Was The Byzantine Empire ACTUALLY Roman? Historian Blew My Mind

Overview

This video segment is from the Lex Fridman podcast, featuring historian Anthony Kaldellis. The episode examines whether the Byzantine Empire was “actually Roman,” arguing that the term “Byzantine” is largely a later invention. Instead, it presents Eastern Rome as a direct continuation of the Roman state.

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Core claim: “Byzantine” is a misnomer

Kaldellis argues that:

• The Eastern Roman Empire called itself the Roman Empire.
• Its subjects identified as Romans throughout much of its history.
• The label “Byzantine” reflects a historical naming shift shaped by Western European political and cultural motives, including an attempt to downplay or sever Eastern Roman history from Roman heritage.

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How to define “Roman-ness”

The discussion emphasizes that the debate depends on definitions.

• “Rome” is not just a geographic location—it functions as a political system, citizenship framework, and narrative identity.
• They consider whether Roman identity could persist even after Rome’s city/capital lost centrality.
• They also note cultural transformation, including the shift from Latin to Greek as dominant language, which helps explain why the society could look different while still claiming continuity as “Roman.”

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Big-picture timeline: one long continuum

Rather than treating Roman history as a series of abrupt breaks, the conversation describes it as a single, long continuum:

• Roman kingdom (c. 753–510 BCE)
• Republic (c. 509–27 BCE)
• Imperial monarchy / Principate (from 27 BCE)
• Traditional “split” into Western and Eastern empire (often dated to 395 CE, though portrayed as gradual in practice)
• Continued focus on the East, including:
  • Justinian (6th century)
  • Later turning points culminating in Constantinople’s fall (1453 CE)

Methodological point on dating

Major “dates” (like 395 or the fall of the West) typically mark administrative changes, but the underlying historical reality is slow transformation, not sudden rupture.

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Eastern Rome: stability vs. “military dictatorship”

The episode contrasts broader instability in imperial history with how the East should be interpreted.

• Earlier in the episode, the discussion highlights extreme instability in the wider period: many emperors were murdered, civil war was common, and crises like plague and economic strain occurred.
• Kaldellis pushes back against portraying the East as simply a military dictatorship:
  • Armies and emperors mattered greatly,
  • But the state reportedly did not primarily use the army as a tool of continuous social control.
  • Instead, military influence showed up through succession struggles and civil conflict, rather than constant direct coercion.

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Main crisis points in Eastern Roman history

Rather than constant collapse, the East is described as a system that generally regroups and grows slowly, punctuated by rapid and damaging shocks:

1. Arab conquests (630s) — framed as a decisive decade in which the war was effectively lost.
2. Seljuk Turk conquest of Asia Minor (1070s) — rapid, with only partial later reversals.
3. Fourth Crusade / sack of Constantinople (1204) — French-led forces conquer and temporarily dismantle the empire; the Romans later recover.

Overall framing: swift disasters followed by long continuation.

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How Rome “endures”: gradual evolution and continuity of identity

Kaldellis uses the Ship of Theseus metaphor to argue that:

• Even when components change—administration, language, elites, religion—Roman history remains a single overarching continuity.
• The changes are absorbed into the same political narrative, rather than experienced as a complete rupture.

He also emphasizes that Roman history is different from Greek cultural history or Christian history because it is fundamentally about a state/community, not only cultural tradition.

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Religion and other transformations as long-process “butterfly effects”

Key themes include:

• Constantine’s conversion to Christianity is presented as a massive but hard-to-predict long-term driver.
• Individual decisions matter, but the biggest shifts often only become clear over generations.

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Rejection of simplistic “the empire fell for X reason” narratives

The speakers critique single-cause explanations for Rome’s decline, including:

• Oversimplified accounts blaming invasion alone.
• Sensational claims (e.g., “the empire fell because of the gays”).

Instead, they argue for multi-factor processes, including:

• Corruption of authorities
• Growing mass discontent
• Additional pressures such as demographic and invasion dynamics

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Pride and citizenship: not the whole population

The discussion addresses whether Roman identity worked like modern national identity:

• Kaldellis cautions that sources are mostly written by elites, so elite pride cannot be assumed to reflect everyone’s feelings.
• Participation in Roman society likely involved pragmatic incentives:
  • What subjects received (benefits)
  • What they owed (taxes, defense, loyalty)
• This suggests obligations and incentives often mattered as much as identity or pride.

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Presenters or contributors

• Anthony Kaldellis — historian of the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Empire
• Lex Fridman — host