Without endorsing the views of Maitland, Browne, etc., it must be owned that there was nothing in the history of ancient Rome to correspond with the main characteristic of this beast unless the symbolism used is to be very loosely interpreted. To "devour the earth," "tread it down and break it in pieces," is fairly descriptive of other empires, but Ancient Rome was precisely the one power which added government to conquest, and instead of treading down and breaking in pieces the nations it subdued, sought rather to mold them to its own civilization and polity.
— Sir Robert Anderson, "The Coming Prince" (1915)
History and the bible both agree:
Babylon
Medo/Persia
Greece
Rome
What kingdom is historically documented to have followed Greece?
There is only one answer, Rome. And out of imperial Rome came the Little Horn, which lasts until the second coming of Christ. We can debate back and forth about what made it diverse (or not). But the fact remains that it historically and chronologically follows Greece. No doubt about it. The 4 kingdoms followed each other in succession. The biblical descriptors I mentioned about the Little Horn ONLY apply to the Papacy, and the Papacy comes out of Imperial Rome. Logical and makes sense.