A point that stands out when looking at the Roman Emperors is that Tiberius, Domitian and Maxentius were a lot better than their awful representations in history. While none were superstars each was radically impacted by negative propaganda. Caligula on the other hand lived up to his vile image.
Most of Rome’s military failures were reminders that it needed to accept its boundaries. Neither the Goths in the North (and East) and the Persians in Asia had any attention of acquiescing to Roman suzerainty. Since they were not a cavalry power (unlike the Mongols) or a sea empire (like the British) their boundaries had natural limitations which deterred expansion.
The history of Rome after the fall of Caesar is an ongoing saga of the debasement of the concept of citizenship. Citizenship is what held the Republic together. It withered to oblivion during the Empire until it had lost all meaning
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