Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was a state that ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa during the classical period. The Roman Republic had earlier conquered most of these lands. Later, the empire was ruled by one person for a long time, starting when Octavian rose to power and began the Augustan Principate in 27 BC. By the late 3rd century AD, the empire had been split up many times. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

By 100 BC, the city of Rome had expanded its rule from the Italian peninsula to most of the Mediterranean and beyond. However, it was weakened by civil wars and political conflicts. These ended when Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Later, Rome took control of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt. In 27 BC, the Roman Senate gave Octavian great power (imperium) and the new title of Augustus. This made him the first Roman emperor. The large lands were organized into senatorial provinces, which were governed by proconsuls chosen by lot each year. There were also imperial provinces, which belonged to the emperor and were governed by legates.

The first two centuries of the Empire brought great peace and prosperity, known as the Pax Romana (lit. 'Roman Peace'). Rome reached its greatest territorial extent under Trajan. Trouble and decline began under Commodus. In the 3rd century, the Empire went through a 50-year crisis that threatened its survival. There was civil war, plagues, and invasions. The Gallic and Palmyrene empires broke away, and several short-lived emperors ruled one after another. The Empire was later brought back together under Aurelian. The civil wars ended when Diocletian won. He set up two imperial courts in the Greek East and Latin West. Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, moved the imperial seat from Rome to Byzantium in 330 and renamed it Constantinople. The Migration Period, a time of movement by many peoples, including large invasions by Germanic peoples and the Huns, led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire. After the fall of Ravenna to the Germanic Herulians and the deposition of Romulus Augustus in 476 by Odoacer, the Western Empire finally collapsed. The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire survived for another thousand years, with Constantinople as its sole capital, until the city's fall in 1453.

Because the Empire was so large and lasted so long, its ideas and way of life had a lasting influence on language, religion, art, architecture, literature, philosophy, law, and forms of government across its lands. The rediscovery of classical science and technology, which formed the basis for Islamic science, helped lead to the Scientific Renaissance and Scientific Revolution in medieval Europe. Rome's republican institutions influenced the Italian city-state republics of the medieval period, the early United States, and modern democratic republics.

History

Main article: History of the Roman Empire

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Roman history.

See also: Campaign history of the Roman military

Further information: Roman Republic and Roman Kingdom

Rome began to grow soon after the Roman Republic was founded in the 6th century BC. It did not spread beyond the Italian Peninsula until the 3rd century BC. The Republic was not a country like today's nations. It was a group of self-ruled towns and provinces led by military commanders. It was run by magistrates, especially Roman consuls, who worked with the Senate. The consuls' power to command the army came from imperium, meaning "command." Some successful generals were given the title imperator, which is where the word emperor comes from. From the late 2nd century BC, Rome had many civil wars and internal conflicts (see Crisis of the Roman Republic), even as it grew far beyond Italy. In 44 BC Julius Caesar was briefly perpetual dictator. Soon after, he was assassinated by a group that opposed his power. That group was defeated at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC by Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son Octavian. The two men divided the Roman world between them, but this did not last long. In 31 BC, Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. In 27 BC the Senate gave him the title Augustus ("venerated") and made him princeps ("foremost") with proconsular imperium. This started the Principate, the first period of Roman emperors. The Republic still existed in name, but Augustus held the real power. During his 40-year rule, a new way of governing took shape. When he died, Tiberius followed him as the de facto ruler. The 200 years that began with Augustus's rule are often called the Pax Romana ("Roman Peace"), a time of stability and prosperity. The Julio-Claudian dynasty had four more emperors: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. After them came the Year of the Four Emperors in 69 AD, when several men fought for power. Vespasian won. He founded the short-lived Flavian dynasty, which was followed by the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and its "Five Good Emperors": Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius.

