[thadt]

Well, it's fascinating right? Can we cleanly separate out military, politics and sociology? A whole lot of military capability comes down to not just technology and tactics, but the entire culture and makeup of the people. When we think of famous examples such as the Spartans at Thermopylae, the whole Spartan culture is important to understanding the how and why.

Context is really important. As you correctly note, many of the people the Romans were conquering could be even more ruthless as well (by 2025 standards). My point was more that historians wear a lot of different hats, depending on what they're doing. When you're wearing your 'investigator hat' learning how and why things worked, your thoughts might be different than when you're wearing your 'builder hat' and thinking about the society you might want to live in today (and tomorrow). It isn't a contradiction to weigh the tradeoffs that various people in history have made when designing their culture (and politics, and military capabilities).