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People often say (and i agree) that the US is the most powerful nation on the face of the earth.
But has it been the most influental?
In all of history?
This is kind of a random thought on my part (and not just about military might), so i'm not really sure what criteria one might apply in answering, i leave that to anyone who answers.

And yes, i understand there's a difference between nation and country, though i had to look it up to be sure just what i was asking; a country is a self-governing political entity, and a nation is a group of people who share the same culture but dont have sovereignty.
So again, your answer, your criteria.

Either the Roman or British Empire.

Greece

Hmm...

An argument could be made for historical Babylon (real Babylon, not the mythical nation of evil/prophecy Babylon). It was one of the earliest empires of record and King Hammurrabi's stele of law is the blueprint upon which all subsequent nation states central code of law is based upon, as well as being one of the first nations to instill taxation and service contract guidelines. Babylon (and Egypt) are the templates which modern countries, as well as several of their contemporaries, were based upon when it comes to laws, trade, and currency.

A good argument could also be made for China as well with their innovations in literature and the invention of the printing press and what that has done for society, as well as their innovations in philosophy and war.

An argument could also be made for Israel as well. While not dominating world events from a martial or imperialistic standpoint, the Abrahamic religion Judaism which sprung forth from Israel has had a huge influence on the world as a whole and has been integral to many major world events (though that opens the Monotheistic Regress argument and you'd have to bring up Zoroastrianism and Atenism).

Then of course, obviously, there's Rome and Britain which dominated world events on a grand scale through commerce and imperialism. Of the two I'd give the nod to Rome as they also had innovations in representative government which became a blueprint for subsequent nations, while Britain and European Culture as a whole has dominated the last few centuries. Rome borrowed heavily from Greece who in turn borrowed heavily from Egypt/Kemet, and actually absorbed those two former empires and co-opted a lot of their customs.

There's really no definitive answer. It's just a matter of what you're looking for.

I'd add the Abbasid Caliphate to that list.

They kept hold of pretty much all the knowledge from Rome/Greece that Europe lost and developed it further with advances in maths, medicine, astronomy and loads more. And then when the Renaissance came around basically all the classical works that were rediscovered were done so through translations that came from the Abbasids.

But yeah there's going to be a few big ones with certain ones being emphasised depending on how you define influential.

LOL@ the mystery Babylon described in the Bible as being "mythical". It's very real and unfortunately, it's looking more and more like it's real identity is the United States. Of course I guess you consider everything else in the Bible to be "mythical" too but whatever.

Originally posted by MF DELPH
Hmm...

An argument could be made for historical Babylon (real Babylon, not the mythical nation of evil/prophecy Babylon). It was one of the earliest empires of record and King Hammurrabi's stele of law is the blueprint upon which all subsequent nation states central code of law is based upon, as well as being one of the first nations to instill taxation and service contract guidelines. Babylon (and Egypt) are the templates which modern countries, as well as several of their contemporaries, were based upon when it comes to laws, trade, and currency.

A good argument could also be made for China as well with their innovations in literature and the invention of the printing press and what that has done for society, as well as their innovations in philosophy and war.

An argument could also be made for Israel as well. While not dominating world events from a martial or imperialistic standpoint, the Abrahamic religion Judaism which sprung forth from Israel has had a huge influence on the world as a whole and has been integral to many major world events (though that opens the Monotheistic Regress argument and you'd have to bring up Zoroastrianism and Atenism).

Then of course, obviously, there's Rome and Britain which dominated world events on a grand scale through commerce and imperialism. Of the two I'd give the nod to Rome as they also had innovations in representative government which became a blueprint for subsequent nations, while Britain and European Culture as a whole has dominated the last few centuries. Rome borrowed heavily from Greece who in turn borrowed heavily from Egypt/Kemet, and actually absorbed those two former empires and co-opted a lot of their customs.

There's really no definitive answer. It's just a matter of what you're looking for. This. I was going to mention China, the Middle Eastern countries.

Also there can be a number of variables deciding who has had the most influence. Even a country was tiny their innovations and culture could have spread to other larger countries with more world pull. So which one do you put more emphasis on. This is just one example.

I probably wouldn't pick just one country or nation as I feel there have been so many with enough influence throughout the time of the human civilization to warrant merit.

Originally posted by Star428
LOL@ the mystery Babylon described in the Bible as being "mythical". It's very real and unfortunately, it's looking more and more like it's the United States.

