Which great empire of history would be considered the "greatest"?

No love for the Ottomans? Yes they fell apart, but their empire, especially in the 16th-17th century was arguably on of the greatest in the world.

The Roman Empire was the greatest and wealthiest empire ever to exist and a thousand years went by until civilization reached the level it had in times of Rome.

Could be a bit of a weird one but could you argue Russia? The Tsars referred to their state as the Russian 'Empire' and being the largest state on earth surely could count towards 'greatness'. The influence of this empire on history is still being felt now with Russian revolution and communist/cold war fallout. Not necessarily an empire as it's usually thought of but could be an interesting idea.

I didn't say it would be the greatest, just that I found it interesting.

The Roman Empire as they basically took a bunch of barbarians and created Europe.

In my opinion the Roman Empire was the greatest and most influential

The Roman Empire. It is probably the most influential Empire in history.

I think the British Empire had the largest landmass and arguably has the greatest influence but maybe that is because it the most recent.

1.- Roman Empire
2.- Spanish Empire

I mean haha, as TheSaxon said:
Mira el idioma que estoy hablando, es romance y es español jajaja.

Yeah and also the romance languages have influenced very hard in the English language, come on! This "Germanic" language it is just 21% Germanic.

Ok, no more jokes, seriously culturally, military, socially and in every aspect I think that the "greatest" was the Roman empire. I think that at least for the moment this Empire have not comparison.

I would have to say the British empire. The Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment started in Britain and those two revolutions have changed the world more than anything else.

English is the worlds #1 second language and not latin. In terms of influence on modern day politics, you have to say the British Empire. Furthermore, British Empire 2.0, aka America, is still going strong.

If we are going by impact, then the list is:

1. British
2. Spanish
3. Mongolian

My reasoning here can be laid out in simple terms: The British and Spanish established dozens of nations, spread their languages to the corners of the globe, and through their policies either helped stabilize new countries or set the stage for long term conflicts that rage to this day.

As far as the Mongols go, while they didn't spread their language far and wide, they did lay the foundation for the Muscovite (and thus, Russian) tax code and legal system. They also helped stabilize the Silk Road, and one could argue that their spread helped carry the Black Plague to Europe which was a tremendous influence on human history.

Plus the Spanish helped introduce the various diseases onto the unsuspecting Native population, thus changing the course of history.

The Spiffy Creeper wrote:Plus the Spanish helped introduce the various diseases onto the unsuspecting Native population, thus changing the course of history.

Absolutely, in the same vein as what I was suggesting about the Mongols. The very fact of the Spanish, British, and Mongols being in a certain place helped shaped history, so I have to count them in high regard.

It depends on what you mean for "greatest". As some have already said, the British Empire would be the obvious answer to this, because back at the time they were the largest empire to ever exist and the only superpower for decades. But, I don't agree with this. I actually rate the British Empire as the second "greatest" empire in history, and the Roman Empire as the first. That is so because the Roman Empire, back at its time, didn't simply rule the world, but WAS the world. When you thought of culture, economy, military, and everything else you could imagine, you thought of the Roman Empire. For centuries it had the absolute power, no nation could think of even being a match to it, in any way. It was even more of a superpower than the USA nowadays. Territorial extention calculated with mere numbers sees it behind the British Empire, but you must see it relatively: the Roman Empire existed TWO THOUSAND years before the British, and compared to the known world it covered nearly the 80/90% of it. I hope I made my point clear. Great question, by the way.

The British Empire was the greatest simply because they where the biggest.

The Roman Empire is the coolest though.

Rome comes as an obvious answer for me. They influenced an entire continent, even when a lot of their ways were lost people looked to Rome as a great power.

British comes up too. They influenced the world on a scale larger than Rome. They come second for me.

Probably the British Empire

I'd say the British Empire. Owned the most territory, and had an enormous economy which dominated the world. At their height in 1921, they were much larger than the Mongolian Empire in the 13th century. The British Empire was probably the greatest Empire ever.