>>213659458
The real secret regarding the matter is that this was only possible due to ongoing demographic replacement of Romans of old Italian stock with mystery meat goblinos from around the levant and North Africa. By the time of even Octavian, Rome had been undergoing a significant fertility crisis, as can be evidenced by Augustus' various marriage policy enactments. At this point Roman Italians were still a significant demographic force and thus this was not necessarily an existential concern. However as we know, in the ensuing centuries Rome experienced a number of migratory crises toward its urban core, including significant movement of Jews, Levantines and North Africans. This issue was likely exacerbated by the fact that the Roman military machine selected primarily for Italic stock, effectively forcing them into a perpetual meatgrinder whilst Rome's various indigent minorities lived off the bread dole. Not to draw too many contemporary parallels, but there is definitely a resemblance to recruitment in the modern American military. Either way the result of this was Rome's urban core left eventually composed mostly of not Romans, with various animus and resentments toward the Roman state. The Christian religion was able to capitalize on this very well, and wield it as a political cudgel with which to beat 'old stock' Italians into submission.