What was better for common people? Living under the rule of the absolute monarch the king of Persia or living in Rome or one of its colonies? I prefer the Romans. People living under the rule of the Persian emperor did not have any rights at all. The king was the maximum authority, owner of the land, the rivers, the animals and the life of the individuals. It was a very despotic system. In contrast, the  citizen of the Roman Empire were the fortunate ones who overtrew the king in 509 B.C.E., and organize a senate composed of patricians or aristocrats (only male and wealthy, but at least a start) that gave advice to two senators equivalent of the modern executive. The rest of the population were the woman of the patricians, the plebians or common people,  the free slaves, and the slaves. The plebeian  rebelled  and after some quarrels aquired the right of a tribune, or their own system of assemblies to represent them in the political system. The code of honor was universal, the value of one's own word was part of being Roman. It is not nice to have that code of honor? I love it.

History books are a lot fun, it is like a good gossip.