[dredmorbius]

There's power and wealth, and there's stability, of purpose and project if not of institutions (taking your point on Paris under advisement). Simply existing for a long time (and having a long-term vision) will get you some of the way there. What modern times offers is the ability to complete massive undertakings quickly by devoting vast resources to them all at once. What ancient times had was fewer resources but often a much, much longer time horizon. What current projects are undertaken with even a 10-20 year time horizon, let alone several centuries?