Byzantine Empire Imperium Graecorum or Imperium Romanum??

[keravnos]

Keravnos do you believe that the Byzantines are descended by Hellenes even though they consider themselves as Romans??As for the alphabet it was taken by the Eteocretes who were Greek and not from the Semitic Phoenicians who came after them. We must all agree that the Graeco-Romani culture was Destroyed by the coming of Christianity because it was consider pagan and evil

Well, I think I made my opinion on the Eastern Greek speaking Romani perfectly clear. Yes they were hellenes, mostly all but the ruling elite but considered themseleves Romani. The big majority of the intelligensia that would be needed to run an empire, had come from Roma to Konstantinoupolis too (originally called Nova Roma), so to my mind there is NO DOUBT whatsoever about the "Romanicity" of Byzantium. Besides, being called "Hellenas" back then was a mortal insult, as it implied Paganism and could get you killed if a priest was nearby listening.

So far as the alphabet is concerned you are wrong. It was phoenician letters, in which we added the vowels (Phoenicians just didn't write theirs, much like Israelis today, but pronounced them all the same). Eteocretes were the descendants of Minoans, lived in Eastern Crete (Think Seteia and Ag. Nikolaos and environs), wrote in their own alphabet, (Grammiki A') which hasn't been read yet. Reason? They spoke a non greek language, Minoan which we know very little about. Grammiki B' the written language of the Mycenaeans was rough and unyieldy as every syllable had its own letter (approx 88 of them) and was very difficult to both read and write.
Phoenician alphabet...ΧΡΥΣΟΣ (spelled Chrysos=gold)
Linear B' alphabet... KU-RU-SO and it would look like this
http://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%95%...1:Linear_B.jpg
Reading that (in the 40's using some unscrambling techniques of the British) was the first clear cut evidence that Mycenaeans were actually Greek.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ventris

If you guys can do watch this documentary,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documen...linear-b.shtml

It is not Here,
http://best.online.docus.googlepages.com/
among many of the best online documentaries (520 of them) I have seen, but it would be a fine addition.


and for more on the following (it is in greek)
http://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93%...A%CE%AE_%CE%92

[Agiselaos]

Yes, the ruling elite were Romans but after the 7th or 8th century we can say they were Hellenes and many Emperors were Hellenes such Vasileios 2nd Nikephoros Phokas while others such were not(Tsimisces,Leon) but my point is even though they did not call themselves Hellenes they separate themselves from Italians who they called Latins.what is more they considered themselves free and after 4th crusade they hated more the Latins than Turks. As for the Eteocretes you were right but the first people who settled were Minoans as for the alphabet i think we have taken by these Phoenicians not from semitic Phoenicians

[edyzmedieval]

The whole thing is debatable. While today we consider it a Greek Empire, they considered themselves as Rhomaioi (Basileus ton Rhomaion - Emperor of the Romans). Even in 1453 they considered themselves like that, but in fact, they were completely Hellenic.