speed, long distance thieves. You could argue that they were a subdivision of Norse culture, but, again, the whole Christianization of Scandinavia (a fascinating topic, by the way) shows a great many defeats.MirenBainesUSMC said:
Still an impressive and interesting group, though.
My vote goes to Achaemenid Persia. If you're not familiar, read up on the Cyrus the Great. Then try to convince yourself he wasn't a twenty-first century time traveler. It really illustrates just how thoroughly the Greeks rewrote history to make so many people believed they were the civilized ones in their conflicts.
