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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zardnaar" data-source="post: 7473653" data-attributes="member: 6716779">It was the last remnant of the political continuation of the Roman Empire.  Byzantine was a label they called themselves Romans and in the late empire non Romans were full citizens.  You could even argue the last remnants lasted to 1460 or 61 with the Morea and Trebizond lasting until then.The term Byzantine was invented after the empire fell, the Islamic nations referred to them as Rum (Rome), the west did not due to a variety of reasons but when Byzantium was strong the west would not even use the term Emperor for centuries after the fall of Rome as it was exclusive to the Byzantine Emperor. The HRE being founded was not that popular to the Byzantines when it was done but they could not do much about it. Once the Byzantines got weaker they called them the Empire/Kingdom of the Greeks. You did not have to be Latin to be Roman though much like you can be an American with whatever ethnic back ground now. Greek also did not displace latin to the 6th century either, and they did not reform the Empire until after the Islamic conquests so the Empire dying in the 5th,6th, 7th or 15th centuries are all viable arguments.</blockquote>