I'm about to finish my first RTW campaign as the Scipii. I played at the beginner level and did not find it very challenging.

I have some basic questions/clarifications I wanted to throw out before I start my next campaign. Because of the length of the game, I think it would be easier to ask some of these questions to all you experienced folks than having to figure it all out myself.

Civil war -- As the Scipii, I controlled the Iberian Peninsula, all of Africa and the modern Middle East, and was working on Anatolia when the Senate demanded that my faction leader commit suicide. I controlled over 40 territories and am much more powerful than the other factions. Should I have instigated the civil war earlier? And what's the best way to instigate the civil war -- try to take Rome immediately or just randomly attack another Roman faction's army?

Influence, offices, the Roman people, etc. -- How much does any of this matter? Should I care what offices my people have been assigned to? Is this a "playable" part of the game or just a rough guide to how powerful I am?

It's a great game and I'm ready to start a new campaign with a higher difficulty. I just want to figure out what I might have done wrong the first time.