I'd say Persia, like from the 300. When you look at it from a lifestyle perspective, the Spartans really sucked, going around mostly naked, shouting and kicking things, nothing to look forward really except for pawing some stoned girl at the top of a mountain when you get old. Even the furniture looked uncomfortable.
Darius on the other hand, there's a guy who knew how to live. Hot and cold running nymphomaniacs on tap 24/7/365, and slaves to look after every little thing. And an Empire that included Egypt, Palestine, the Greek Cities of the Anatolian peninsula, the Phoenicians, Central Asia, and poking into India. You couldn't do better for a central location. If not for several generations of idiots, Persians could have ruled the world.