The Roman Empire, NM, was like every other empire in history. To say that it ruled by bullying would be simplistic in the extreme. Yes, provinces rebelled at times - just as they did in British or French Empire times - and, just as those powers did, the rebellions were brutally suppressed. That's what empires do, after all,. But for most provinces in first -third century Rome, the pax Romana meant relative stability, prosperity and peace in a world which was conspicuously lacking all three. I'm no apologist for Rome - far from it - but your statement was over-generallised and historically wrong.
The Roman Empire might meet your criteria of a good system, Anchorman, but obviously not for those following Jesus Christ. You see...too many people following a teaching of caring and good order threatened the stability of the ones winding up the masses by fear and threats...the fear held all the people together feeding the wealth, privilege and domination that oppression thrives on.
The problem here is that oppression cripples thought, health, and good order, and Jesus wanted to tell those who were following righteousness that they could have another, righteous string, to their bow...a string that is attached to reality at one end and resurrection at the other...and the frequency that this string resonates at is health, repair, good order, and everlasting life...just by following Jesus Christ accurately.