Communities throughout history have always sought to define who they are as a collective whole. Over time, this is what has helped bind nations together through a collective sense of national identity and belonging. Although there are certain definitions that people use to define who they are collectively, such as their own language and national history, this is not the only explanation for how groups of people have conceived of who they are. In reality, communities have above all conceived of who they are by comparing themselves to an “other” that they are not. As historian Peter Sahlins says, national identity was constructed over time “by the social or territorial boundaries drawn to distinguish the collective self and its implicit negation, the other.” As this argument suggests, throughout history, definitions of “us” have depended on contrasting definitions of “them.” I propose that communities used this concept of the “other” in order to elevate their own perceived superiority over groups they deemed inferior. This essay will explore how these definitions have shaped history, from the times of the Romans to the 21st century. It will also be necessary to examine the different ways in which groups differ from each other, including in terms of religion, nationality, race and political beliefs. Only through this exploration can we fully understand the ways in which people have defined themselves and interacted with others over time. The key place to begin with discussing the conceptions of "us" and "them", and how they were used in the process of self-definition, is Edward Said's groundbreaking work, Orientalism. In the middle of the paper, a Christian who “let his hair grow in a barbaric way”. The connection between barbarism and the deviation from true Christianity shown by this evidence clearly illustrates that as the medieval period progressed, communities began to view themselves as asserting their religious superiority over the paganism they saw in the barbaric “other”. Although it would be foolish to accept without reservation the reliability of these medieval sources, as they only reflect the view of the Church, which by nature would have characterized pagans and heretics as " other » barbarians, given the importance of religion to the people of the During the medieval period, it is very likely that the views of the Church became ingrained in the minds of the population. For this reason, European populations came to define themselves as superior in the face of the religious deviance of “others.” ».’