Paragraphs devoted to larger cultural, political, and economic developments of the Roman Empire would be very welcome additions, especially if they are sited under existing broad sections ("Antonines"" "Christian Empire" etc) and offer examples linked to places and times while avoiding sweeping generalizations. Rather than making wholesale deletions, why not begin by writing or making summaries of specific articles like Roman agriculture and trade, Roman family, Roman roads, Cursus honorum etc then insert condensed versions of your articles, with a Main article... header? You'll find many articles at Category:Roman Empire that could be copied and pasted, edited down to a summary version and saved here. As they build up, patterns will emerge and they can be joined together. Good big articles are built of numerous good small articles, with some linking statements. Sweeping deletions are rarely steps forward.