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"Properly Roman" according to what formal certifying authority of "proper Romans?"

They considered themselves Roman up until Constantinople fell to Mehmed II. And even then, the Ottoman Turks took the title Kayser-e-Rum, literally "Caesar of Rome." And even before them, as the Muslims first expanded out of Mecca and Medina, they referred to the Byzantines as "Rum" or "Rome."

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Would you say the Holy Roman Empire was really Roman?

In the words of Voltaire it wasn’t Holy, it wasn’t Roman, and it wasn’t an empire.

>They considered themselves Roman up until Constantinople fell to Mehmed II.

Not as much, especially after the first 4 centuries. They claimed a different heritage then (the local one).

Besides the western barbarians that took down Rome proper also called themselves Roman ("the Holy Roman empire") for "legitimacy" purposes (as a claim to the expanses of the empire). The same reason Mohamed the conqueror adopted the "Ceasar of Rome" title.

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