The period after 1500 BC^[1]http://www.timemaps.com/history/ancient-egypt-1500bc is one of the most successful chapters in Ancient Egypt’s history, seeing her as one of the greatest powers of the day, with an empire stretching into Palestine and Syria in the north and Nubia in the south. They also witness the construction of the great temple complexes at Luxor and in the Valley of the Kings. It is during this period that the boy-king Tutankhamun briefly reigns, as well as Ancient Egypt’s most famous pharaoh, Ramesses II.

Since about 1200 BC, however, this most enduring civilization^[2]http://www.timemaps.com/civilization/Ancient-Egypt of the ancient world has been slipping into decline. She has lost her empire in Palestine and Nubia, has suffered invasions across all her borders, and has experienced political weakness at home.