The main reason for our "Western" societies to focus to a greater degree specifically in these two civilizations is collective rule. These two civilizations pr

The main reason for our "Western" societies to focus to a greater degree specifically in these two civilizations is collective rule. These two civilizations produced democracy and republic, the foundations of our current political system, additionally more than half of Europes legal systems are founded on roman law. Their histories are very relevant to our modern experience. We should of course study other civilizations, but the truth of the matter is if you look into Chinese history you will find 3 millennia of imperial rule and absolute, divine mandate monarchy, fascinating but less relevant for citizens living in modern republics than say the 50 or so years before Romes transformation into a monarchy. Greece and Rome give us facsimiles of our current political systems, there are things to be learned from studying them. PS: Even Imperial Rome is very relevant, because as I said, it has to a great degree shaped our current rights and legal environment and as monarchies go it is unique in that the only legitimacy or any ruler was the peoples approval of their rule. i.e. it was the most democratic of the monarchies in history.