"The Roman Empire is considered to have been the most enduring in history. The formal start date of the empire remains the subject of debate, but most historians agree that the clock began ticking in 27 BC, when the Roman politician Octavian overthrew the Roman Republic to become Emperor Augustus. Although Rome later fell to the Germanic “Barbarians” in AD 476, the ensuing “Eastern Empire” based at Constantinople is widely regarded as a continuation of the original Roman one. It wasn’t until the fall of the city in AD 1453 that the curtain finally came down on the empire, ending a period of dominance across Europe and beyond that had lasted for almost 1,500 years."
Muscovy claims to be the 'Third Rome' btw.
