realistically, a 4x game is about "snowballing" - the more stuff you have the quicker and easier it gets to grab even more stuff. so a decent 4x game needs some mechanics to slow down powers that are in the process of steamrolling the opposition. i always found the temporary unrest of conquered cities a good mechanic. it slows down the aggressor (at least a bit) and it presents you a choice - keep the city and accept that it will suck for the next 50 turns, or raze it and possibly resettle the spot with a new city that starts from scratch.
if there was no penalty, it would be too easy to steamroll right from the beginning - build a few starting units, crush your neighbor and immediately start building even more units from his cities to crush the next guy etc etc.
End of Azunai_'s quote
very well explained! Plus it really makes sense for a conquered city to be that resistant. There are plentoff stories about brave resisters.
by the way, it would be nice to create a fraction/sovereign ability that reduced unrest penalty faster. Something like "Assimilation". In a high-fantasy game it would be typical ability for humans.
Another dynamic that could be fun is to have a chance to spawn rebel armies that try to free the city.