Part 2; Roman Identity in the 13th Century
"Ask any man from the Danube to the Tigris what he is, and whom he serves, and he shall tell you plainly; 'Roman, and the Grypad Emperor'," - John Lasenos, A History of Rome 1198-1307. [1]
Romanitas, the Latin-derived term that effectively means 'Roman-ness'. Such a word applies to the Empire as it stands today, a continuous vessel from the city of Rome to the City of New Rome, from the Republic to the Empire of Augustus onward. At its core is the city of New Rome, Constantinople, the City of World's Desire.
Constantinople is undoubtedly the greatest city in Christendom within the mid-13th Century; boasting a population of near 300,000 [2] across two different districts--and the reputation of never being conquered by an enemy force. It also boasts itself as defended by the Virgin Mary herself, and who can deny such a claim when there has always been victory at the head of the Hodegetria.
Constantinople is the city that taps into all the provinces of the venerable Empire, and is the nexus of it all; should the city fall the Empire falls. Yet from such a beautiful city flows the very idea of being Roman, for how can it not when the greatest Roman works of the 'modern' era reside in the beautiful city? Its greatest minds write rhetoric of such delight to learning, it's greatest builders maintain such delights as the Hagia Sophia and the rebuilt Zeuxippus [3], and its peoples speak the Romaic tongue of the Romans.
The Roman identity is a unique one; both an ethnic and a cultural one. You do not have to be Roman, to be Roman, in the sense of being one of Bulgarian descent--but one of Roman bearing and speech, makes you just as Roman as an ethnic Roman born in Constantinople, for example. The identity is complex, and often bombarded with denials from the west, who falsely claim the right to the Roman identity themselves.
The elite of the Empire, as you would expect of such Romans, do not claim the identity for themselves alone [4], instead they debate the application of to non-Imperial peoples. To be Roman is to speak its language, to indulge in its culture. One could be Bulgarian, Vlach or Turkish in ethnicity, yet be every bit as Roman as those around you. To be Roman is to be a member of God's Chosen People [5], His citizens on Earth.
--
[1] A History of Rome, 1198-1307, was a work written by the historian and scholar John Lasenos in 1455 under the reign of the first Amenoi Emperor, Constans III, who directly succeed the final Grypad Emperor Constantine XI. Constans III wanted to make it clear that he was honouring the beloved Grypads, commissioning two 'Volumes' for the Empire's use as historical texts. The first, dated 1198-1307, covered the reigns of Romanos V, John III and Dragases I. The second, released in 1458, dated 1307-1453, covered the reigns of the remaining 7 Emperors (although 2 weren't of the Grypas Dynasty). It would be held up as the highest literature on the subject, as it had very little varnish was put on the Dynasty as a whole; producing an honest text for scholarly use.
[2] By the time of John III the cities population was nearing 300,000 after the reconstruction and redistribution efforts of his father, Romanos V. John's own reign would see this further continued, and the population would hit its effective medieval peak at 350,000 at the end of the reign of his son, in-turn, Dragases I.
[3] The Baths of Zeuxippus were a major bathing complex built, and consecrated, during the reign of Constantine the Great during the founding of Constantinople. They played a major role in providing simple bathing to effectively the entire cities non-elite population. The original stucture would be heavily damaged during the Nika Revolts, and would be rebuilt following this by Justinian the Great. It would decline following the Islamic Conquests of the Middle-East and Egypt, and be carved up into separate buildings, such as a prison and silk shop. This would be reversed during the major reconstruction efforts of John III in which he would reforge much of the city, and bring bathing back to the people of Constantinople. This would be complimented with the recreation of a pseudo-grain-dole by his son Dragases I.
[4] Several works, such as those by Procopius, detail the fact that the general population of the Empire were just as Roman as the elites who owned estates and general wealth. There was no 'racism' based on class in terms of declaring one 'Non-Roman' in that regard; instead the 'racism' stemmed from the monitoring of a people, and deciding if they fit the 'ideal' of 'Romanitas'.
[5] The idea of the Romans being God's Chosen People was inadvertently perpetuated by the effective rebirth of the state following the dark period under the Angeloi, and the fact that it had 'birthed' a great Dynasty in the Grypads. It fueled an 'Romans vs Non-Romans' mentality that had existed for millennia by that point, with this only being broken by the shocking death of Constantine XI, and the formation of a new Imperial Dynasty to take the place of the Grypads.
