The decline of Ancient Egypt began in about 1730 B. C. when the Hyksos foreign invaders took control of the country and ruled it for 200 years. Later, the Persians occupied Egypt in 332B.C. From then onwards, the Greek, General Ptolemy ruled Egypt and placed the country under the empire of Alexander the Great. Egypt became one of the provinces of the Greeks and later of the. Romans Empire. Though Egypt declined as a state and as an empire, its civilization was spread by all these invading powers to the Fertile Crescent and Asia. The causes of the decline of Ancient Egypt can be identified as follows:

1. Succession Disputes: The children of Pharaohs who died disagreed over who to succeed to the throne and this caused disputes. For example, Rameses II had 1000 children and after his death, succession disputes erupted which helped to weaken ancient Egypt.

2.  The vastness and the diversity of the Egyptian empire: At its peak, The Egyptian empire included; Nubia, Palestine and Syria. In it were vassal states, and non. Egyptians who profited from any internal disturbance to regain their freedom. The Persian, Greek and Roman invasions offered them the opportunity.

3.  The absence of strong and able leadership: Following the death of Rameses II, his successors were weak and inefficient. They did not know how to manage the conflicts with the Libyan, kushites and Hittites, and the Egyptian state was weakened by them.

4.  Lack of knowledge of working iron : The Egyptian army had weapons made of lighter metals such as copper and bronze. With these soft weapons, they were no match for the Persian and Assyrian armies which invaded Egypt using iron weapons.

5.  Civil Wars: Quarrels and wars between Egyptian princes did not make things good for Ancient Egypt. Between 700B. C and 600B. C, for example, the princes of the Nile delta area sought to establish the country’s capital at Memphis, thereby distancing the centre of authority from the rest of the country.

6.  Foreign invasions: Attacks from outside Egypt played a very important role in the country's decline. First, the Hyksos came in 1730B. C, then the Kush army invaded Egypt in 700B. C and ruled it for a short period. The Assyrians followed in 664B. C the Persians, Greeks and the Romans in 30 B. C'.

The political decline of Ancient Egypt did not imply the end of the country, independence was regain in 1924. Its civilization was spread and for many centuries, Egypt was an important tourist destination. The decline of Ancient Egypt also had some effects.