Definition
Roman imperial legitimacy refers to the idea that the authority of the Roman emperors could be continued, revived, transferred, or claimed by later rulers and political orders.
Why it matters
This theme is central to medieval and early modern Europe because empire was not only a matter of power but also of legitimacy. Competing rulers invoked Rome to justify universal authority, sacred kingship, imperial coronation, and dynastic precedence.
Cross-cutting examples
- Charlemagne's coronation in 800 as a western revival of empire
- Otto I's coronation in 962 as the conventional beginning of the later Holy Roman imperial tradition
- Disputes over whether Roman imperial authority lay in ancient Rome, Byzantium, the Carolingian revival, or the Holy Roman Empire