Rhomaioi
Ῥωμαῖοι (Rhōmaîoi) | |
|---|---|
Scenes of agricultural life in a Byzantine Gospel of the 11th century. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Byzantine Empire (esp. Asia Minor, Balkans) | |
| Languages | |
| Medieval Greek | |
| Religion | |
| Eastern Orthodox Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ottoman Greeks, Greeks |
Rhomaioi (or Romaioi; Greek: Ῥωμαῖοι) were the Greek-speaking inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire, primarily in Southern Europe and Western Asia. Although modern scholarship commonly refers to these populations as Byzantines, Eastern Romans, or Byzantine Greeks, starting from Late Antiquity they consistently understood their identity as Roman, rooted in imperial continuity, the Christian faith, and the Greek language and culture. Over time, Rhōmaios became closely associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as Greek speech, and the identity continued in use among Greek Orthodox communities after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.