Did Rome just fade away in her last years?

[hoplite14gr]

To clear a few things if I may:
Mt Athos is NOT autonomous republick but semi-autonomous Greek province. Greek church flies the 2-headed eagle as heir to Byzantine tradition. Travis is right about internal attrition there.

2-headed eagle was symbol of byzantine princeses
I) Elleni Aggelina of Ipiros married to the counts of Styria, hence the black 2-headed eagle of the Hapsburgs.
II) Anna who married prience Igor of Kiev and cristianized the Rus, hence the golden 2-headed eagle of the Romanofs. Anna was princess of the Romans (Byzantnes) so in slavic it is Anna Romanova.

The Russians called themselves 3rd Rome in the 15th century by refusing to accept the union of the Churches and claiming that the Byzantines had betrayed Orthodoxy.
Both Hapsburgs and Romanofs would propagandise their "Roman" heritage if it suited their political objectives
So it is a matter of how you look at it as many claimed.
Just my two pennies worth.

Kind regards