So the major belligerents of World War II were three states that could claim continuity with the Roman Empire - the Germans by way of the “First Reich” of the Holy Roman Empire, the Italians by way of the Papal States, the Russians as the “Third Rome” by way of the Byzantines; two states, America and England, that styled themselves as the “New Rome”; and Japan, who was like “no, no, we’re just an empire consisting of all the coasts in range of this narrow, mountainous landform”.