Several polities have claimed immediate continuity with the Roman Empire, using its name or a variation thereof as their own exclusive or non-exclusive self-description. Unsurprisingly, as centuries went by and more political ruptures occurred, the idea of institutional continuity became increasingly debatable. The most enduring and significant claimants of continuation of the Roman Empire have been, in the East, the Byzantine Empire followed after 1453 by the Ottoman Empire; and in the West, the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 1806.