Title: Where does the nickname 'The Eternal City' (Rome) come from? - Quora
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Where does the nickname 'The Eternal City' (Rome) come from?
Gianmarco Prete

Content: If we follow the literature of the 4th/5th century, particularly panegyrics of cities and inventories, we can discern the grad
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The Byzantines had their own perception of geography. Although it was the natural continuation of the Roman one, it had its unique elements as well. In this answer of mine, I explain that its focal point, the city that divided the world in East and West, was Constantinople rather than Rome, as it used to be before the 4th century. The transition was completed in the 5th century, when the status of Constantinople as capital city was stabilized and became widely accepted. If we follow the literature of the 4th/5th century, particularly panegyrics of cities and inventories, we can discern the gradual “decline” of Rome in the collective consciousness and the political propaganda. Although it is still the City, Constantinople is rising fast. Paulinus of Nola alludes to a rivalry between the two cities not unlike those between various cities of the Greco-Roman world. The rivalry is only of religious nature, but quite telling nonetheless. When Constantine was founding the city named after himself [Constantinople], and was the first of the Roman kings to proclaim himself a Christian, the god-sent idea came to him that since he was then embarking on that splendid enterprise of building a city which would rival Rome, he should likewise emulate Romulus' city with a further endowment — he would eagerly defend his walls with the bodies of apostles. He then removed Andrew from the Greeks and Timothy from Asia;