You do realize that there was an actual Babylonian Empire in Mesopotamia, right?

I think it's a brilliant idea. We let Sean Penn interview Al-Baghdadi, then sabotage the interview and arrest the bastard.

Originally posted by MF DELPH
You do realize that there was an actual Babylonian Empire in Mesopotamia, right? You're probably already on ignore Delph

Most influential country/nation? In terms of advancement of civilization and technology, it's China, Roman Empire, and USA, if we're talking about recent history.

Thanks a lot guys, that was a good read for me.

Long term, I'd say Egypt. Because, well, they were the first and influenced everyone around them for longer than there's been a post-Egypt world.

They invented monotheism, laid the groundwork for so many technologies like medicine and architecture, etc..

A combination of being first + longevity is hard to beat.

Originally posted by Q99
Long term, I'd say Egypt. Because, well, they were the first and influenced everyone around them for longer than there's been a post-Egypt world.

They invented monotheism, laid the groundwork for so many technologies like medicine and architecture, etc..

A combination of being first + longevity is hard to beat.

I'm pretty sure the Sumerians the first.

Two good ones for me to look up.

It should be Mesopotamia. Amirite?

We could be talking about real life history here. Not movie, religious, comic, anime history. Awesome

Originally posted by meep-meep
It should be Mesopotamia. Amirite?
Right. Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Akkadian... They're all within the same region.

If we're going to be more specific, the cradle of civilization is believed to be Ur (presently known as Iraq.)

Originally posted by FinalAnswer
Either the Roman or British Empire.

There are a few more, and it's debatable. The British aren't in the debate.

Originally posted by AsbestosFlaygon
Right. Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Akkadian... They're all within the same region.

If we're going to be more specific, the cradle of civilization is believed to be Ur (presently known as Iraq.)

Where farming began. It's likely the most influential thing that happened to us.

Edit: Correct.

Originally posted by meep-meep
Where farming began. It's likely the most influential thing that happened to us.
Thats a good point, on your part!

The earliest nations will always be the most influential nations in the proper sense.

The only one that can match that is the nation that ends us.

I forgot to expand on the point yesterday, but Egypt/Kemet was also very influential in architecture, mathematics, astronomy, literature, religion, and agriculture. They made many early innovations in the irrigation of farmland, creation of canals, and the redirection of waterways. In architecture they innovated the usage of keystones and counterweights, archways, stone carving and stone structures, as well as the use of mortar (though Babylonian architecture also used a form of mortar as well). They also were pioneers in medicine and the preservation of corpses. Masonry also came from Egypt/Kemet. They had an enormous influence on both Greece and Rome. In the ancient world (3000 BC and before) it's probably between them and Babylon as far as which civilizations influenced their successors the most, not to take anything away from ancient China. Egypt and Babylon had more influence over 'Western Society' via their influence in Greece and Rome. China was the major player in the east.

Hell, China invented gunpowder.

I think it's been mentioned, but there's a good Wiki article on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization

Originally posted by MF DELPH
I forgot to expand on the point yesterday, but Egypt/Kemet was also very influential in architecture, mathematics, astronomy, literature, religion, and agriculture. They made many early innovations in the irrigation of farmland, creation of canals, and the redirection of waterways. In architecture they innovated the usage of keystones and counterweights, archways, stone carving and stone structures, as well as the use of mortar (though Babylonian architecture also used a form of mortar as well). They also were pioneers in medicine and the preservation of corpses. Masonry also came from Egypt/Kemet. They had an enormous influence on both Greece and Rome. In the ancient world (3000 BC and before) it's probably between them and Babylon as far as which civilizations influenced their successors the most, not to take anything away from ancient China. Egypt and Babylon had more influence over 'Western Society' via their influence in Greece and Rome. China was the major player in the east.

Hell, China invented gunpowder. And China is still incredibly influential today unlike some of the ancient empires which are not around anymore or the regions they aren't really global powers anymore.

It is incredibly hard for me to pick the most on this list. I would rather talk about some of the more influential countries and what they have given the world.

I saw a map once of all of the territory that was influenced and or subjugated by the British Empire and its probably the most widespread in terms of its influence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/08/map-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/

So yeah going with them, or the Romans as a close second

Originally posted by Newjak
And China is still incredibly influential today unlike some of the ancient empires which are not around anymore or the regions they aren't really global powers anymore.

It is incredibly hard for me to pick the most on this list. I would rather talk about some of the more influential countries and what they have given the world.

