I won't answer the question in the way stated, since asking which civ was the most important is like asking which link in a chain is the most important.
So I will answer with a civ that if it hadn't existed, the world would be very different. This civ isn't recognized as uber innovators like the Greeks and such. This civ is mor like a nexxus between the ancient and modern worlds.
Well, my civ is the Byzantines. The Byzantines if you do not know was the evolved Eastern Roman Empire that survived the Germanic invasion and the fall of the empire in the west. The Byzantines preserved Hellenic and Roman civilization while western Europe was rebuilding itself and other civs like China and India were recovering from their own bouts with nomadic tribes. During the rise of Islam during the latter 1st mellennium, it was the Byzantines that were the first line of defence for Western Civilization in it's modern infancy. If Byzantium had fallen during those early times, Europe, therefore the world would be a very different place. By the time Constantinople (the Byzantine capital) had fallen in 1453, Western Europe had become strong enough to defend itself and was poised to project its power around the globe. In fact, Western Europe matured at the right time, since Byzantium was in decline, as shown by the Crusades. Byzantium was responsible for the Rennaisance in Italy, since it was Byzantines escaping the fall of Constantinople in 1453 who brought over much of Greek and Roman art, literature, etc so that they would not be destroyed by the Turks.
Vitmore
So I will answer with a civ that if it hadn't existed, the world would be very different. This civ isn't recognized as uber innovators like the Greeks and such. This civ is mor like a nexxus between the ancient and modern worlds.
Well, my civ is the Byzantines. The Byzantines if you do not know was the evolved Eastern Roman Empire that survived the Germanic invasion and the fall of the empire in the west. The Byzantines preserved Hellenic and Roman civilization while western Europe was rebuilding itself and other civs like China and India were recovering from their own bouts with nomadic tribes. During the rise of Islam during the latter 1st mellennium, it was the Byzantines that were the first line of defence for Western Civilization in it's modern infancy. If Byzantium had fallen during those early times, Europe, therefore the world would be a very different place. By the time Constantinople (the Byzantine capital) had fallen in 1453, Western Europe had become strong enough to defend itself and was poised to project its power around the globe. In fact, Western Europe matured at the right time, since Byzantium was in decline, as shown by the Crusades. Byzantium was responsible for the Rennaisance in Italy, since it was Byzantines escaping the fall of Constantinople in 1453 who brought over much of Greek and Roman art, literature, etc so that they would not be destroyed by the Turks.
Vitmore
Comment