Most influental nation/country in history

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.

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?

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?

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.