The “conventional” date for the fall of the Roman Empire is 476, when may historians agree it was basically over in the west. Usually, the precise moment chosen is when Odoacer deposed the last “legitimate” roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, but the emperor hadn’t really had any real control for a while, and the traditions and institutions of the western Roman Empire continued for some time after this date, including the senate, the legal sytem, etc.
Of course, the fall in the west ignores the much more prosperous eastern Roman Empire (AKA Byzantine Empire), which was considered both by itself and by contemporary societies to be the Roman Empire proper. The loss of Rome from the Roman Empire is symbolically humiliating, but the traditions and institutions of Rome were unquestionably continued in the east. This empire has pretty definitive and uncontroversial end date: When Constantinople fell to Ottoman conquest in 1453.
The Ottomans, however, claim that they were the rightful inheritors of the Roman Empire, and even ruled for what at that point had been it’s capital for about 1000 years. It’s generally acknowledged that the best candidate for the successor state of the Ottoman Empire is Turkey, which retains control of Constantinople (now called Istanbul). If you acknowledge Ottoman claims to be the rightful inheritors of Rome, then modern Turkey in turn inherits Rome from them. Ataturk is essentially the person who made modern Turkey, and he made it a republic, which makes him not only the inheritor of the title of Roman Emperor but also the person to restore the Roman Empire to a republic.
Marcel Ciolacu is the PM of Romania, which is named because it is the “country of the Romans” as people who were culturally and legally Roman citizens lived there/fled their to escape various barbarian wars and malaise. Leader of the country of the Romans? Sounds like the Roman Emperor to me.
ThePastryBakery on
History channels at 3am with 5 pounds of crack:
NoteToOde on
They’re too Roman to die > 💥
Alex103140 on
Everyone gets to be Roman from July 1st to August 31st as a treat
alexctinn on
Nah,do not insult the Romans like that. Turkey is not Rome.
ahamel13 on
Pope Francis is the current Pontifex Maximus.
tis_a_hobbit_lord on
Roman Empire never died. They survived the Ottomans in the Mani peninsula which eventually went on to help form modern Greece. Hence Greece is a continuation of the Romans Republic and Empire.
onthethreshold on
Wtf is an “emporer”?
kamikazekaktus on
The Roman Empire just rebranded and is now known as the Catholic Church
turkishdelight234 on
Ottoman is the successor state to Rome, but they decided to not call themselves that, so Rome is over. Same way Russia isn’t USSR.
turkishdelight234 on
All states come from other states. Nobody founds a state in the middle of nowhere
1amlost on
The Roman Empire ended in 1204, when Venice.
longdrive95 on
The glory of Rome never ended the Pontifex Maximimus sits in the Vactican
14 Comments
Explanations:
The “conventional” date for the fall of the Roman Empire is 476, when may historians agree it was basically over in the west. Usually, the precise moment chosen is when Odoacer deposed the last “legitimate” roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, but the emperor hadn’t really had any real control for a while, and the traditions and institutions of the western Roman Empire continued for some time after this date, including the senate, the legal sytem, etc.
Of course, the fall in the west ignores the much more prosperous eastern Roman Empire (AKA Byzantine Empire), which was considered both by itself and by contemporary societies to be the Roman Empire proper. The loss of Rome from the Roman Empire is symbolically humiliating, but the traditions and institutions of Rome were unquestionably continued in the east. This empire has pretty definitive and uncontroversial end date: When Constantinople fell to Ottoman conquest in 1453.
The Ottomans, however, claim that they were the rightful inheritors of the Roman Empire, and even ruled for what at that point had been it’s capital for about 1000 years. It’s generally acknowledged that the best candidate for the successor state of the Ottoman Empire is Turkey, which retains control of Constantinople (now called Istanbul). If you acknowledge Ottoman claims to be the rightful inheritors of Rome, then modern Turkey in turn inherits Rome from them. Ataturk is essentially the person who made modern Turkey, and he made it a republic, which makes him not only the inheritor of the title of Roman Emperor but also the person to restore the Roman Empire to a republic.
Marcel Ciolacu is the PM of Romania, which is named because it is the “country of the Romans” as people who were culturally and legally Roman citizens lived there/fled their to escape various barbarian wars and malaise. Leader of the country of the Romans? Sounds like the Roman Emperor to me.
History channels at 3am with 5 pounds of crack:
They’re too Roman to die > 💥
Everyone gets to be Roman from July 1st to August 31st as a treat
Nah,do not insult the Romans like that. Turkey is not Rome.
Pope Francis is the current Pontifex Maximus.
Roman Empire never died. They survived the Ottomans in the Mani peninsula which eventually went on to help form modern Greece. Hence Greece is a continuation of the Romans Republic and Empire.
Wtf is an “emporer”?
The Roman Empire just rebranded and is now known as the Catholic Church
Ottoman is the successor state to Rome, but they decided to not call themselves that, so Rome is over. Same way Russia isn’t USSR.
All states come from other states. Nobody founds a state in the middle of nowhere
The Roman Empire ended in 1204, when Venice.
The glory of Rome never ended the Pontifex Maximimus sits in the Vactican
Consul Biden