Byzantine empire was Greek?

[wvwvw]

It was multi-ethnic like most Empires in world history. There was no such thing as ''nations'' in the modern sense (with only 1 ethnicity, language etc.) before the late 18th century.

And even the ethnic affiliations were mostly based on paternal line instead of full autosomal ancestry. E.g. someone with a Greek great-grandfather could be ''Greek'' in some contexts (if he could speak Greek and had an Hellenic culture) even if all the other great-grandparents were non-Greeks.

Why wouldn't Greeks have full Greek ancestry. They had been living in the same place since antiquity.

After the 7th century, Byzantium was confined to ethnic Greek populations. It was more a nation state than England or France is today.

During the 11th century the Bulgarians despite having the same religion as the Greeks revolted from the Byzantine empire in order to create a nation state. Greek monks created a special script for Slavs.

Even before the 7th century the Byzantine empire extended to places where there were ethnic Greek populations. All of these places have been Greek for over 3500 years and were united by the same language and religion and decent from the same ancestors.

These had Greek populations since Mycenaean and Minoan times, including Asia-Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt.

[Blondie]

The elite was greek, they had hellenic-roman culture, their language was greek, the centre of Empire was in greek areas, so yes we can say basically the Byzantine Empire was a greek state with many conquered non greek area.

[Dorian]

amk

lan oc doverim seni

[itilvolga]

Well, Byzantines were calling themselves as “Romans”. The term “Byzantine” is basically a dedicatory by 19th century’s modern historians.
Also their official language was Latin until 641 (Heraclius Period).

Still, most of its time (641-1453), there was Hellenic culture and language predominantly so we can say it was Hellenized.

[wvwvw]

Nop Constantinople was not Greece, during Byzantine empire there was no Greece.

What do you think Imperium Grecorum was? Even the Vikings referred to it as "Grikkenland"

Constantinopolis was founded by Constantine a Greco-Roman and the area was inhabited by Greeks for 4000 years. It was the Jerusalem of the Greek Orthodox Religion and it was part of Greece.

It was first founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 659 BC. It was part of the Hellenic Union of Alexander and his successors, and was always populated by Greeks who shared the same language, religion, and culture as all other Greeks and took part in the Olympic Games which had taken place since 776 BC where only Greeks were allowed to compete.

The inhabitants worshiped the GREEK GODS BY THEIR GREEK NAMES and when they became Christians they fell under the authority of the GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE along with all other Greeks.

Agia Sofia was a GREEK Cathedral used by a GREEK Patriarch who conducted services excusably in GREEK. Even the Mosaics were inscribed in GREEK not Latin.

The Byzantines prided themselves on their ancestry from the Ancients and they were taught the Iliad and the works of Aristotle and others.

Official language: Greek
Official tittle: Basileus Romaion from Mycenean Quasileus (classical Greek Basileus)
Religion: GREEK Orthodox
Capital: Constantinople, Greece.
Culture: Greek

It was recognized by all as Greece:

Lynche (1601 AD) "This Island of Samos or Samothrace is directly opposite unto the country of Thrace in Greece where Constantinople is erected", "....king and sole commander of Thrace, which is a province of Greece on this side of the sea Hellespont"

Of course I wouldn't expect from a Holocaust denier to acknowledge any of the above.

[wvwvw]

The elite was greek, they had hellenic-roman culture, their language was greek, the centre of Empire was in greek areas, so yes we can say basically the Byzantine Empire was a greek state with many conquered non greek area.

No-one doubts that the Greco-Roman Empire formed part of the cultural foundation for many nations, just as Ancient Greece did for even more. However this does not mean that these nations are the continuation of the medieval Greco-Roman nation. The modern Greek nation is. However, this does not mean that we do not feel close to those peoples who share our heritage.

As for peoples considering themselves part of the Greco-Roman legacy -religiously probably, culturally perhaps, ethnically certainly not. I.e. no peoples considered themselves "Romans" except the modern Greeks.

I will give an example to make the distinction clear. Islam was the religion of the Arabs. They passed it on to many other peoples, with much of their culture and language. However, these peoples are not the continuation of the Arab chaliphate, nor Arabs themselves. Likewise, the Orthodox peoples of the Balkans are not Romioi, nor continuators of the Byzantine empire.

The Ottomans referred to Greece which included Macedonia and Thrace Rumelia, because the Greeks were considered Romans, having been founders of the Eastern-Roman Empire.

