= Decline and Fall = (4)

Learn about the historical decline of Egypt in Age of Empires IV, from the late Bronze Age through Roman conquest, including key invasions and internal struggles.

Egypt managed to fend off major invasions around 1200 B.C., but things started to slide downhill afterward. This wasn't a sudden collapse, but more of a long, slow decline. A big part of the problem was that trade pretty much stopped for a long time, which really hurt their economy. On top of that, after the last big warrior pharaoh, Rameses III, died, Egypt was ruled by a string of weaker kings. They also had a lot of internal fighting over who should be in charge, which further weakened the country.

Things got really bad in 728 B.C. when Nubia came in and took over Egypt for about 60 years. Then, in 665 B.C., the Assyrians showed up and sacked the capital city, Thebes. It wasn't all bad news forever, though. A new Egyptian royal family popped up in 664 B.C. They managed to kick out the Nubians and eventually told the Assyrians they weren't paying tribute anymore, basically saying they were independent again. But this independence was short-lived. In 525 B.C., the Persians, led by Cambyses II, conquered Egypt from the east. When the Persians got into trouble fighting the Greeks, the Egyptians saw their chance and briefly regained their freedom. However, the Persians came back and took over again by 332 B.C. Just a year later, though, the Persians themselves were out, defeated by Alexander the Great, who the Egyptians actually welcomed as their pharaoh.

After Alexander the Great, the Greeks basically ruled Egypt as the top dogs until 30 B.C. That's when Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemaic rulers, and Mark Antony lost a big fight to Octavian. After that defeat, Egypt became a part of the massive Roman Empire.