The Roman Empire holds sway over the European imagination like nothing else in its history since it was Rome that truly first created what is now known as Europe. With an Empire that at its greatest extent stretched from the crags of Scotland to the shores of the Black Sea, doubtlessly influencing the lands and peoples beyond its borders, Rome came to define European civilization and culture by the time of its demise, and ever since then, successive European monarchs have harked back to the thousand-year span of the Republic and its Caesars for political and even moral legitimacy.

Therefore did Charlemagne, the Frankish king, have himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Church, which was formally recognized as Roman Catholic (”universal”). Therefore did the Hapsburgs follow suit, maintaining the fiction of an unbroken lineage tracing all the way back towards the Palatine Hills.

From Napoleon to Hitler, each and every European hegemon was mindful of his would-be heritage. Indeed, the European Union and its Common Market nowadays is achieving the political and economic integration that had long been a goal of statesmen across the Continent down through the centuries.

But what is Europe, and what is European? For although the frontiers of Rome might be discovered in diverse locales like North Africa and Mesopotamia, today’s Europe, arguably Rome’s successor in effect if not in intent, debates whether Turkey in Asia Minor is “Europe” or European enough for membership.

What makes for a European? At different points in its history, Europe has not considered Russia properly European. And despite being an acknowledged cornerstone, even Greece had been held suspect, particularly as a result of centuries of Ottoman influence. Are the Balkans sufficiently European, or European at all? Culturally, Europe used to feel beset by Asia; the far more modern-day threat was, until the rise of militant radical Islam, perceived to be from Africa.

Looking to find the best information on The Roman Empire, then visit www.articlesgeek.com to find the best advice on European Union for yourself.