AP Essay: The Fall of Ancient Rome and Egypt Throughout history, there have been a variety of large and powerful empires. However, no matter how powerful they managed to become, each empire had its unfortunate downfall and ultimate demise. Perhaps two of the most powerful empires to ever exist and then collapse were the Roman and Egyptian empires, both of which enjoyed long periods of wealth and success in their pasts. Although the two empires operated under extremely different terms and conditions, there are undoubtedly good reasons to compare their falls considering that the causes were generally related to the fact that the empire suffered invasions. Of course this was not the only reason in either case, but in both circumstances the invasion played a significant role in the downfall. When analyzing the fall of both empires, one must keep in mind that it did not happen overnight. In the case of the Egyptian empire, the reign of Ramesses II was the last chapter of glory. After his death, Egypt slowly but surely entered a phase of decline starting with the war against the “Sea Peoples”. The invaders, also known as Peleset by the Egyptians, were on a warpath that wound along the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Stream of History). The Pelesets passed through both Syria and Palestine before arriving in Egypt, where one of the first recorded naval battles in history was fought and ultimately won in Egypt's favor. Eventually, the Peleset settled in Palestine and became the Philistines. Although Egypt won the war, it gained little from it. Most of the outcomes of the war were negative, and Egypt's strength collapsed in the following decades (The Flow of History). After the invasion of the Sea Peoples, the Egyptians...... middle of paper......dom (1570 BC1070 BC) - Theban mapping project. Julie Beeler, August 23, 2002. Web. April 27, 2014. .Kiger, Patrick. “Why did ancient Egypt decline?” Nat Geo TV Blog. Nat Geo, February 26, 2011. Web. April 27, 2014. .Staff, History.com. "Ancient Egypt". History.com. A&E Television Networks, January 1, 2009. Web. April 16, 2014. .The Fall of the Roman Empire. Dir. Samuel Bronston. Weinstein Co. Home Entertainment;, 2008. Film.The Fall of the Roman Empire." ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, nd Web. April 27, 2014. .Wilkinson, Toby AH. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt . New York: Random House, 2010. Print.