Which is the oldest nation state...?

Question

which hasn't changed it's name, been unified under any kingdom or empire, changed it's name or borders?

Answer 1

Egypt

China

India

Answer 2

china

Answer 3

Some interesting discussions of this topic:

http://www.cylist.com/Reviews/400300115/

http://perspectives.com/forums/view_topi...

From those, it may be that San Marino is the most plausible candidate.  More evidence of this:  San Marino's borders haven't changed since 1463, it has kept the same name, and it was never unified under any kingdom or empire - it was only militarily occupied for two short periods.  From the US State Department:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5387.ht...

"The land area of San Marino consisted only of Mount Titano until 1463, at which time the republic entered into an alliance against Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, who was later defeated. As a result, Pope Pius II Piccolomini gave San Marino the towns of Fiorentino, Montegiardino, and Serravalle. Later that year, the town of Faetano joined the republic on its own accord. Since then, the size of San Marino has remained unchanged.

"San Marino has been occupied by foreign militaries twice in its history, both for only short periods of time. In 1503, Cesare Borgia, known as Valentino, occupied the republic until his death several months later. In 1739, Cardinal Alberoni used military force to occupy the country. Civil disobedience was used to protest his occupation, and clandestine notes sent to the Pope to obtain justice were answered by the Pope's recognition of San Marino's rights and restoration of San Marino's independence."

Egypt, China, and India have all experienced changes in their borders over time.  For instance even in the 20th Century, Japan annexed Manchukuo from China, prior to World War II, and China later incorporated Tibet and Hong Kong within its borders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nat...

In addition, both Egypt and India were part of the British Empire at various times.

A postscript: remember: the question isn't which *civilization* has been around the longest.  If that were the question, certainly China, Egypt, and India have long-standing claims in this regard, perhaps along with others.  (One would then need to define what constitutes a "civilization," especially if successive political, religious, and cultural changes have made life in those nations today very different than they were, for instance, 3000 years ago.  If that isn't at issue, then certainly those three nations are prime candidates.)

Instead, the specific question here is: which nation state hasn't changed its name or borders, or been incorporated in some larger kingdom or empire, for the longest period of time through today?  San Marino seems to fit that definition rather neatly.

A second postscript: it's entirely true that San Marino is entirely enclosed by Italy, and heavily influenced by Italian language and culture.  However, this Web page suggests it has also long had its own independent ethnicity (at least among part of its citizens), culture, and identity, as well:

http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/San-Ma...

Also, neither the n***s nor Fascist Italy ever occupied San Marino during World War II, although the country did for a time have its own Fascist government:

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europ...

Answer 4

A nation state is different from a country, which apparently has gone over the heads of most of the answerers, even though you described it a little.

Most definitely one of the European micro-states. San Marino is the oldest by far; it has been a sovereign state since its separation from the Roman Empire in 301.  The only issue there is that most of these tiny countries were occupied during World War II, including San Marino, but they were never incorporated into n**i Germany, it was just a military presence.

The United States would also be a contender if it's borders hadn't changed so radically since 1789.

** The answer below provides some interesting insight about San Marino... although the borders, names, and governments of England and France changed constantly in the past millennium. This question just became a little more complex. There is no easy answer...

Answer 5

greece is older than china

egypt is older than greece i think, although it was invaded by the arabs so that may not count

Answer 6

Greece is the original nation state , and is still the same as when it was founded

Answer 7

Believe it or not, it's Ethiopia. 7,000 yrs and counting. M.

Answer 8

Hmm, I haven't a complete answer to your question, but the answer I have has always interested me.

'Lebanon's name has been around for 4.000 yrs non- stop (it's the oldest country/nation's name in the world!)'

The name of the Bible comes from the city of Byblos in Lebanon, to boot! Isn't that cool?

I did a project once, which I aced, on Lebanon - its a brilliant country and its history is better yet.

Cheers!

Answer 9

That would be the small country of San Marino located on the Apennine Peninsula and smackdab in the middle of Italy.

Answer 10

It would have to be either England or France - as both these countries have had broadly homogeneous populations living within their current borders for a considerable time.

China I would argue doesn't count - as it was an empire for most of its history.

San Marino may be a very old state, but as the people are culturally, ethnically, linguistically and religiously the same as their neighbours, the Italians it is NOT a nation-state

Greece would be a good call, but it was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1821.