Poll: History Research Topic

This is the link to the poll you can take the survey at.

This post will help me in deciding what history research topic I want to do. The poll above contains three different research topics you can vote for. Here is a short description of each of the three choices. I will post about the research on this blog, and will eventually do a full paper that will be posted here on the topic of choice.

Poll Above^

What caused the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire? I want to look into the societal changes that allowed the historic republic to become controlled so completely and indefinitely by one man. I want to look into both what was happening within Rome itself, and any changes that were occurring in law, military, and economics. I think it would be interesting to see if this change was really instantaneous through Julius Caesar and Augustus or if it had actually been in the works for a long time.

Did the Byzantine Empire ever have an ability to become a strong power again after the reconquest of Constantinople in 1261? After the reconquest of Constantinople in 1261 by the Nicean Empire, not only was Eastern Anatolia under the control of the Byzantine Empire but now the lucrative trade hub of Constantinople. I want to look at the position of this resurging empire. In history, Byzantium never regained its former glory and control of Anatolia and the Balkans, but how close were they really? That is the type of question I want to answer. I would primarily be looking at the economy and military might of the empire after the conquest and in relation to its neighboring states.

What were the main causes for the success of the Macedonians in subjugating the Greek city-states? Historically, so much of Greece had been dominated by various city-states. These city-states while often fighting each other did come together when a foreign invader like Persia came. While Macedonia had a much greater cultural similarity to Greece then Persia did, I want to see why the Greek city-states were unable to fight off the Macedonia invaders. I think it would be interesting to look at the situation the Greek states were in when Philip of Macedonia invaded them, and what was the cause of their failure in repulsing him.