Is getting a good global picture a particularly high priority in most historical studies, particularly more ancient civilisations? There's little if any overla

Is getting a good global picture a particularly high priority in most historical studies, particularly more ancient civilisations? There's little if any overlap between the two (unless you're thinking of things like the effect of steppe tribes moving from the east into Europe), so I'm not sure you'd get a better understanding of either Roman or Chinese history by treating them as a single story. If you are personally particularly interested in that, isn't the answer to simply read both a book about Rome and one about China from a similar time period?