Among these emperors, Hadrian (r. 117–138) is known for strengthening the empire's borders and starting big building projects across the provinces. In Judaea, an important place for Jewish life and religion, his time as emperor was a turning point. Jewish people had resisted Roman rule before. In 129/130 AD he visited the region and rebuilt Jerusalem as the Roman city Aelia Capitolina. It included a Temple to Jupiter on the site of the former Jewish Temple. Later stories and archaeological evidence also point to a Temple of Venus near the site of the Holy Sepulchre. His actions, along with limits on Jewish practices, helped lead to the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 AD). After the uprising was defeated, many Jewish people were forced to leave Jerusalem. The Greek historian Cassius Dio said that when Commodus became emperor in 180, things changed "from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron." Later, Edward Gibbon saw Commodus' reign as the start of the Empire's decline. In 212, during the reign of Caracalla, Roman citizenship was given to all free people living in the empire. The Severan dynasty was unstable, and the empire then faced the Crisis of the Third Century. This was a hard time with invasions, civil strife, economic disorder, and plague. This crisis is sometimes seen as the change from classical to late antiquity as a historical period. Aurelian (r. 270–275) made the empire militarily stronger, and Diocletian reorganised and restored much of it in 285. Diocletian divided the empire into four regions, each ruled by a tetrarch, but the Tetrarchy collapsed shortly after. Order was later restored by Constantine the Great. He was the first emperor to convert to Christianity, and he made Constantinople the new capital of the Eastern Empire. Under the Constantinian and Valentinian dynasties, the empire was split from east to west, with power centres in Constantinople and Rome. Julian, influenced by his adviser Mardonius, tried to bring back Classical Roman and Hellenistic religion, but he ruled only for a short time. Theodosius I was the last emperor to rule both East and West. He died in 395, after making Christianity the state religion.

The Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate in the early 5th century. The Romans defeated many invaders, most famously Attila. However, the empire had assimilated so many Germanic peoples whose loyalty was uncertain, and it began to break apart. Most historians say the Western Roman Empire ended in 476. That year Romulus Augustulus was forced to abdicate to the Germanic warlord Odoacer. Odoacer then named Zeno as sole emperor and placed himself under Zeno as a nominal subordinate. In reality, he ruled Italy alone. The Eastern Roman Empire, called the Byzantine Empire by later historians, lasted much longer. It ended with Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Roman emperor. He died in battle in 1453 fighting Mehmed II and his Ottoman forces during the siege of Constantinople. Mehmed II took the title of caesar to link himself to the former Empire. The Patriarchate of Constantinople soon accepted his claim, but European monarchs did not.

Geography and demography

Main articles: Demography of the Roman Empire and Borders of the Roman Empire

Further information: Classical demography

The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires in history. Its lands were connected and stretched across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The Latin phrase imperium sine fine ("empire without end") showed the Romans' idea that the Empire had no limits of time or space. In Virgil's Aeneid, the Romans are said to have been given unlimited power by Jupiter. This idea of rule without limits was repeated when the Empire came under Christian rule in the 4th century. The Romans did more than take over large areas. They also changed the land itself, for example by cutting down entire forests. Roman expansion was mostly done under the Republic. Parts of northern Europe were conquered in the 1st century, when Roman control in Europe, Africa, and Asia became stronger. Under Augustus, a "global map of the known world" was shown in public in Rome for the first time. At the same time, a detailed political geography of the ancient world was written, the Geography by Strabo. When Augustus died, his account of his achievements (Res Gestae) also described the mapping of the Empire. Geography and careful records were important to Roman Imperial administration.

The Empire was at its largest under Trajan (r. 98–117), when it covered 5 million km². Historians have long estimated that about 55 to 60 million people lived in the Empire. This was between one-sixth and one-fourth of the world's population. It was the largest unified political group in the West until the mid-19th century. Some demographic studies from the 21st century suggest the population was even higher, perhaps 70 million or more. Each of the three largest cities, Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, was almost twice the size of any European city at the start of the 17th century. The historian Christopher Kelly described the Empire as stretching from Hadrian's Wall in rainy northern England to the warm banks of the Euphrates in Syria. It also reached across the Rhine–Danube river system in Europe, from the Low Countries to the Black Sea, and over the rich plains of North Africa and the Nile Valley in Egypt. The Empire surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, which the Romans called mare nostrum, meaning "our sea." Trajan's successor, Hadrian, chose to keep the Empire as it was rather than make it bigger. Borders (fines) were marked, and the frontiers (limites) were guarded. The most heavily fortified borders were often the least stable. Hadrian's Wall, which separated the Roman world from peoples seen as a barbarian threat, is the main surviving monument of this effort. In the eastern provinces, local officials often used carved boundary stones to mark land and manage taxes.

