AP Term Paper: The Fall of Ancient Rome and Egypt
Throughout history, there have been a variety of great and powerful empires. However, regardless of how powerful they were able to become, each empire had it's unfortunate downfall and ultimate ending. Perhaps two of the most powerful empires ever to exist and crumble were the Roman and Egyptian empires, both of which enjoyed long periods of wealth and success in their pasts. While the two empires operated on extremely different terms and conditions, there is undoubtedly good reason for comparison of their downfalls considering that the causes generally surrounded the fact that the empire suffered invasions. Of course, this was not the only reason in either case, but in both circumstances invasion played a significant role in the fall.
When analyzing the fall of both empires, one must take into consideration that it did not just happen over night. In the case of the Egyptian empire, the reign of Ramses II was the final chapter of glory. Following his death, Egypt slowly but surely entered their declining stages beginning with the war against the “Sea Peoples.” The invaders, also known as the Peleset by Egyptians, were on a war path going along the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Flow of History). The Peleset came across both Syria and Palestine before coming to Egypt, where one of the first naval battles recorded in history was fought and ultimately won in Egypt's favor. Eventually, the Peleset settled down in Palestine and became the Philistines. Although Egypt had won the war, they gained very little out of it. Most of the results of the war were negative and Egypt's strength plummeted in the following decades (Flow of History).
After the invasion of Sea Peoples, the Egyptians w...
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The year is 476 A.D. and the Roman Empire has collapsed after being overthrown by barbarians. Looking back, the causes of Rome’s decline can be separated into four categories, social, economic, military, and political. The social aspects of Rome’s fall are the rise of christianity and civil wars. The rise of christianity displaced Rome’s polytheistic roots which viewed the emperor as having a godly status. Pope and church leaders took an increased role in political affairs which further complicated governance. Civil wars also deteriorated the empire. More than 20 men took the throne in only 75 years and the empire was thrust into chaos. The economic aspects of Rome’s fall were high taxes from the government and labor deficit. The roman empire
Since its beginning the Roman Empire has been struggling to be in control of its surroundings. However, it took over 500 years for the decline of this powerful empire. Historians have argued different factors such as the migrations of new groups for its unexpected disintegration. But, what were the real factors of its decline? Also, what is the most important factor that lead to this empire to its end? The Roman Empire, a marvelous city, was disintegrated because of the loss of traditional values, economic troubles with overreliance on slavery and military overspending caused by its overexpansion.
There are so many powerful countries and governments today, but have you ever wondered what were the most powerful ancient empires and what happened to them over the years. The Roman Empire was at once a very flourishing and thriving place to live, but then all of a sudden it began to fall and decline until it was a weak and vulnerable empire. Historians debate the issue of why it declined and eventually fell. They ask themselves the question, what are the main reasons for the fall of Rome? The main reasons for the fall of Rome were their military struggles, political problems, and the disasters they encountered during that time period.
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Rome was a major power because it always made certain its own military prowess was preeminent. There have been many ideas presented as to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many believe that Rome declined morally and the violence and decadence of the societal norms led to the demise. Gibbons has been credited with the theory of the influence and transference of Christianity over the Roman system of Gods and Goddesses that perpetrated the fall. Another theory lays the blame at the feet of the Emperor, that the happiness of the people and the functioning of the government was directly correlated with the personal merit and management skills of the reigning authority. This 10 page paper argues that the imperialistic tendencies of Rome over time and the pre-eminence of military expansionism in the latter stages, was the deciding feature of the "fall". Bibliography lists 7 sources.
One significant reason for the decline of the Roman Empire was political instability because poor leadership weakened and confused the community of Rome. During the 50-year period of 235 to 285 CE, there were twenty-two emperors with ‘assassinations’ as a frequent reason of deaths. In return, the government was unstable and could not be trusted. Also, as an enemy sight, the empire was weakened and vulnerable to invasions. In one sentence, frequent deaths of emperors led the corruption and an unstable government, which resulted in the decline of ancient Rome.
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All empires must come to an end. The Mongols, Ottomans, and Holy Roman Empires all don’t exist anymore. Even, the United Stated of America will come to its end in one point in time. Everything that goes up must come down. Even, Rome, one of the world’s greatest civilizations. To summarize, The Roman Empire fell because of ineffective leaders, the crumbling economy, and invasions by the Germanic Tribes.
Most of the civilizations throughout history have been taken over or replaced by other civilizations due to disunity and chaos. Although an empire might seem prosperous, the decline and fall of empires are sometimes inevitable. Even though an empire might seem invincible, there are many factors that could lead to the sudden decline or fall of an empire. Over many centuries, historians have composed many reasons, such as weak militaries, economic burdens, dynastic successions, and external enemies, which have been known to contribute to the rise and fall of many once successful empires.
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An Empire that is too big is not always for the better because there are more problems to be dealt with. In the case of the Roman E...
...n 1163 B.C., Egypt entered a period of slow decline (Scarre 1997:116). Pharaohs became less powerful, and their prestige dwindled. Hungry soldiers were terrorizing the community, while tomb robbers were raiding the pyramids for resources that were very much needed. They had buried their pharaohs with food, goods and jewelry, all of which were needed to keep the civilization in tact. They had built too many pyramids, and there were setbacks in Asia which corrupted trade. People did not understand why the pharaohs could not fix the problems that were going on. They viewed them as gods and lost trust and faith. Egypt fell apart as these things culminated with loss of belief in the pharaohs.