What is The Oldest Country: India, Egypt, San Marino or China?

Which country is the oldest in the world? To answer this question is not so easy. Photo KnowInsiders

Which country is the oldest in the world?

To answer this question is not so easy, but we still try to understand it. So, in this post about which of the existing countries has the greatest right to be called the most ancient.

The simplest, but also the most formal way is to correlate the country and the state with a certain name and form of government.

According to modern ideas, among the most ancient civilizations of the world can be identified three — Sumerian civilization in the territory of modern Iraq, ancient Egyptian civilization, as well as The Harappan civilization on the banks of the Indus. But have they survived to the present day? Alas, no. The state of the Sumerians was conquered in ancient times, and traces of this people are lost in the history. Today it is difficult even to say whether the descendants of the Sumerians live in our days and among what peoples. In any case, the traditions, language, culture of the Sumerians are familiar to us today only on the basis of archaeological research. The same fate befell the Harappan civilization.

That question is harder than it initially appears because there are so many things that go into what is considered a “country”.

Oldest Country in Debate

On Quora, a lot of members noticed some pointed to Greece and Egypt as the oldest. The problem with those answers is that Greece throughout most of its history until the 1820s either consisted of a bunch of squabbling fighting city-states or under the domain of sprawling empires like the Roman's, Byzantines, and Ottomans. As for Egypt, Egyptian has changed so significantly over the past 2 millennia, that ancient Egypt is almost entirely unrecognisable today. The polytheistic and diverse state was replaced by a prominently Islamic with significant Arab influence, and largely ethically homogeneous state.

So those countries are out.

India is the same problem, it hadn't ever been a unified state until it gained independence in 1947.

These are three potential candidates for the oldest country in the world

San Marino (founded in 301 AD)

Photo BewitchedbyItaly

San marino is a micro-state within the country of Italy, that was founded by persecuted Christian's lead by Saint Marinus fleeing Roman oppression in the mountains. It is considered one of the oldest surviving Republics in the world.

From this point of view, the oldest country will be the dwarf state of San Marino, located in Italy. It was founded more than 1,700 years ago in 301 ad, A here modern Russia, USSR and Russian Empire and Germany before the first world war after the first world war and after the second world war are technically different countries, although, as we understand it, between them is quite obvious historical and cultural continuity. It will also be strange to think, for example, that after the French revolution of the year one country (the Kingdom of France) disappeared somewhere and a new one (the French Republic) appeared in its place. Therefore, it seems more natural to use less formal criteria and believe that the country, its name, state structure can change, but at the same time traditions and culture should be preserved, and people in the bulk should continue to consider themselves the same people, nation, as before. In this case, Russia as a country will begin its history with the 8-9 century, when the old Russian state appeared, and France — from the end of the 5th century, when the former Roman province of Gaul was conquered by the Franks.

Read More: What is The Newest Country in the World: South Sudan - History, Facts & Figures

Japan (founded in 660 BC)

Photo History

Japan was allegedly founded by the mythical warrior Jimmu, who declared himself the first emperor of Japan. Despite the lack of significant evidence for Jimmu and the first 12 emperors ever existed. It is unquestionable that Japan has one of(if not the) longest imperial traditions in world history and had largely remained culturally fixed throughout the centuries.

Japan claims it was founded in 660 BCE by the Emperor Jimmu, according to mythology. A Chinese chronicle attests to Japan’s existence in the 3rd century CE, which still gives the country some serious staying power. Buddhism spread to Japan soon after that, and the nation was already developing a literary tradition in the 8th century, which culminated with the writing of The Tale of Genji in the early 11th century CE. The period that saw this development, the Heian period (794–1185 CE), also saw numerous other cultural traits appear that still define Japan today.

**READ MORE: Top 15 Most Popular Holidays and Festivals in Japan

China (founded sometime around 1600 BC)

Photo KidPids

The first dynasty to rule China from the archaeological and written records that we have to collaborate on and confirm its existence, is the Shang(Yin) Dynasty, which begun sometime around 1600 BC, since then China has ruled and endured up to close to 2,000 years of Imperial rule, then republic, then a socialist state. But the culture remained largely unchanged and engaging in traditional customs and philosophies, which have been making a comeback in recent times.

China, one of the great cradles of civilization, has always been united. The first dynasty—once thought to be completely mythical—was more recently bolstered by excavations that found the remains of Bronze Age settlements. The first dynasty that boasted a writing system, which is a direct ancestor of modern Chinese writing, the Shang dynasty ruled from the 17th to the 11th century BCE. The Han Dynasty, which lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE, strengthened China’s union and laid the foundation for cultural elements, such as Confucianism, which are still important in China today.

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