<P> The empire began to crumble, however, in the fifth century and Rome collapsed after 476 CE . </P> <P> The Eastern Roman or Byzantine empire began its domination of the Levant during its wars with neighbouring Sassanid Persia . The century long rule saw a general decline in economy . The Byzantines lost territory on Mediterranean land regularly, but remained superior in the Mediterranean sea for centuries of the empires' span . In the first quarter of the 7th century AD, the Byzantines lost swaths of the Mediterranean region to Sassanid Persia during the Byzantine--Sasanian War of 602--628, though regained the lost territories by the end of the war . Ultimately, Byzantine domination in the region was forever finished by the Arabs and later the Turks, who came into the scene . </P> <P> Another power was rising in the east, that of Islam, whilst the Byzantine Roman and Sassanid Persian empires were both weakened by centuries of stalemate warfare during the Roman - Persian Wars . In a series of rapid Muslim conquests, the Arab armies, motivated by Islam and led by the Caliphs and skilled military commanders such as Khalid ibn al - Walid, swept through most of the Middle East; reducing Byzantine lands by more than half and completely engulfing the Persian lands . </P> <P> In Anatolia, their expansion was blocked by the still capable Byzantines with the help of the Bulgarians . The Byzantine provinces of Roman Syria, North Africa, and Sicily, however, could not mount such a resistance, and the Muslim conquerors swept through those regions . At the far west, they crossed the sea taking Visigothic Hispania before being halted in southern France by the Franks . At its greatest extent, the Arab Empire controlled 3 / 4 of the Mediterranean region, the only other empire besides the Roman Empire to control most of the Mediterranean Sea . </P>

Around how long was rome the major power in europe and around the mediterranean sea