What is the most iconic ancient civilization?

From Bronze Age city builders and Mediterranean seafarers to jungle-temple architects and desert-empire founders, this lineup spans continents and millennia. Which one defined the world for you?

1. 1
   Roman Empire

   Mediterranean superpower that shaped law, engineering, and language across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East.
   1000pts

   BE
2. 2
   Ancient China

   Dynastic civilization that produced the Great Wall, silk, gunpowder, and a continuous written tradition.
   936pts

   WE
3. 3
   Ancient Egypt

   Nile-valley civilization famous for pyramids, pharaohs, hieroglyphs, and a 3000-year cultural continuity.
   636pts

   DI
4. 4
   Inca Empire

   Andean civilization that built Machu Picchu and a road network spanning the spine of South America.
   537pts
5. 5
   Indus Valley Civilization

   Bronze Age urban culture along the Indus with planned cities like Mohenjo-daro and an undeciphered script.
   454pts
6. 6
   Ancient Greece

   Birthplace of democracy, philosophy, and Western drama, centered on city-states like Athens and Sparta.
   454pts

   DI
7. 7
   Babylonian Empire

   Mesopotamian power famed for Hammurabi's Code and the Hanging Gardens.
   454pts
8. 8
   Olmec Civilization

   Mesoamerica's 'mother culture,' best known for colossal stone heads carved from basalt.
   273pts

   DZ
9. 9
   Carthage

   North African maritime empire and Rome's great rival in the Punic Wars.
   151pts
10. 10
    Aztec Empire

    Postclassic Mesoamerican empire centered on Tenochtitlan with monumental temples and a tribute economy.
    65pts
11. 11
    Maya Civilization

    Mesoamerican culture renowned for stepped pyramids, astronomy, and an intricate hieroglyphic script.
    65pts
12. 12
    Mesopotamia

    The land between the Tigris and Euphrates that gave the world writing, the wheel, and the first cities.
    65pts
13. 13
    Minoan Civilization

    Bronze Age Cretan culture famed for the palace of Knossos and vivid frescoes.
    65pts
14. 14
    Persian Empire

    Achaemenid superstate of Cyrus and Darius, the largest the world had seen in the 6th century BCE.
    1pts
15. 15
    Phoenicia

    Seafaring traders of the Levant who spread the alphabet across the Mediterranean.
    0pts

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