Languages

Main article: Languages of the Roman Empire

See also: Jireček Line

Latin and Greek were the main languages of the Empire, but the Empire used many languages on purpose. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill says "The main desire of the Roman government was to make itself understood." Early in the Empire, knowing Greek could help someone seem like an educated noble. Knowing Latin could help with a career in the army, the government, or the law. By the early imperial era, many Latin words were used in Greek. Greek grammar, literature, poetry, and philosophy also shaped the Latin language and culture. No law required people to use Latin, but speaking it showed a certain status. People valued good Latin, called Latinitas, which began with Latin literature. Over time, Latin became a way to show power and higher social class. Most emperors could speak two languages but preferred Latin in public, a habit that started during the Punic Wars.

After Constitutio Antoniniana gave citizenship to all freeborn people in the Empire, many Roman citizens did not know Latin. The wide use of Koine Greek helped spread Christianity and made Greek the lingua franca of the Mediterranean. After Diocletian's reforms in the 3rd century AD, fewer people in the west knew Greek. After the Empire's west fell apart, spoken Latin slowly changed into the early romance languages in the 7th century AD. Other languages were also spoken. Vulgar Latin gradually replaced Celtic and Italic languages. Coptic was used in Egypt, and local languages were used in some army camps along the Rhine and Danube. Roman jurists cared about local languages such as Punic, Gaulish, and Aramaic so that laws and oaths were understood correctly. In Africa, Libyco-Berber and Punic were used in writing into the 2nd century. In Syria, Palmyrene soldiers wrote in their dialect of Aramaic. This was an exception, since Latin was usually the language of the army. The Gallo-Romance languages were later shaped by Gaulish. Proto-Basque or Aquitanian developed with Latin loan words into modern Basque. The Thracian language also appears in writing from the Imperial era.

"Gate of Domitian and Trajan" at the northern entrance of the Temple of Hathor. Roman emperor Domitian is shown as Pharaoh of Egypt on the same gate, together with Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Society

Further information: Ancient Roman society

Main articles: Status in Roman legal system and Roman citizenship

Main article: Women in ancient Rome

Main article: Slavery in ancient Rome

See also: Senate of the Roman Empire, Equestrian order, and Decurion (administrative)

The Empire had many different peoples, but it had a strong sense of shared identity. Public places open to everyone, such as forums, amphitheatres, racetracks and baths, helped people feel they belonged to one community, a sense of "Romanness." Roman society had many overlapping social hierarchies. Over time, the old rules of the Republic became less strict. People could move up or down in society more easily than in many other ancient societies, through social mobility. By the time of Nero, a former slave could be richer than a free-born citizen, and an equestrian could have more power than a senator. Personal relationships still shaped politics. Many voluntary associations and confraternities, such as collegia, sodalitates and burial societies, gave people with few resources a social life.

In law, the jurist Gaius explained that every person was either free or a slave. Most citizens had limited rights, such as the ius Latinum, but they still had legal protections that non-citizens lacked. Free non-citizens were called peregrini. In 212, the Constitutio Antoniniana gave citizenship to all free-born people in the Empire.

Free-born women were citizens but could not vote, hold office, or serve in the military. A woman kept her own family name for life, and women could own property, make contracts, and run businesses. Some women were honoured for paying for public works. Marriage rules changed over time. The old manus marriage, where a wife was under her husband's control, was mostly abandoned, and wives kept their own property. Under the Augustan plan to restore traditional values, moral legislation tried to promote "family values." Women who had three children received honours and more legal freedom through the ius trium liberorum.

Slavery was very common, and many enslaved people worked on farms and in workshops. Slaves were considered property and had no legal personhood. Some could earn money to buy their freedom, a process called manumission. Slaves captured in war were a main source of slaves, and pirates also took people. Freed slaves could become citizens, and their former owners became their patronus. Under the Empire, Hadrian limited freedmen's role in government.

