The aim of this essay is to explore the differences and similarities between the two large Empires in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, the historical empires of Ancient Rome and the British Empire. The focus will be on the factors that brought about the rise and the fall of these empires. This essay covers events in the first four books of the Foundation series namely: Prelude to Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation. Throughout this work the fictional empires will be compared to the historical ones on a number of different subjects. This essay is divided into two main chapters. The first chapter deals with the fall of the Galactic Empire, and the second chapter deals with the rise of the Foundation.