> First, there's a lot of entropy in terms of border definitions and leader turnover. The now Italy region had a new leader every year for a stretch This is on

> First, there's a lot of entropy in terms of border definitions and leader turnover. The now Italy region had a new leader every year for a stretch This is one way that illustrations like this, while cool, are misleading or at least obscure the situation. Rome under the Republic was ruled by two Consuls who served a joint one-year term, hence the seemingly chaotic turnover when in fact the Republic was more-or-less stable for centuries under this system. The yearly turnover was an expected feature. This animation makes it seem like a period of eternal war where rulers are constantly being overthrown.