Citizens were ranked through the Roman census. A senator needed to hold an executive magistrate office and have 1 million sestertii in property, while an equestrian had to meet a lower property requirement. Senators could be removed for breaking moral standards. Justice was also unequal. People of higher rank, the honestiores, could pay a fine for crimes that could bring harsher punishment to a humilior. Early Christians could lose their standing, and some faced martyrdom.

Government and military

Main article: Constitution of the Roman Empire

The Roman state had three main parts: the central government, the military, and the provincial government. The army first gained control of a land through war. After that, its job was to keep order, protect Roman citizens, farm fields, and religious sites. The Romans did not have enough soldiers or money to rule by force alone. So they worked with local leaders to keep order, gather information, and collect money. Communities that stayed loyal kept their own laws and could sometimes avoid Roman taxes. This made Roman government limited, but it used its resources well.

The emperor held the most power. Emperors and some members of their families were linked to divinely sanctioned authority. Over time, the emperor took over many jobs that had once belonged to republican officials, and his power grew stronger. He relied on advisors, and the Senate kept a symbolic role in government. The emperor's real support came from the military. Soldiers were paid from the Imperial treasury and swore a yearly oath of loyalty to the emperor. The main job of the early army was to keep the Pax Romana, or "Roman peace."

See also: Roman emperor and Senate of the Roman Empire

Main articles: Imperial Roman army, Late Roman army, and Structural history of the Roman military

Main article: Roman law

Further information: Taxation in ancient Rome

Economy

Main article: Roman economy

The Roman Empire was made up of many regional economies. The state controlled trade so that it could earn money. Economic growth was greater than in most earlier societies before industrialization, but it cannot be fairly compared to modern economies. Conquered lands were farmed in organized ways. This produced extra food and let people specialize in certain jobs, especially in north Africa. Some cities became known for certain industries. The many large buildings show that construction was an important industry. Trade routes linked the regional economies together, and transportation grew a great deal in the 1st and 2nd centuries. The army bought supplies from local suppliers near its bases, throughout each province, and across provincial borders. People could move up in society, but wealth was very important for rank, and plutocracy was strong. People gained respect by spending money on large homes, luxury items, public entertainments, funerary monuments, and religious dedications. Guilds (collegia) helped people succeed through connections. The richest 1.5% of people in the income distribution received about 20% of income, while the "vast majority" of people lived near subsistence.

Money was used almost everywhere to set prices and record debts. The sestertius was the basic unit of value. The silver denarius, worth four sesterces, was also used from the time of the Severan dynasty. Coins were counted rather than weighed, and the standard money helped trade across the Empire. Rome had no central bank, and banks had few rules. Bankers received deposits and lent money to others. Debts could be passed to other people as payment. Only one serious credit shortage is known from the early Empire, in 33 AD. Over time, emperors reduced the value of coins, and the economy weakened during the Crisis of the Third Century. Mining was also important. The main mining regions were the Danubian provinces, Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor. The Iberian Peninsula, Gaul, and Britain also had mines. Roman hydraulic mining produced large amounts of metal. At its peak, the Roman silver supply was several times larger than the combined silver of medieval Europe and the Caliphate around 800 AD. Roads, sea routes, and rivers carried goods. The Empire surrounded the Mediterranean, which the Romans called Mare Nostrum ("our sea"). Goods moved over land on the Roman roads. The state mail service, the cursus publicus, was set up by Augustus. Trade reached as far as China and India, and the main traded good was grain. Many workers were skilled, and textile and clothing production provided many jobs. Inscriptions record 268 occupations in Rome and 85 in Pompeii.

Main articles: Mining in ancient Rome and Roman metallurgy

See also: Roman currency and Roman finance

See also: Roman commerce, Indo-Roman trade relations, and Sino-Roman relations

Further information: Cursus publicus

Main articles: Ancient Roman architecture, Roman engineering, and Roman technology

The Romans are known for the arch, vault, and dome, which were their most important contributions to building. Some of their buildings still stand today, partly because of their skill with cements and concrete. Roman temples grew from Etruscan and Greek styles but had some special features of their own. Roman roads were considered the most advanced built until the early 19th century. Roman bridges were among the first large and lasting bridges. They were built mostly from stone and concrete, with arches. The largest was Trajan's bridge over the lower Danube, built by Apollodorus of Damascus. It was the longest bridge ever built for over a thousand years. The Romans also built many dams and reservoirs to collect water. Two of the Subiaco Dams fed the Anio Novus, one of the largest aqueducts in Rome.

