Editing Fall of Constantinople (section)

===Third Rome===
{{Main|Third Rome}}
[[File:Bellini, Gentile - Sultan Mehmet II.jpg|thumb|Mehmed II by [[Gentile Bellini]]]]

[[Byzantium]] is a term used by modern historians to refer to the later Roman Empire. In its own time, the Empire ruled from Constantinople (or "New Rome" as some people call it, although this was a laudatory expression that was never an official title) and was simply considered as "the Roman Empire." The fall of Constantinople led competing factions to lay claim to being the inheritors of the Imperial mantle. Russian claims to Byzantine heritage clashed with those of the Ottoman Empire's own claim. In Mehmed's view, he was the successor to the [[Roman Emperor]], declaring himself ''Kayser-i Rum'', literally "[[Caesar (title)|Caesar of the Romans]]", that is, of the Roman Empire, though he was remembered as "the Conqueror".

[[Stefan Dušan]], Tsar of [[Serbian Empire|Serbia]], and [[Ivan Alexander]], Tsar of [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]], both made similar claims, regarding themselves as legitimate heirs to the Roman Empire {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}. Other potential claimants, such as the [[Republic of Venice]] and the [[Holy Roman Empire]], have disintegrated into history.<ref name="W8pk7" />