In all of human history, there are essentially 5 major reasons why empires rise and about 10 reasons why they fall. Every civilization and empire that has risen and fallen can attribute their ascent and decline to one or more of these reasons. The classical empires including Rome, Han, Gupta, Maurya, the Greeks, and the Mayans all align to these reasons for rising to power and declining. They gained power because of military conquest, charismatic leadership, complex bureaucracies, trade, and superior technology. In this video, we explain how each of those led to the rise of the classical empires and the top 10 reasons for why each of them fell.