Just How 'Greek' Was The Byzantine Empire???

[Soldier of Macedon]

My good Spartan, I invite you, in the context of a polite discussion, to reveal to me any texts which indicate that the citizens of East Rome considered themselves 'Greeks' or 'Hellenes'.

You are aware of what the term 'Greek' represented and still represents (when discussing issues of that era) with regard to East Rome?

[Demos]

The Byzantine Empire was as multi-ethnic as the Roman Empire. However, the prevailing language and culture were Greek/and Greco-Roman and Latin/Roman respectively regardless of a person's ethnic background.

With regard to how Greek the Byzantine Empire was, I will say that after the coronation of Charlemagne in 800AD as "Holy Roman Emperor", the kingdoms in Western Europe typically referred to the "Byzantine" Empire as Empire of the Greeks and the Byzantine Emperor as Emperor of the Greeks. Of course this annoyed greatly the Byzantine rulers who saw themselves as the true and legitimate heirs to the Romans.

With regard to the last emperor of Byzantium (Constantine Palaiologos) I never recall reading he was of Armenian extract, but instead of Greek (father's side) and Serbian (mother's side) background.

Greeks today seen themselves as the inheritors of Byzantine Empire owning to it predominately Greek language and culture, just as the Italians see themselves as the inheritors of the Roman Empire, the Turks to the Ottoman Empire, and the Arabs to the Arabian Caliphate Empire.

In all cases the Empires were multi-ethnic, but there was a predominate language and culture in all of them.

[Sarafot]

Greeks today seen themselves as the inheritors of Byzantine Empire owning to it predominately Greek language and culture, just as the Italians see themselves as the inheritors of the Roman Empire, the Turks to the Ottoman Empire, and the Arabs to the Arabian Caliphate Empire.

See that is how Macedonians seen themselves as the inheritors of Macedonian Empire!

[Demos]

See that is how Macedonians seen themselves as the inheritors of Macedonian Empire!

Sarafot,

How did the Eastern part of the Roman Empire (Byzantium) end up having a Greek language and culture?

[Sarafot]

Sarafot,

How did the Eastern part of the Roman Empire (Byzantium) end up having a Greek language and culture?

Which one? You mean that, which you start learning it in 1870? Instead of Arnavtika,Macedonian and Vlahs??
Acctualy the real Aromanian-Vlahs,with that i mean descedents of Bysantine(East Roman) empire are VLAHS-VLAHI-VLASI,with the name of a countrey ROMAN-IA,lend of ROMANS!!

[Demos]

Which one? You mean that, which you start learning it in 1870? Instead of Arnavtika,Macedonian and Vlahs??
Acctualy the real Aromanian-Vlahs,with that i mean descedents of Bysantine(East Roman) empire are VLAHS-VLAHI-VLASI,with the name of a countrey ROMAN-IA,lend of ROMANS!!

I mean, how do you explain that the Eastern part of the Mediterranean basin spoke Greek and had a Hellenized culture both during the Roman Empire and during Byzantium?

[Sarafot]

I mean, how do you explain that the Eastern part of the Mediterranean basin spoke Greek and had a Hellenized culture both during the Roman Empire and during Byzantium?

Oh you ment Macedono-Greek culture,and koine language?

[Delodephius]

Macedonians didn't produce any historically significant culture in the ancient period.

[Demos]

Oh you ment Macedono-Greek culture,and koine language?

So would you agree then, that by the time of the Successor Wars the Macedonians were Hellenized? Yes or no? Your analysis...

As for the Koine language, the Koine language was simply a fusion of Dorian Greek, Aeolian Greek, and Ionian Greek, but the primary influence or base, if you will, of Koine was Attic (Ionian-Athenian) Greek.

[Delodephius]

If I may, Macedonians were not Hellenized in my own opinion. After all, they are not today.

[Demos]

Macedonians didn't produce any historically significant culture in the ancient period.

Do we have written inscriptions on tombs, manuscripts, etc etc in ancient Macedonia written in anything else, but Greek?

I have researched this many many times and have yet to see any evidence of a different language or alphabet.

[Sarafot]

Bravo be Slovak,and you ment Macedono-Roman wars?I didnt understand that ''succesor wars'' who?

And Koine was some sort like Serbo-Croatian in Yugoslavia and rest of Europe with slavic population used Russian,so probebly Greek influence was high,so Aleks used some sort of SerboCroatian of that time!

Right Slovak?

[Demos]

If I may, Macedonians were not Hellenized in my own opinion. After all, they are not today.

Tomas,

If the Macedonians were not Hellenized than how do you explain the fact that from modern day Greece all the way to India, Greek language and culture prevailed and eventually became the language/culture of the eastern part of the Roman empire and subsequently the Byzantine Empire.

From a historical point of view, why would the Macedonians if they spoke and wrote different language than Greek, why would they choose to use it and spread it in the East? Why not spread their own language? And even if we assume that they did it for practical reasons, why not spread Persian instead since the Persians had already been ruling the Empire for hundreds of years prior?

[Delodephius]

There is this funny thing about us Slavs. We wrote on wood, burned our dead to ashes and built buildings from lumber.

The only thing the Greek inscriptions in ancient Macedonia prove is that inscriptions in ancient Macedonia were written in Greek.

[Demos]

Bravo be Slovak,and you ment Macedono-Roman wars?I didnt understand that ''succesor wars'' who?

And Koine was some sort like Serbo-Croatian in Yugoslavia and rest of Europe with slavic population used Russian,so probebly Greek influence was high,so Aleks used some sort of SerboCroatian of that time!

Right Slovak?

Sarafot,

I think this topic is above your knowledge. The Roman-Macedonian Wars (1, 2, and 3rd) occurred after the Successor Wars, which were wars between the Generals of Alexander after his death.