Yeah, there's no actual definitive answer. All of these nations had monumental impacts on world history. And there's still contemporary innovations to consider like steam engines and electricity which, along with gunpowder, pretty much changed the course of human history. There's the sciences to consider. I mean, consider someone like Isaac Newton who alone could put Britain in the convo with his impact on mathematics and our understanding of light, gravity, and the EM spectrum. And his work was founded on the shoulders of people that came before him.

Originally posted by carthage
I saw a map once of all of the territory that was influenced and or subjugated by the British Empire and its probably the most widespread in terms of its influence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/08/map-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/

So yeah going with them, or the Romans as a close second

If we're going to take into consideration the subjugation of a large area we're going to have to bring Mongolia into this conversation as well because the Khan's played a huge part in Asian and European history through conquest and merging cultures together under one banner from the Chinese Eastern Coast all the way to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. They had major influence over the course of world history as well.

Originally posted by MF DELPH
If we're going to take into consideration the subjugation of a large area we're going to have to bring Mongolia into this conversation as well because the Khan's played a huge part in Asian and European history through conquest and merging cultures together under one banner from the Chinese Eastern Coast all the way to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. They had major influence over the course world history as well. Yeah the Mongol's conquered a lot. A lot a lot.

The Khan's had everything from Russia and China over to Iraq and Poland on lock for a century and a half.

They also had the Chinese Yuan dynasty.

The British Empire, if I had to pick out only a single country. Many nations are still dealing with the fallout of their shittery to this day.

Originally posted by Tzeentch
The British Empire, if I had to pick out only a single country. Many nations are still dealing with the fallout of their shittery to this day.
If you look at it like that, the fallout from the Roman Empire's shittery took several ages. Its influences are still obvious to this day as well. The same can be said for several other empires.

Yeah. Technically Vatican City and the Roman Catholic Church is still an active and influential remnant of the Roman Empire and it (and it's proxies) played a huge role in European History specifically and world history in general.

Originally posted by carthage
I saw a map once of all of the territory that was influenced and or subjugated by the British Empire and its probably the most widespread in terms of its influence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/08/map-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/

So yeah going with them, or the Romans as a close second
Very cool, thank you!

Mordor

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
I'm pretty sure the Sumerians the first.


Checking, it seems you're right, though I will note that both had settlements long before proper cities.

I'll still give the nod to Egypt based on longevity and being only a little bit younger there.


Originally posted by meep-meep
Where farming began. It's likely the most influential thing that happened to us.

Ah, but interestingly, it's currently considered likely that agriculture was independently developed in multiple sites.

This is an interesting phenomenon in itself.

Originally posted by carthage
I saw a map once of all of the territory that was influenced and or subjugated by the British Empire and its probably the most widespread in terms of its influence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/08/map-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/

So yeah going with them, or the Romans as a close second

If we consider geographic extension as influence, we'd need to consider lasting through time as well.

The only major element that I believe is absent from the discussion so far is trade. Of course, most succesful empires had a heavy element of internal/external trade in their structure, but you cannot say as much of most conquered territories.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Scots_Invented_the_Modern_World

You ***** are welcome.

Originally posted by Bentley
If we consider geographic extension as influence, we'd need to consider lasting through time as well.

The only major element that I believe is absent from the discussion so far is trade. Of course, most succesful empires had a heavy element of internal/external trade in their structure, but you cannot say as much of most conquered territories.

Trade might actually go to the China and Mongolia. Once Europe had access to things in the East via the Silk Road trade route huge economic and political shifts began. All of the major nations of Europe were throwing vast resources into finding the best routes, by sea, to reach Asia (and to bypass the thieves along the land route, which ironically led to an even bigger culture of sea piracy). This also led to the establishment of colonies near those resources in Asia and to Europe's accidental discovery of the Americas. It was also the main driving factor in the establishment of trade corporation and international maritime laws, and you can draw a direct line between that and a certain revolt over taxation without representation.

Originally posted by riv6672
This is an interesting phenomenon in itself.

Right, and it eliminates being able to say, "Ok, *this* one clearly wins."

It's also hard to tell who first domesticated animals, another major thing.

Originally posted by jaden101
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Scots_Invented_the_Modern_World

You ***** are welcome.
Are we? Are we really? lookaround

Originally posted by riv6672
Are we? Are we really? lookaround

Well...everyone except you.

^^^*****aeiou****y***!!!