--- Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The Caliphate was not a Global Superpower; they > ruled over a small > part of the world, and they had major defeats to > _minor_ powers in > both the eastern and western front. > > But I would replace Spain by "The Habsburgs" - it > was when Spain was > ruled by the Habsburg family that they achieved > Global Dominance.
Yeah, but the Hapsburg's married their way to power, which might mean they're less than relevant to comparisons of today's states :-) When Napoleon's armies conquered Vienna they were greeted in the streets by cheers and applause from the population. It was commented that the people greeted the French as if they were a victorious Hapsburg army, to which a British wit whose name escapes me replied, how could anyone tell? They'd never seen a victorious Hapsburg army, after all. This joke was, btw, neatly inverted into a compliment towards my favorite general, the Duke of Wellington. Wellington famously commented, I think after Talavera (but I'm sure Damon will correct me), "There is nothing so sad as a battle won, except a battle lost." This quote is widely remembered - what is less remembered is one of his aides' prompt question, "How would you know, my lord?" Neatly pointing out that the Duke had, of course, never lost a battle... ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! Enter now. http://promotions.yahoo.com/goldrush _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
