[DonnieP]

One is not like the other. Constantinople was formally established as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. It never stopped being that until it fell to the Crusaders in the 13th century. Its citizens called themselves Roman simply because that's what they were. After the Western Empire fell, they were the only "Romans" left (i.e., of the empire). On the other hand, the Ottomans considered themselves Roman simply because they _conquered_ "Rum" (Constantinople) in the 15th century - the Ottomans recognized which empire Constantinople actually was. And, the Romanovs in Russia considered themselves Roman because they married into the family. The concept of "Byzantine" as something distinct that Constantinople "changed" into is an invention of Roman Catholic and Holy Roman Empire scholars after Constantinople had fallen and finally after all those years no longer stood in the way of the Vatican's claim to a temporal empire which they felt inherited the "Roman Empire" glory.