Acoup, which seems to be an HN favorite, has a series basically about this. It describes why/how the Roman state became so successful at warfare and conquest:

Acoup, which seems to be an HN favorite, has a series basically about this. It describes why/how the Roman state became so successful at warfare and conquest: https://acoup.blog/2020/01/17/collections-the-fremen-mirage-part-i-war-at-the-dawn-of-civilization/ https://acoup.blog/2020/01/17/collections-the-fremen-mirage-...