People are consistently confusing the Greco-Roman Empire with Orthodox Christianity. They are not the same, or even inextricably related. There were other Orthodox Christian nations apart from the Empire. For example, for centuries the Greco-Roman Empire was locked in a life and death struggle with Orthodox Bulgaria.

[Tigranes]

MakeIstanbulConstantinopleAgain!

[Tauromachos]

It was multi-ethnic like most Empires in world history. There was no such thing as ''nations'' in the modern sense (with only 1 ethnicity, language etc.) before the late 18th century.

Exactly^

And even the ethnic affiliations were mostly based on paternal line instead of full autosomal ancestry. E.g. someone with a Greek great-grandfather could be ''Greek'' in some contexts (if he could speak Greek and had an Hellenic culture) even if all the other great-grandparents were non-Greeks.

Yep^

[wvwvw]

Well, Byzantines were calling themselves as “Romans”. The term “Byzantine” is basically a dedicatory by 19th century’s modern historians.
Also their official language was Latin until 641 (Heraclius Period).

Still, most of its time (641-1453), there was Hellenic culture and language predominantly so we can say it was Hellenized.

They spoke Greek, long before the Romans. Few could understand Latin. Speaking of Romans the early Romans included Trojan Greeks and Corinthians colonists. Julius Caesar last words he said while they were killing him was in Greek.

Historians and other authors use the terms Romhellenes and Graecoromans for Greeks, aiming to indicate descent and citizenship simultaneously. The term "Greek, Graikos" was used during the whole Byzantine period to describe the ethnicity of the Greek people in the Byzantine Empire Empire.

When the Christianization of Hellenes was complete around the 9th century, the term "Hellene" returns, gradually of course, and starts describing the Romans-Romioi.

For example, in the 9th century Peloponnesian Arethas of Caesarea , one of the most important figures Byzantion produced in his Scholia he describes the inhabitants of his native Peloponnesos, as "eggene hellenika gene"(indigenous(or noble) Greek race) "forgetting" the other meaning of the word "Hellene" (idololater), even if he was an Archbishop and one of the three four greatest Byzantine theologians

The three ethnonyms (Graikos, Hellene and Romioi) remain until the foudation of the modernGreek state, when "Hellene" becomes official.

That notion of Greekness ethnically within the Roman political identity, was strong throughout the Roman period, as expressed in Panhellenion institution, the Second Sophistic and till the end and after the fall of the Empire in 15 century Mystras. That’s why emperor Julian praises empress Eusebia coming from “a pure Greek race, from the purest Greek, from the metropolis of Makedonia(Thessalonike)”.

In the same spirit the 4th century emperor boast because:

“Esmen gar tes Hellados oi peri ten Thraken kai ten Ionian oikountes eggonoi, kai ostis emon me liana gnomon, pothei proeipein tous pateras kai ten choran auten aspasasthai.”
“We the inhabitants of Thrace and Ionia are sons of Greece, and whoever from us isn’t ungrateful, desire to salute their fathers and kiss her ground(Greece’s)”.

You have campaigns in Polis in order to liberate Cretans from Saracens since “prepon estin yper ton christianon kai homophylon agonisasthai”- “ its an obligation to fight for those with we share the same religion and race” (Theophan.Continuat., p.475.7-8)

Prokopios,in his Yper ton polemon logoi, 4.27.32, here, in the 6th century describes the Greeks of the Empire as "Graikoi-Greeks".

"πολλοὺς μὲν οὖν ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἀνῄρει, ἐς οὓς ὑποψίᾳ τινὶ καὶ λόγον οὐκ ἐχούσῃ ἐχρῆτο. τῷ δὲ Πασιφίλῳ ἐπέστελλεν, ὃν δὴ καταστήσεσθαι ἐπὶ Καρχηδόνος φυλακῇ ἔμελλε, τοὺς Γραικοὺς ἅπαντας οὐδὲν ὑπολογισαμένῳ κτεῖναι."

"Each day, therefore, he was destroying many men toward whom he felt any suspicion, even though groundless. And he gave orders to Pasiphilus, whom he was intending to appoint in charge of the garrison of Carthage, to kill all the Greeks without any consideration."

[Tauromachos]

Liar it was 100% Albanian.

Albania was just a particular theme(district)"Dhyrachium" of the Byzantine Empire,one of many

Of course official language and toponyms in Albania were Greek(and/or Latin)