Title: Roman emperor - Wikipedia
Headings: Roman emperor
Roman emperor
Contents
Background and beginning
Classical period
Imperator
Princeps
Evolution in Late Antiquity
Titles and positions
Powers
Lineages and epochs
Principate
Crisis of the Third Century
Dominate
Decline of the Western Roman Empire
Post-classical assertions to the title
Survival of the Roman Empire in the East
Last Roman emperor
New Western lineage
See also
Lists
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

Content: The reign of Constantine the Great witnessed the replacement of the Caput Mundi from Rome to the city of Constantinople, formerly known as Byzantium, in 330 AD. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century after multiple invasions of imperial territory by Germanic barbarian tribes. Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the West after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim recognized by the Eastern Empire to the title until his death in 480. Following Nepos' death, the Eastern emperor Zeno abolished the division of the position and proclaimed himself as the sole emperor of a reunited Roman Empire. Emperor Heraclius made diplomatic relations with the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, but lost many territories after successful Islamic conquests. The Eastern imperial lineage continued to rule from Constantinople ("New Rome"); they continued to style themselves "emperor of the Romans" (later βασιλεύς Ῥωμαίων in Greek), but are often referred to in modern scholarship as Byzantine emperors. Constantine XI Palaiologos was the last Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire 's Mehmed II in 1453. The Muslim rulers then claimed the title of Caesar of Rome . The "Byzantine" emperors from Heraclius in 629 and onwards adopted the title of basileus ( βασιλεύς ), which had originally meant king in Greek but became a title reserved solely for the Roman emperor and the ruler of the Sasanian Empire.