by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:57 pm
It's probably very late, but I'm going to butt into this issue anyway.
It's an interesting question, but one that also raises the question of what we should consider a "Roman". Did Napoleon regard himself as a Roman? For sure, he drew a lot of inspiration from the Roman Republic/Empire, but following the line of reasoning, you can also state that the Holy Roman Empire was Roman, while the famous joke among historians goes that it was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor a true Empire.
I wouldn't really say he was a "wannabe". He clearly had his own agenda. He wasn't reenacting ancient Rome, he was tyring to tie its grandeur to his own budding empire, and sought ways to legitimate this. In terms of character and style, sure, there definitely were Roman elements, but he was a man of his time more than anything else.
Gn. Dionysius Draco Invictus