AP Dissertation: The Fall of Ancient Rome and Egypt Throughout history, there have been a variety of great and powerful empires. However, no matter how powerful they were, every empire had its unfortunate downfall and ultimate end. Perhaps two of the most powerful empires that ever existed and collapsed were the Roman and Egyptian Empires, both of which had long periods of wealth and success in their past. Although the two empires operated on vastly different terms and conditions, there is undoubtedly good reason to compare their downfalls, given that the causes were usually related to the empire having suffered invasions. Of course, this was not the only reason in both cases, but in both cases the invasion played a significant role in the downfall. When analyzing the fall of the two empires, we must take into consideration that it did not happen overnight. In the case of the Egyptian Empire, the reign of Ramses II was the last chapter of glory. After his death, Egypt slowly but surely entered its phase of decline, starting with the war against the "Sea Peoples". The invaders, also known as Peleset to the Egyptians, were on a war route along the eastern Mediterranean (Stream of History). The Peleset traveled through Syria and Palestine before arriving in Egypt, where one of the first recorded naval battles in history took place and was ultimately won in Egypt's favor. Eventually, the Pelesets settled in Palestine and became the Philistines. Although Egypt won the war, it gained very little from it. Most of the results of the war were negative and Egypt's strength collapsed over the following decades (Flow of History). After the invasion of the Sea Peoples, the Egyptians found themselves in the middle of paper ......dom (1570 BC1070 BC) - Theban cartography project. Julie Beeler, August 23, 2002. Web. April 27, 2014. .Kiger, Patrick. “Why did ancient Egypt decline?.” Nat Geo TV Blogs. 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. Real. Samuel Bronston. Weinstein Co. Home Entertainment;, 2008. Film. The fall of the Roman Empire. York: Random House, 2010. Print.