11-19-2008, 04:35 PM
Quote:wulfgar60:2x9zkxt6 Wrote:There's "Romania" too. In fact the Romanian language derives from Latin. An amazing degree of Latinisation for a region the Romans only controlled for 150 years.
Must have plenty of colonii in that one!
They call themselves "Romans" and their language is derived from Latin. What more could you ask for?
The only difficulty with these concepts is that they rely on people's perceptions of themselves. What people perceive as being true isn't necessarily fact.
After all, I am Napoleon Bonapart, so the First Republic isn't over, so why is there a Second and a Third Republic??
Well that's the case Ian. Philosophers have spent time arguing what exactly constitutes an identity. In the in the middle ages it was the hot topic for the scholastics.
For Western Europe the "Roman Empire" ended in the late 5th century. I say that, even though Justinian made something of a comeback later. Although the Greek perspective on this might be different. What is true, is after that, things were different for Western Europe.
Steven.
