The lesson here is that if you want to go conquering it is better to simply exterminate your defeated foes than to occupy and impose tribute. Imperialism leads to impurity, which leads to downfall.
If you try exterminating your neighbors without being significantly stronger, they will unite and exterminate you. Once you become significantly stronger, infighting begins and you are weak again.
You don't exterminate anyone until you are strong enough. The Romans were strong enough but they chose to be merciful and collect tribute instead.
Destroying the backbone of your nation in the name of glory until you lose the ability to fight and have to placate your enemies in hope they don't destroy you is called "being merciful" now?
The problem is, you can't get "strong enough". All people have their personal aspirations, and dying on a battlefield isn't the most popular one. Once there's no external threat, people naturally switch to infighting.
Precisely. Look at the Americas and how intermarrying worked out for them.
Happened in Russia too, setting them up for lower class workers' (conquered nations) revolution.
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