From columns on buildings to major European languages – Rome’s inheritance is inestimable. But many subsequent empires tried to claim its legacy in a more direct way. When the Ottoman Turks completed their conquest of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453, their leader promptly styled himself Kayser-i Rûm ('Roman Caesar').

The Russian Empire’s first tsars did the same ('tsar' is derived from 'Caesar'), while in Central Europe the Holy Roman Empire was even more literal. Even in modern-day America comment writers muse over whether the US is "the new Rome." The real emperors would, more than likely, think all these candidates unworthy.

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