Egypt is a relatively strong faction that usually dominates the eastern map under AI control. Their main enemies are factions such as Parthia, the Seleucid Empire, Armenia, and Numidia. In the long term the biggest potential threat to Egypt is Rome and vica versa.

Egypt (unlockable): troops tend to be lightly armored due to the climate of the area. While historically the armies of Egypt should be quite similar to those of the Macedonian factions (consisting mainly of phalanx troops along with light cavalry), the Egyptian army consists of large units of axemen, bowmen, phalanx spearmen and various types of chariots. In the game Egypt's location begins in today's Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus. When under AI control, Egypt usually destroys the Seleucid Empire and becomes the dominant power in the East. It rarely faces Roman factions until near the end of the game.

The most severe criticism was reserved for the game's depiction of Ancient Egypt. Rome portrays the Egyptian faction more as the Pharaonic Middle-Eastern empire of the tenth century BC than the Ptolemaic successor state to Alexander's empire it actually was in the period of the game (270 BC–AD 14). The developers of Rome stated that a chariot-dominated Egypt that matched their consumers' expectations was considered more fun, and a sounder business strategy, than yet another phalanx-based Hellenistic race to match the four already present in the game (the Greek Cities, Macedon, the Seleucid Empire and Thrace). The RTR developers concluded that the wildly differing starting conditions and other differences between the Ptolemaic Empire and, for instance, Macedon, provided sufficient distinction to provide a unique playing experience without having to resort to adding units from previous millennia. The Egyptian faction has therefore been completely remodeled to better reflect its armies of the time.

So the Question is: Would you rather having a Historically accurate video game or a game that adds a unique element to make the game more fun?