The Romans built many aqueducts to carry water. De aquaeductu, a book by Frontinus, who served as water commissioner, shows how important the water supply was to them. Stone channels carried water along a careful gradient, using only gravity. The water was then collected in tanks and sent through pipes to public fountains, baths, toilets, or factories. The main aqueducts in Rome were the Aqua Claudia and the Aqua Marcia. The system built to supply Constantinople drew water from over 120 km away, along a route of more than 336 km. Roman aqueducts were built with tolerance so precise that their standard was not matched until modern times. The Romans also used aqueducts in their large mining operations. Insulated glazing was used in public baths, and wealthy homes in cooler areas might have hypocausts, a form of central heating. The Romans were also the first culture to bring together the main parts of the much later steam engine. These included the crank and connecting rod, Hero's aeolipile, the cylinder and piston, non-return valves, and gearing.

Daily life

Main article: Culture of ancient Rome

Augustus rebuilt Rome with many public buildings. He divided the city into neighbourhoods called vici. The Campus Martius was an open area outside the city centre and was one of the most attractive places in Rome to visit. Most people lived in apartment buildings called insulae. These buildings were often dirty and could catch fire easily. Public baths were places where people met each day. Entertainment such as chariot races and gladiator combat was aimed mainly at ordinary people. Wealthy families often had a townhouse in the city and a villa outside it, where they could rest away from the busy streets. Most Romans ate mainly cereals and legumes. The state gave citizens a grain dole. The poet Juvenal criticized people for caring only about "bread and circuses."

Disease was common, and many children did not grow up to become adults. Medical writers such as Galen taught that a good diet was important for health. Entertainment was a big part of Roman life. The largest venue in Rome was the Circus Maximus, where horse and chariot races were held. The Colosseum became the regular arena for gladiator contests. Most Romans wore a simple tunic with sleeves, called a tunic. The toga was the special national garment of male citizens. It was heavy and not very practical, so it was mainly worn for political business and religious ceremonies.

Arts

Main articles: Roman art and Art collection in ancient Rome

Greek art had a strong influence on Roman art. Public art, such as statues, victory columns, triumphal arches, and designs on coins, helps us learn about Roman history and ideas. Artworks were also made to honor the gods, to remember the dead with funerary commemoration, for homes, and for trade. Wealthy people filled their homes with decorative arts to show their love of culture. Even famous artists had a low social status, partly because they worked with their hands. Portraits were the most common kind of imperial art. They are mostly found as sculptures. Over time, they mixed realistic and idealized styles. Painted portraits are mainly seen in the Fayum mummy portraits, which show the dead in a realistic style. Roman sculpture survives in large numbers, often damaged. It was made from marble, bronze, and terracotta, and also appears in reliefs on public buildings. Carved sarcophagi, or stone coffins, were common from the 2nd to 4th centuries. Their carvings show mythological scenes and the life of the person buried inside.

Early Roman painting was inspired by Etruscan and Greek art. Much of what we know about Roman painting comes from decorations in private homes, especially those preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius. Mosaics, made from small pieces called tesserae, were one of the most lasting Roman decorative arts and were often placed on floors. Mosaics across the Empire showed patterns, myths, and, in North Africa, scenes of hunting, farming, and local animals. Luxury goods included fine pottery, glassware, and silver and bronze items. Glassmaking was an important industry. Theatre was another major part of Roman culture. Literary theatre, borrowed from the Greeks, used masks and was performed by all-male groups. The more popular mimus included dance, juggling, and acrobatics. Music was also part of daily life, played at funerals, sacrifices, and gladiator games. Performers were often seen as lower in status, even though popular "stars" could become wealthy and famous.

Literacy, books, and education

Only some Romans could read and write. The Romans valued the written word, as shown by their many documents and inscriptions. Numeracy was necessary for trade. Books were expensive because each copy had to be written out by hand on a papyrus roll (volumen) by scribes. The codex, with pages bound to a spine, was still new in the 1st century but replaced the volumen by the end of the 3rd century.

