When thinking of old, traditional, long-reigning countries or dynasties, being the austrian and spanish Habsburgs, the French Bourbons, the Russian Romanovs, the Roman julio claudio dynasty, the Byzantines, Persians, Egyptians, Ottomans and Qing dynasty all declined gradually.

Unable to modernize or suffering from infighting, They were all occupied by foreign powers much smaller than themselves or were overthrown in internal conflict.

What the battles of Solferino, Niewport, Königsgrätz, Leuthen, Sedan, Guangdu and Yarmouk seem to show, older states struggle.

Is this a misinterpretation, that older states seem to more often fall because we do not even notice newer states falling, or because every state faces trouble once and older states are more resistant (trouble builds up more)?

Each example has it's own neuances, the Qing could not build fleets like Zhang He's because the Ming dynasty stopped all shipbuilding, but modernize they nevertheless did less over time.

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