Both Rome
In the late Roman Empire as well as in the Middle Ages, “both Rome” was a metaphor for the coexistence
- of the cities of Rome , as the old capital of the Roman Empire, and a new capital ("second Rome"), which was founded in 330 instead of ancient Byzantium by Constantine the Great under the name of "New Rome" and only after his death 337 the name of Konstantin Opel received
- of the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), which emerged from the overall empire that was finally divided since 395
- the churches or patriarchates of Rome (Western Church) and Constantinople (Eastern Church) or their respective claims to supremacy
The juxtaposition of Western Rome and Eastern Rome and the hostility between Rome and Constantinople was wrongly interpreted according to the legend about the alleged founders of Rome, the twins Romulus and Remus.
In addition to Rome and Constantinople, Moscow (after the fall of Constantinople in 1453) was called the “third Rome” or Moscow called itself that in order to claim the (Eastern) Roman legacy.