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Discover what your personal Roman Empire is

If you’ve heard the phrase “My Roman Empire,” you’ve probably gathered that no one actually possesses their own historical era—so what does it mean? This viral TikTok trend began with women asking men how often they think about the Roman Empire, and it turns out, a lot of them think about it every day. As the trend developed, the phrase “My Roman Empire” came to mean anything you think about constantly. Keep reading to learn more about the meaning and origin of the phrase, as well as how to use it in conversation.

What does “My Roman Empire” mean?

Pop culture and media expert Lisa Leombruni says “my Roman Empire” is something that lives rent-free in your mind—something you think about daily. It comes from a TikTok trend in which women asked men how often they think about the Roman Empire. Many said they thought about it every day.

Steps

My Roman Empire Meaning

“My Roman Empire” refers to something that you think about constantly. Whether it’s your favorite movie, celebrity moment, meme, or a personal event, having a “Roman Empire” describes something that you think about daily. It’s often used to open up a conversation about your favorite topic.^[1]
- The phrase is mostly used online on social media sites like TikTok, where it originated. For example, someone might post a video saying “The Wizard of Oz is my Roman Empire” and go on to discuss why they think about it so often.
- Many people take a comedic approach to the phrase and use it to talk about silly things they enjoy. For example, “My Roman Empire is the fact that Taco Bell keeps taking nacho fries off the menu.”
- Some use the popularity of the trend to discuss important political or social matters. They’ll say something like “My Roman Empire is the wage gap” and dedicate their video to educating their viewers on the matter.

Roman Empire Trend Origin

The trend began with asking men how often they think of the Roman Empire. In 2023, Swedish influencer Saskia Cort encouraged her followers to ask the men in their lives how often they thought about the Roman Empire. As more people began stitching the video, women started recording their male partners, friends, and relatives to ask them the question. Most men revealed that they think about the Roman Empire every day, which baffled a lot of viewers and caused the trend to go viral on TikTok.^[2]
- After going viral on TikTok, the trend continued to spread across the Internet to other social media sites like Instagram. As a result, even more women became fascinated by the subject and began questioning the men in their lives to try to understand why they think about the Roman Empire so much.
- Even celebrities participated in the hype. Bachelorette star Hannah Brown asked her fiance, television host Carson Daly revealed he often thinks about the Roman Empire, and NHL team the Buffalo Sabres gave their answers in a video posted to the team’s TikTok page.^[3]
TikTok tried to come up with a female version of the trend. Because it seemed like only men thought about the Roman Empire daily, many women also wanted to hop on the trend. Some suggested that women’s Roman Empire was the Salem Witch Trials or the sinking of the Titanic, but overall, no one could come to an agreement.^[4]
People began talking about their own Roman Empires. As some TikTok users tried to determine the female equivalent of the trend, others began listing their own niche interests that they thought about daily. This led the trend to evolve into the phrase “my Roman Empire” being used to describe anything that’s constantly on your mind.^[5]

How to Use My Roman Empire in Conversation

Post the phrase in a meme or image. This trend may have begun with TikTok videos, but you don’t have to post a video to participate. Try finding an image of your personal Roman Empire, like a screenshot of the movie Mamma Mia for example, and post it with “My Roman Empire” as the caption. You could also edit the image to include the phrase in a text box above or below it like a meme.
- Many TikTok users enjoy posting slideshows of different images, so if you have more than one Roman Empire, you can post them all at once!
Refer to your favorite pop culture moment as your Roman Empire. As this trend developed, it became less about historical events and more about pop culture. If you have a favorite celebrity who’s done something iconic in your eyes, or if there are specific moments in a TV show or movie that live in your mind rent-free, you can call them your Roman Empire. Here are some examples:
- “Beyonce’s new country album is my Roman Empire.”
- “I still think about Lady Gaga’s meat dress from 2010. It’s my Roman Empire.”
- “My Roman Empire is Zendaya and Tom Holland’s relationship.”
- “My Roman Empire is Nick and Jess’s first kiss in New Girl.”
- “My Roman Empire is the entire “Band Geeks” episode of Spongebob.”
- “Jo March’s monologue in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is my Roman Empire.”
Use it to talk about a memorable event in your life. Your Roman Empire doesn’t have to be your favorite scene in a movie or TV show—it can be something you’ve experienced yourself. While mostly positive, any distinct event that you think about constantly can be your Roman Empire, whether that’s something really funny that happened while out shopping with your friend or a bad relationship that ended up changing you for the better. Here are some examples:^[6]
- “My Roman Empire is the co-dependent friendship I had in the 8th grade.”
- “My Roman Empire is hearing Taylor Swift sing my favorite song live at the Eras Tour.”
- “My Roman Empire is the time I broke the soda dispenser at Burger King.”
Discuss a fun fact or historical event you love to share. Sometimes, we learn a really crazy or interesting fact we just can’t wait to share with others. If you have a fun fact you’re constantly dying to work into the conversation, or you love learning about a fascinating historical event, it might be your Roman Empire. Here are some examples:^[7]
- “My Roman Empire is the fact that cats domesticated themselves.”
- “My Roman Empire is knowing Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.”
- “My Roman Empire is the fact that Queen Elizabeth II was a trained mechanic.”
- “My Roman Empire is knowing Joan of Arc was only 19 when she died.”
- “My Roman Empire is the Oracle of Delphi.”
- “My Roman Empire is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.”

Why do men think about the Roman Empire?

The Roman Empire dominates pop culture and media. There are a ton of popular movies like Gladiator, Cleopatra, and Monty Python’s Life of Brian, History Channel documentaries, video games, and even podcasts. With so much Roman Empire-based media to consume, it’s hard not to think of it at least occasionally.^[8]
Modern society owes a lot to the Roman Empire. The Romans popularized roads, aqueducts, the use of cement, and even invented the modern sewage system. They also created the modern calendar, some forms of surgery, and welfare. Since we use a lot of these things daily, many men think of the Roman Empire by association.^[9]
It allows them to be masculine. Ancient Rome is often regarded as being very “macho.” Some men may feel connected to the Roman Empire because they like the masculine ideals of the society. One TikToker stated he believes men are warriors at their core, and war and battle were an important aspect of ancient Rome. This does not, however, mean that all men who think about the Roman Empire are filled with toxic masculinity.^[10]
Not all men think of the Roman Empire. Everyone is different, so of course there are some men who rarely, if ever, think about the Roman Empire. However, even men who didn’t know about the trend beforehand have admitted to thinking about it quite often. It may not be universal, but it does seem to be true that men think of the Roman Empire far more often than women do.