This is entirely true of imperial Rome, but less true of the republican Rome. In the context of this particular thread, the conversation was centered on republi

This is entirely true of imperial Rome, but less true of the republican Rome. In the context of this particular thread, the conversation was centered on republican Rome and whether a recent civil war was an indicator of the transition to empire. I and my parent were observing that republican Rome had endured multiple existential crises which might suggest a civil war wasn't uniquely noteworthy for the progress to empire, but see my other comments for better answers on why I believe that. (I'm not sure history can be charted with that obvious a causality.) An interesting aside, the civil war being referenced was actually over a question of Roman citizenship, which used to only apply to people in the city. For quite some time, the (now-)Italian peninsula was under Roman control, but its inhabitants were given a sub-citizen status with much lesser rights. The civil war established that citizenship could be offered to a much wider area.