worst empire in the world

Originally posted by vulkan02  The American Empire is the largest contributor in the destruction of environment, globalising the economy, producing a single culture that is loved/hated in most of the world. So i guess the American Empire can be the worst and the best depending from what perspective you view it.

I wouldn't call America an empire, an empire by defination occupies conquered territories.

The worst empire ever must be the Nazi closely followed by the Roman, China at most points in history and Genghis Khan.

Macedonian Empire!?! Yikes, it has to win hands dpwn as the 'worst' for the simple reason of its 'brevity'! Alexander simply 'took' over the machinery of the 'empire' formulated by Kyros and his Achaeminid successors. Then, on his death the whole scheme disintegrated.

Now, as for the presence of the old USSR as well as the United States of America, such claims are balderdash if you wish to employ correct terminology. The Russian Empire [which did call itself by that name] ceased in October [Julian Calendar] 1917! America is a geographic term, nothing more. Then there is the 'Mongol' empire, which with the exception of its emergence as a Chinese Dynasty [Yuan] never emerged as a political unit beyond the life Timuchin [Ginghis Khan] and thus parallels the expereince of another 'warrior' Alexander.

By the way, true 'empires' seldom destroy 'culture' but create new 'amalgams' from old 'metals'.

What I find a bit humorous is the absence of the first 'modern' imperial state [together with a fixed economic impetus], that of the Spanish Habsburgs. Now, if you want a 'world' empire that satisfies all criteria from the Mediterranean trough the Gulf of Ormuz to the China Sea, and has staying power for more than two centuries, what better than the system fashioned under the motto Ne Plus Ultra!

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Nazi Germany never was an empire because they lost while trying to expand, i know some of these do not call themselves empires... such as America but hey... everyone knows that culturally, economically and to a large degree militarily America has the upper hand. I simply listed the "empires" that dominated their known world in one of these aspects or more than one.
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I would agree with that. I think that an society has to sustain a certain level of domination and complexity for a prolonged period of time to be called an empire. Nazi Germany, i think, would rather be described as a failed attempt at an empire then ever actually being one.

What about the Incas? Sacrifying prisoneers alive to their god.

Edited by Exarchus

Originally posted by Alparslan   Were French prisoners butchered by giotine while they were sleeping in squares? That was the biggest public entertainment in France.

If you want to write something, at least do it in correct English because I don't get your post.
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Originally posted by Yiannis Guilotine was deemed to be a very humane way to execute a person. Of course in the period of terrorism, during the paris Commune, many innocent people were executed.

Just to avoid confusion: The term "Paris Commune" is now almost exclusively used for the worker's rule in Paris from March to May 1871 after the end of the Franco-Prussian war. It was the first ever seizure of power by socialist/anarchist organisations and individuals and was brutally opressed by the official French government with German help.
It was a shortlived experiment of Socialism in action and distinguished itself by introducing a number of social reforms, active democracy,... and the absence of internal opression and terror during it's duration.


Edited by Komnenos

Where is the Spanish Empire?

I resent that Portuguese empire sugestion, it was hardly destructive (although it foiled some Ottoman plans...)

Edited by Frederick Roger

Originally posted by Frederick Roger I resent that Portuguese empire sugestion, it was hardly destructive (although it foiled some Ottoman plans...)

No, dont get me wrong and become defensive. These were just examples for the new poll option of "other". And these were the first empires that I remembered...

I see neither the Roman nor the Persian empire has got a single vote, perhaps rightly so.

My vote goes to the Russian empire, I've heard a few horror stories from Poles who once lived under that regime.