Erm, why are our TikTok FYPs full of people talking about the Roman Empire?
In life there's certain things we think about on a regular basis, 'what should I make for dinner?', 'do I need to bring a jacket?', 'did I turn the hob off before leaving the house?,' and now, according to the latest TikTok trend the Roman Empire is pretty high up on that list too.
Yes, that's right the Roman Empire, the history period you studied in school that's the basis for modern civilisation, is now trending on TikTok, after a number of people have been asking their partners how often they think about the Roman Empire, and it turns out quite a lot.
The trend sees people asking their often male partners "how often do you think about the Roman Empire?" and the results are often incredibly surprising with many men saying they think about it regularly, from anywhere up to weekly, to three times a DAY. Three times a day thinking about Julius Caesar and co? That's impressive.
So where exactly did the trend come from? And is there a reason some people are lowkey obsessed with the Roman Empire? Here's what you need to know.
What is the TikTok Roman Empire trend?
Ok, so for once a TikTok trend actually started on Instagram before making its way onto TikTok.
At the end of August, a Roman reenactor based in Sweden, Gaius Flavius, took to his Instagram to post a reel asking his followers to ask their partners how often they think about the Roman Empire, saying: "Ladies, many of you do not realize how often men think about the Roman Empire. Ask your husband/boyfriend/father/brother – you will be surprised by their answers.”
Since his original post, the reel has made its way onto TikTok, with the associated hashtag 'romanempire' now having nearly millions of views on TikTok, with hundreds of people asking their partners how often they think of the Roman Empire.
Their subsequent responses have varied from "Three times a day", to "technically every day" and "probably every other day". In comparison their partner asking the question usually says they never even think about it.
Of course, as many TikTok comments have highlighted it's not just men who think about the Roman Empire, but there does seem to be a significant number of them who are interested in it, but why?
Why are people so obsessed with the Roman Empire?
Now that it's established a decent chunk of the population are thinking of the Roman Empire on a near daily basis (which is still wild), we need to understand why.
When many TikTokers followed up with their partners about their fascination with the Roman Empire, there was a variety of responses. Many people seemed interested in it because of what has originated from the Roman Empire, such as roads and languages.
Or for others it's all about the gladiator association, as one person said: "Every time I'm listening to a really cool song, I imagine that scene from Troy" and another said they think about: "two people in the Colosseum that fight to the death".
While there technically is a lot to think about when it comes to the Roman Empire, it lasted for a 1,000 years after all, some people on TikTok are skeptical others are so interested in it, with many questioning if this is just a big practical joke people are playing on their partners.
One person commented on a TikTok: "They all have to be in on this because WHY" and another said: "I feel like I'm being pranked."
But with nearly a billion views on TikTok, surely there's some big Roman Empire fans out there? We doubt it's going to be us, but next time we order a caesar salad, we'll be sure to have a think of the Roman Empire.
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