Who Was Really Roman? When Did Romans Stop Being Roman?

Summary by Krater

This video explores the evolution of the concept of Romanitas from archaic Rome to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the medieval period, examining how cultural, civic, ethnic, and religious definitions of being Roman shifted over time.

From the video

Answers: How did the definition of Roman identity and being Roman change throughout history?

• Romanitas and Roman identity
• Evolution of Roman citizenship
• Social War in ancient Rome
• Constitution of Antoninus
• Hellenism and Byzantine identity

What it concludes

• Roman identity shifted from an exclusive ethnic conception linked to the city of Rome to a civic, linguistic, and cultural status encompassing diverse populations.
• The Social War of 91 to 87 BCE forced Rome to extend citizenship to many of its Italian allies, blurring the lines between the city and central Italy.
• Emperor Caracalla's Constitution of 212 CE granted full citizenship to all free men in Roman territory, cementing the civic idea of Romanitas.
• In the Byzantine Empire, Roman identity became closely tied to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the Greek language, eventually transforming into Rum and Hellenic identities.