The Romans and the Rum: A Tale of Two Empires
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| The Romans and the Rum |
What does Rum mean in Roman?, What is the Romans in Islam?, What is the difference between Greek and Rum?, Who are the Rum people?, What is the difference between The Romans and the Rum?, Many questions will be answered in this article.
The words "Rum" and "Romans" are often used interchangeably, which can cause confusion, so it is important to clarify the difference between them.
Both Rum and Romans were part of the ancient Roman Empire, which was once united and powerful.
They are a dynasty referred to as the "Yellow Banu," whose origins trace back to the descendants of Al-Ays ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (peace be upon them).
According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC, by the brothers Romulus and Remus.
Their story is steeped in myth, as they were abandoned as infants and left to die, only to be rescued and nurtured by a she-wolf.
As the legend goes, the brothers eventually founded the city of Rome, However, a conflict arose between them, leading to Romulus killing Remus, Romulus then became the first king of Rome.
After Romulus, six more kings ruled, with the last being Tarquinius Superbus, Due to his tyranny, the people revolted and expelled him in 509 BC, bringing an end to the monarchy.
The Roman Republic was subsequently established, led by two elected consuls who shared power with the Senate, also an elected body.
In times of war and crisis, the position of dictator was granted to one of the consuls, a role that held near-absolute authority.
During the era of the Roman Republic, the Punic Wars occurred—three significant conflicts between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC.
During these wars, the Carthaginian commander Hannibal famously crossed the towering Alps with armies and elephants, successfully penetrating Roman territory and winning several battles.
Despite his victories, Hannibal failed to conquer Rome, The wars ultimately ended with Rome's victory, the destruction of Carthage, and Rome's emergence as the dominant power of the Mediterranean.
The Religious and Cultural Divide: Romans vs. Rum
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| Romulus and Remus Statue. |
In 49 BC, Julius Caesar assumed military leadership and declared himself the sole permanent dictator.
This decision provoked the Senate, which conspired against him, Their plot succeeded, and Caesar was assassinated, and Following his death, Antony and Octavius joined forces to avenge him.
However, tensions between the two eventually escalated, culminating in the naval Battle of Actium.
Octavius, who later took the title "Augustus Caesar," emerged victorious, In the aftermath, Antony and his ally, Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, committed suicide.
During the reign of Emperor Augustus, a significant event occurred: the birth of Christ (peace be upon him) and the beginning of the spread of his teachings.
This eventually led to the persecution of Christians, which intensified over time.
The peak of this persecution occurred during the reign of Emperor Nero.
It is also worth mentioning Nero's uncle, the infamous "Mad King" Caligula, whose reign was marked by chaos and cruelty.
During the third century AD, the Roman Empire faced several crises, Among these was the rising power of the Persians, who engaged in numerous conflicts with the Romans and managed to seize territories such as Armenia and parts of Iraq.
Another major challenge was the outbreak of the Cyprian Plague, which caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Romans and contributed to the empire's decline.
Due to the vastness of the empire and its growing challenges, Emperor Diocletian proposed dividing the Roman Empire into two parts, each governed by an emperor with an assistant.
This system, known as the Tetrarchy, aimed to provide more effective governance, However, the arrangement was short-lived and eventually collapsed.
The Shift in Roman and Rum Beliefs
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| Statue of Emperor Constantine the Great. |
The Roman Empire experienced significant chaos and conflict over succession until Constantine the Great rose to power in 306 AD.
He is regarded as one of the most influential Roman emperors, Constantine shifted the empire's eastern capital to the city of Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople in his honor.
He also recognized Christianity as a legitimate religion within the empire, ending the persecution of Christians.
Moreover, Constantine embraced Christianity himself, becoming the first Christian Roman emperor.
In 347 AD, Emperor Theodosius took power and declared Christianity the sole official religion of the Roman Empire.
He issued decrees persecuting pagans and adherents of ancient faiths, ordered the closure of historic temples, including Egyptian and Greek temples, and banned their rituals, as well as the Olympic Games.
During his reign, the final separation occurred between the Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, with its capital in Constantinople, and the Western Roman Empire, with its capital in Rome.
Each became an independent entity, The Byzantines abandoned Latin, the language of the Western Romans, and adopted Greek as their official language.
The division extended beyond language to religious doctrines: the Roman Church followed Catholicism, while the Church of Constantinople adhered to Orthodoxy.
By the fifth century AD, the Roman Empire was weakening and on the brink of collapse.
Germanic tribes began raiding and pillaging Roman territories, gaining dominance in the West.
These tribes, including the Franks, Goths, Vandals, and Saxons, eventually laid the foundations for Western nations such as France, England, and Germany, emerging from the ruins of the Western Roman Empire.
In 410 AD, the Visigoths, led by Alaric, invaded Western Roman lands, ultimately reaching and sacking Rome.
The Western Roman Empire officially fell in 476 AD when the Germanic king Odoacer overthrew Emperor Romulus Augustulus, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.
The Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, endured for about a thousand years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
The Byzantines considered themselves Romans, maintaining Roman laws and customs, and were referred to as "Rums" by their neighbors.
Emperor Justinian the Great is regarded as one of the greatest Byzantine emperors.
He sought to revive the glory of ancient Rome, codified Roman law, and commissioned the construction of the iconic Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople.
The Byzantine Empire ultimately fell in 1453 AD to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.
Sultan Mehmed renamed Constantinople to "Islambol," which later became Istanbul, and declared it the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
With this conquest, the Roman Empire, in both its eastern and western parts, came to an end.
The Eastern Roman Empire: The Byzantines and the Rum
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| The Rum Appearance and Look |
★ The Rum: (The Greek East) refers to the people of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Orthodox Christians of Byzantium, with their capital in Constantinople.
They inhabited the eastern part of the ancient Roman Empire after its division in 359 AD.
Under the leadership of Emperor Heraclius, they faced the rise of Islam and engaged in wars against the Sassanid Persian Empire.
At their height, they controlled Egypt, the Levant, and North Africa, until the Muslims conquered these regions.
The Romans resisted the Islamic conquest for centuries, but in 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror finally captured Constantinople, the last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, bringing an end to the Roman Empire in the East.
The Legacy of the Roman Empire: The Latin West
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| The Romans Appearance and Look |
★ Romans: (Latin West) refers to the people of the Western Roman Empire, who were Catholic, with their capital in Rome, Italy, They occupied the western part of the ancient Roman Empire after its division in 395 AD.
This western region fell victim to the invasions of the North Germanic tribes, particularly the Vandals and Visigoths, who repeatedly plundered Rome.
With the deposition of the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, by the Germans in 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire was abolished, marking the beginning of a new era in European history: the Dark Ages.
- The Romans are Italians, and their capital is Rome.
- The Rum are Greeks, and their capital was Byzantium (currently Istanbul).
- The Romans spoke Latin.
- The Rum spoke Greek.
- The Romans practiced a pagan religion.
- The Rum were also initially pagans, but later converted to Christianity.
Additionally, the Rum are considered descendants of Sam (Shem) ibn Noah (peace be upon him), while the Romans are considered descendants of Japheth ibn Noah (peace be upon him).