Roman empire definition: what "Roman empire" means and examples

This term went viral after a trend revealed that many men think about the actual Roman Empire surprisingly often. It has since evolved into a metaphor for any niche obsession or specific thought that lives in the back of your mind. If your child says, "This video is my Roman Empire," they mean they think about it constantly. It could be a specific awkward moment from three years ago, a certain celebrity scandal, or a random historical fact. It identifies the "background noise" of their internal life and the things they find endlessly fascinating or haunting.

Examples:

1. "The fact that we still don't know who was in that photo is my Roman Empire."
2. "That one specific outfit she wore to the awards show is my Roman Empire; I think about it every day."
3. "How the pyramids were actually built is my dad's literal Roman Empire."