I personally believe that Macedon (the Greek state in which Alexander The Great was born in) correlates with the Greek state Macedonia today - not FYROM. I do not understand why a statue of Alexander the Great has been erected in Skopje, despite Alexander being Hellenic, not Slavic. I'm not going to be like Andreas, but I'm just sharing my opinion, not trying to start a flame war.

Another empire I liked was the Rashidun Caliphate.

Does even any of previous players know the meaning of empire? If you must go google it. Before posting your "favourite empire" make sure one is worth the title. A little hint: what criterions empire must have - although in specific they are still contsted up to day, we can agree on general principles. So before posting nonsess and making fool out of yourself as numerous people did here make sure you know what you claim. And wikipedia is not always a best source of truthful facts!

Just to start with simple things that you should know from basic school or middle-school history class. Who rules the empire? Who? Emperor - in most cases. President is not emperor - news flash for you, if you did not knew. Can king rule an empire? Can - but not in straightforward sense. But do every emperor rule over empire? - No. Does every empire have a ruler? - No!

Tricky and complicated? Actually no. Its just criterions and the ruler is just one interpretations, simplifed method. In real terms empire is more than random piece of land ruled by someone called emperor! And emperor has quite a many synonymes as well as empire.

Edited 6/19/2015 03:24:46

Empire is a term for countries, generally before WW2, that exerted great infulence over the world and owned a lot of stuff.

To add on to what Thomas said, military acts are not the only way empires exert their influence. Economics and culture are also used to control other parts of the world.

Thomas. +1 for at least trying to give it a definition and probably one of your own. But it was coined before countries appeared actually. Second world is not relevant. Many empires existed even without knowing the measure or limit of earth or even their continent, or thinking themselves merely to be only ones on the earth. Owning stuff is quite opaque statement. Before WW2 could be pratical approach as thats the way we see it in history indeed.

Economic, cultural and military influence is one component indeed.

Once the question is put forward. Teamwork starts to appear and its good!

Interesting thing would be after all components or features of empire come forward and to compare them to nowadays current affairs. Why we do not call some actors on on world political arena an empires, although they pose quite a similar set of components? - Just lacking the fancy title of emperor :)

Estonian humor had me like. ....

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My favorite empire is the Carthaginian Empire.

Home to the greatest general in human history.

Mine are:

Frankish Empire: Was the closest thing to a unified western Europe for a Long time. Also helped create France and the HRE, which created empires of their own.

Ummayad Caliphate: Their amazing speed and general scientific discoveries were impressive compared to witch-hunting feudal Europe.

Russian Empire: Although mostly empty, Russia was able to extend influence over a massive amount of land, from Poland to the Pacific. Also had powerful rulers such as Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible. They also beat back the Mongols

Roman Empire: Ever since I started to like history, Rome was one of my favorites. They created a sprawling empire with amazing architecture, language (Romance Languages), military, and the fact that although I'm not a christian, they spread Christianity and made it major.

Ming: China at its best. Massive population, huge cities, and a variety of crazy and powerful weaponry. And Zheng He ran about the Indian ocean in giant ships showing off China's power.

Aztec: Although bloody and short-lived, the Aztecs created a MesoAmerican Venice, warriors in colorful armor, and an interesting religion (minus the human sacrifice)

Although I do agree with you with the Umayyad Caliphate, the Rashidun Caliphate laid the basis for the Umayyad Caliphate to be formed, which is why I picked it.

First, I have to say the Russian Tsardom/Empire was my favorite.

Second: I'm seeing a lot of Mr. Tranquilizer going around and basically saying "Do your reading before you post" and that's annoying as fuck. It's a computer game's forum. We aren't all history majors. We don't need you grading us like it's a thesis. So fuck off.

My favorite empire is the Carthaginian Empire.

Home to the greatest general in human history.

Until he was outsmarted by the Romans and like used War Elephants, which was a terrible idea, considering Romans studied Greek warfare.

But Hannibal is still the greatest general in history.

Edited 6/19/2015 14:44:16

That gives me an idea for a new thread.

Hannibal knew he was going to lose at Zama. Only way to have won would have been if he had some more cavalry.

Besides Hannibal, Carthage is also interesting for its history and origin as well as its purple dye monopoly.