Which individual do you consider to have been the "Last of the Romans"?
Edit: ugh typo
Edit: ugh typo
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I mean, we all got what he meant, but ultimately culture is continuum in constant evolution. Last of the Romans is classic trophy to nominate for but ultimately it comes to placing more or less arbitary qualifications which then determine the selection. You might as well ask who was the last of the Scotsmen because modern Scotland would be quite alien to Robert the Bruce.
If you bought the 3rd Rome narrative it would be rather this guy:
He only needs a mail order bride from Byzantine noble family to secure legitimacy. Perhaps he should try Facebook?
Either Galla Placidia or Majorian. Aetius was too much of a self serving prick. If he had just accepted letting Galla Placidia run the show and Majorian marrying Valentian's daughter and becoming Caesar, the western empire would probably have made it to the end of the 5th century in good shape. Maybe Aegidius.
I think Mussolini was the last person with a somewhat serious 'Roman Empire' obsession that actually held any power (and you're not very Roman if you hold no power).
His conquest of Ethiopia never pacified the country until his own country was occupied and pacified by the alliance of the Ethiopians. So clearly the true roman was Haile Selassie.
It was rather the invasion of Germanic tribes. Very Roman ending of the last Emperor Benitus Amilcarus Andreus Augustus.
Julian the Apostate was the last of the Romans. Everyone who came later were subjects of a Judean sovreign.
Worse, the Germanic tribes where fighting in his turf against each other. In his last days he was just a mere puppet of one. He also fought a portracted war in North Africa and Greece.
He also seized power after marching against Rome.
Heil Benitus Augustus.
Is anyone past the crisis of third century even a real Roman anymore? And I mean a real, real Roman. Julian was just an edgy fanboy pretending to be a real Roman.
Both pagan and of Roman or Italian origin?
I guess Carinus was the last real one then since the Illyrians took over next.
I was rather thinking of the profound changes in society come late antiquity. So essentially the last classical rather than ancient Roman (well, if you take classical and late antiquity as non-overlapping periods). Since the changes were incremental it's hard to pin on one name but I think Decius fits as symbolic harbinger for reasons of war, plague, death (particularly of himself at barbarian hands), persecution and conservative reaffirmation of roman-ness. So perhaps he is the last classical Roman emperor.
Not trying to say that trying to remain beholden to the past was effective countermeasure to Rome's changing situation, of course.