Collectors built personal libraries, and a fine library was part of the cultivated leisure (otium) of the villa lifestyle. Books were often read aloud at meals or in reading groups. Public readings (recitationes) grew from the 1st through the 3rd century. Literacy began to decline during the Crisis of the Third Century, but reading continued in the Byzantine Empire.

Education

Main article: Education in ancient Rome

Traditional Roman education focused on good character and useful skills. Stories taught Roman values (mores maiorum). Young children were looked after by a pedagogue, usually a Greek slave or former slave, who kept them safe and taught self-discipline. Only families who could pay had access to formal education. Most schools used corporal punishment.

Higher education was provided by grammatici or rhetores. The art of speaking was highly prized, and young Roman men often went abroad to study rhetoric and philosophy, mostly to Athens. Literate women ranged from cultured aristocrats to girls trained to be calligraphers and scribes.

Literature

Main article: Latin literature

See also: Latin poetry

Literature under Augustus, along with that of the Republic, is viewed as the "Golden Age" of Latin literature. The three most influential Classical Latin poets, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid, belong to this period. Virgil's Aeneid was a national epic. The later "Silver Age" included Martial, Pliny the Elder, and the historian Tacitus. The main Latin prose writer of the Augustan age was the historian Livy. Later, Augustine wrote The City of God against the Pagans.

Religion

Main article: Religion in ancient Rome

Further information: Roman imperial cult, History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, and Early Christianity

See also: Religious persecution in the Roman Empire and Historiography of the Christianization of the Roman Empire

The Romans thought of themselves as very religious. They believed their success came from their good relations with the gods (pax deorum). Their old religion was said to have started with the earliest kings of Rome, and it was a big part of being Roman. Roman religion was practical. People believed in "I give that you might give." It depended on the correct practice of prayer, ritual, and sacrifice more than on faith. Every home had a small shrine, and religion was part of everyday life. The Roman calendar was built around religious festivals, and many days each year were set aside for them. After the Republic's collapse, the state religion supported the new emperors. Augustus used a revival of religion to support his rule as the single leader. The Roman imperial cult became an important way Rome showed its presence in the provinces. Refusing the state religion was seen as a serious crime. The Romans honoured many gods and often welcomed local gods instead of getting rid of them, so religious tolerance was not much of an issue.

Christianity began in Roman Judaea as a Jewish religious sect in the 1st century. It slowly spread across the Empire. Persecution was limited and happened only now and then. The most severe persecution of Christians took place under Diocletian from 303 to 311. In the early 4th century, Constantine I became the first emperor to convert to Christianity. He supported the Church and made laws that helped it. He banned public sacrifice but allowed other traditional practices. Later, Julian tried to bring back traditional public sacrifice, but he faced resistance from Christians and had little support from the public. Over the next centuries, Christians focused more on heresy, and non-Christians were not treated harshly until the 6th century.

Legacy

Main article: Legacy of the Roman Empire

The Virginia State Capitol (left), finished in 1788, was based on the Maison Carrée (right) in Nîmes, France. The Maison Carrée is a Roman temple built around 16 BC under Augustus. Roman control of the Italian Peninsula helped inspire Italian nationalism and the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) in 1861. In the United States, the founders looked to Athenian democracy and Roman republicanism as examples for the mixed constitution. They saw the emperor as a symbol of unfair rule.

Several states claimed to be the Roman Empire's successor. The Holy Roman Empire began in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman emperor. The Russian Tsardom saw itself as the Third Rome. It followed the Orthodox Christian tradition of the Byzantine Empire, and Constantinople was seen as the second Rome. This idea is called translatio imperii. The last Eastern Roman title holder, Andreas Palaiologos, sold the title of Emperor of Constantinople to Charles VIII of France. After Charles died, Palaiologos took the title back. When Palaiologos died, he passed the title to Ferdinand and Isabella and their successors, who never used it. When the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II made it his capital and claimed the throne of the Roman Empire. He even planned an invasion of Otranto to reunite the Empire, but his death stopped the plan. The Greek word Romaioi stayed linked to the Greek-speaking Christian people of the Byzantine Empire, and Greeks still use it today.