Italy The Roman Empire was huge and played the key role in what we call today “The Western Society”. Our culture, laws, religion – most of their roots go back to Rome. After Rome fell there was a period of darkness that lasted for around 1,000 years until the Italian Renaissance that was like a breath of fresh air for the whole western civilization.

Greece Before there was Rome, there was Greece – truly a cradle of human civilization. Greek literature, philosophy, and political science are at the heart of all western cultures. There isn’t a country that wasn’t influenced by Ancient Greece! It is also a birthplace of modern democracy, as well as theatre, and Olympic Games that are still big all over the world.

India Greece might have been one of the most influential countries in the west, but in the East India was one of the biggest trend-setters. The history of India dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization, the first urban culture in South Asia, which flourished around 2500 BCE. India introduced the Hindu-Arabic numeral system to the western world. It is also the birthplace of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism – religions that shaped many of the modern societies. India’s cultural and spiritual legacy is endless!

Great Britain British Empire was really busy back in the day conquering more countries than it could hold, but thanks to that ‘achievement’ we today have a common language that is understood all across the globe. It’s hard to imagine the world without English, right? British literature is studied all over the world and the Industrial Revolution had a major impact on the development of the human civilization in general.

China Chinese inventions are truly legendary. Can you imagine the world without gunpowder, silk, ancient Chinese pottery and incredible Chinese tea that has endless medicinal properties? Modern China sits on what used to be one of the earliest centres of human civilization. Its hieroglyphic writing system was created thousands of years ago and is still used today. Chinese medicine is famous all across the globe. And don’t get us started on the numerous martial arts that originated in China!

Russia Today Russia is mostly viewed as a ‘bad guy’ especially due to the current political situation, but putting that aside, we have to give it to Russia – it survived dictatorship, two World Wars, a Civil War, numerous revolutions, and gave the world one of the richest literatures that are studied across the globe. Where would we be without the crazy space race of the 60s? It led to numerous breakthroughs in space tech that are still viable today. And yes, the first ever human that went into outer space was a Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Egypt One of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations certainly deserves a place on the list. What can we say, the pyramids alone are worth at least an honourable mention! King Narmer formed a unified kingdom in 3200 and since then Egypt only grew in power, having various dynasties rule the country for over three millennia, giving the world one of the most mysterious cultures that was technologically advanced with profound knowledge about space and stars.

Iran Iran, or rather Persia, has influenced the world more than we realize today. It existed for around 5,000 years, creating great art, poetry, music, and laws during the whole period. The Achaemenid Empire set example to all the following cosmopolitan empires, including the Roman Empire. Its medical and scientific research was widely used by the Arab Islamic civilization famous for its advanced knowledge in these fields. And don’t forget Sufism and the great poet Rumi!