# What is the oldest country in the world **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117 "2015-12-22T18:59:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![\_Raven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/_raven/32/20435_2.png) [@\_Raven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Raven)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/61 "2016-01-08T18:14:46Z")
The Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee, also known as “the Six Nations” ever since the Tuscarora joined in 1722 what had been “the Five Nations”, is older than the USA, and despite now existing within the USA’s borders has never been conquered; it still issues its own passports. If not the oldest country it is at least the world’s oldest living participatory democracy. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/62 "2016-01-08T18:20:53Z")
> [@\_Raven](#): > > The Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee, also known as “the Six Nations” ever since the Tuscarora joined in 1722 what had been “the Five Nations”, is older than the USA, and despite now existing within the USA’s borders has never been conquered; it still issues its own passports. If not the oldest country it is at least the world’s oldest living participatory democracy. The UK is still earlier unless you don’t consider it a participatory democracy. ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/63 "2016-01-08T23:40:36Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > How about Egyptian? Egypt has been a geopolitical entity for over four thousand years. Not quite. The ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids are the modern day Copts. At some point, peoples of Arab nationality became the majority in the Egypt that exists today. ---
**Author:** ![\_Raven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/_raven/32/20435_2.png) [@\_Raven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Raven)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/64 "2016-01-09T12:30:11Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > The UK is still earlier… Well, the UK dates rather tentatively to King James the Sixth of Scotland inheriting Elizabeth I’s crown, thus becoming also King James the First of England (which is why he’s called “James the 6th & 1st” in that order), personally uniting both realms under his rule in 1603. The countries themselves remained under separate legal systems until the Acts of Union between England and Scotland in 1707. Meanwhile, that 1722 date is only when the Tuscarora joined the Confederacy, turning the “Five Nations” into “Six Nations”; by comparison, would you date the USA’s age from 1948, when Hawaii joined, turning the 49 states into 50? The Iroquois Confederacy itself is many years older, the exact age a matter of dispute – by one theory formed shortly after a solar eclipse on August 31, 1142, by others between about 1450 and 1600, look up “Iroquois” in Wikipedia for details – but all the proposals are at least a century before the UK’s Acts of Union. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/65 "2016-01-09T13:28:03Z")
San Marino was established in September 301, and has been an independent republic for some 1714 years. Although its constitution only dates back to October 1600, that was not a completely new document, but an update on the town statutes dating back to 1300. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/66 "2016-01-10T18:48:51Z")
> [@\_Raven](#): > > Well, the UK dates rather tentatively to King James the Sixth of Scotland inheriting Elizabeth I’s crown, thus becoming also King James the First of England (which is why he’s called “James the 6th & 1st” in that order), personally uniting both realms under his rule in 1603. The countries themselves remained under separate legal systems until the Acts of Union between England and Scotland in 1707. > > Meanwhile, that 1722 date is only when the Tuscarora joined the Confederacy, turning the “Five Nations” into “Six Nations”; by comparison, would you date the USA’s age from 1948, when Hawaii joined, turning the 49 states into 50? > > The Iroquois Confederacy itself is many years older, the exact age a matter of dispute – by one theory formed shortly after a solar eclipse on August 31, 1142, by others between about 1450 and 1600, look up “Iroquois” in Wikipedia for details – but all the proposals are at least a century before the UK’s Acts of Union. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think that a country that cannot exercise sovereign authority over their any territory is really a country. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/67 "2016-01-10T21:37:05Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > San Marino was established in September 301, and has been an independent republic for some 1714 years. Although its constitution only dates back to October 1600, that was not a completely new document, but an update on the town statutes dating back to 1300. what about the fascists who took over from 1923 to 1943 and outlawed opposing parties and whos ousting is now a national holiday in San Marino. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117/68 "2016-01-10T21:43:42Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > what about the fascists who took over from 1923 to 1943 and outlawed opposing parties and whos ousting is now a national holiday in San Marino. Still a continuation of its own government. It does mean that it cannot claim to have been democratic for 1700+ years continuously, but it was still the same country. Many countries have gone through internal coups and civil wars. The UK had Cromwell and the Jacobites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/741117.md?page=3)