Romanitas, the Latin-derived term that effectively means 'Roman-ness'. Such a word applies to the Empire as it stands today, a continuous vessel from the city of Rome to the City of New Rome, from the Republic to the Empire of Augustus onward. At its core is the city of New Rome, Constantinople, the City of World's Desire.
Constantinople is undoubtedly the greatest city in Christendom within the mid-13th Century; boasting a population of near 300,000 [2] across two different districts--and the reputation of never being conquered by an enemy force. It also boasts itself as defended by the Virgin Mary herself, and who can deny such a claim when there has always been victory at the head of the Hodegetria.
Constantinople is the city that taps into all the provinces of the venerable Empire, and is the nexus of it all; should the city fall the Empire falls. Yet from such a beautiful city flows the very idea of being Roman, for how can it not when the greatest Roman works of the 'modern' era reside in the beautiful city? Its greatest minds write rhetoric of such delight to learning, it's greatest builders maintain such delights as the Hagia Sophia and the rebuilt Zeuxippus [3], and its peoples speak the Romaic tongue of the Romans.
The Roman identity is a unique one; both an ethnic and a cultural one. You do not have to be Roman, to be Roman, in the sense of being one of Bulgarian descent--but one of Roman bearing and speech, makes you just as Roman as an ethnic Roman born in Constantinople, for example. The identity is complex, and often bombarded with denials from the west, who falsely claim the right to the Roman identity themselves.
The elite of the Empire, as you would expect of such Romans, do not claim the identity for themselves alone [4], instead they debate the application of to non-Imperial peoples. To be Roman is to speak its language, to indulge in its culture. One could be Bulgarian, Vlach or Turkish in ethnicity, yet be every bit as Roman as those around you. To be Roman is to be a member of God's Chosen People [5], His citizens on Earth.
--
[1] A History of Rome, 1198-1307, was a work written by the historian and scholar John Lasenos in 1455 under the reign of the first Amenoi Emperor, Constans III, who directly succeed the final Grypad Emperor Constantine XI. Constans III wanted to make it clear that he was honouring the beloved Grypads, commissioning two 'Volumes' for the Empire's use as historical texts. The first, dated 1198-1307, covered the reigns of Romanos V, John III and Dragases I. The second, released in 1458, dated 1307-1453, covered the reigns of the remaining 7 Emperors (although 2 weren't of the Grypas Dynasty). It would be held up as the highest literature on the subject, as it had very little varnish was put on the Dynasty as a whole; producing an honest text for scholarly use.
[2] By the time of John III the cities population was nearing 300,000 after the reconstruction and redistribution efforts of his father, Romanos V. John's own reign would see this further continued, and the population would hit its effective medieval peak at 350,000 at the end of the reign of his son, in-turn, Dragases I.
[3] The Baths of Zeuxippus were a major bathing complex built, and consecrated, during the reign of Constantine the Great during the founding of Constantinople. They played a major role in providing simple bathing to effectively the entire cities non-elite population. The original stucture would be heavily damaged during the Nika Revolts, and would be rebuilt following this by Justinian the Great. It would decline following the Islamic Conquests of the Middle-East and Egypt, and be carved up into separate buildings, such as a prison and silk shop. This would be reversed during the major reconstruction efforts of John III in which he would reforge much of the city, and bring bathing back to the people of Constantinople. This would be complimented with the recreation of a pseudo-grain-dole by his son Dragases I.
[4] Several works, such as those by Procopius, detail the fact that the general population of the Empire were just as Roman as the elites who owned estates and general wealth. There was no 'racism' based on class in terms of declaring one 'Non-Roman' in that regard; instead the 'racism' stemmed from the monitoring of a people, and deciding if they fit the 'ideal' of 'Romanitas'.
[5] The idea of the Romans being God's Chosen People was inadvertently perpetuated by the effective rebirth of the state following the dark period under the Angeloi, and the fact that it had 'birthed' a great Dynasty in the Grypads. It fueled an 'Romans vs Non-Romans' mentality that had existed for millennia by that point, with this only being broken by the shocking death of Constantine XI, and the formation of a new Imperial Dynasty to take the place of the Grypads.
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