Oh, good!

That means all those ancient empires that were NOT Rome are free to pillage!  I can write about Imperial Japan and China, the Ottomans, the Moghuls, the Mongols, the Huns, the Attars, the Persians, etc. with aplomb!

Why do I get the feeling that if I decide to base my next novel in ancient Israel, the fact it's thousands of years older than even Rome won't matter, and it will still be 'cultural appropriation'?