Influence of varying empires throughout history

[Kralizec]

Making a top 5 is a subjective matter, but Rome should probably be on anyone's list.

- Latin language formed the basis for the Romance languages, which have 600 million to somewhere around 1 billion speakers (latter figure if you count those who speak it as a second language)
- our alphabet
- Roman law is the root for all European legal traditions except the English, and even common law was heavily influenced
- the fact that Europe, north Africa and the near east were part of a single Empire greatly helped the spread of christianity
- related to the above: it's called Roman Catholic for a good reason
- "the Roman Empire" is/was seen as a civilization without equal that a lot of people and pretentious monarchs tried to emulate or imitate; like the Germans (HRE), Russians, Ottomans, Napoleon etc.

A lot of the empires or states that Ironside mentioned where certainly powerful and influential in their day, but I question wether they had a lasting impact on history after their demise. Seleucids and Ottomans, for example.