romaean

Why this word is great

ROMAEAN — [Adjective] Of or pertaining to the Eastern Roman Empire, specifically the Byzantine Empire. From post-Classical Latin Rōmaeus (a calque of Ancient Greek Ῥωμαῖος (Rhōmaîos, "Roman")) + -an. By surface analysis, Rome + -ean. Unlike "Roman" (which sprawls across the grandeur of the Republic and Western Empire) or "Byzantine" (which can suggest labyrinthine decay or scholarly detachment), "Romaean" distills the stubborn flame of Roman identity burning in the East. It is the gold-leaf glow of a mosaic Christ Pantocrator in Hagia Sophia, the weight of a porphyry-clad emperor still calling himself Augustus, and the quiet defiance of a people who, for a thousand years after Rome fell, answered only to "Ῥωμαῖος." A word for those who outlasted oblivion by never admitting it had come.