Rise and fall... And rise again ... And fall again ... And rise yet again ... Of empires

The ebb and flow of power, the rise and fall and rise again of empires, states, counties - this strikes a chord on me as I read chapter 1 of ..... They rise and fall and change names,  change leaders, change fortunes ... What do we make of this? Our relative ease of living now and prosperity is also then transient, subject to winds of change. 

Who rides these winds who drives these winds? 

Figures like labayu places like 

Megiddo Hazor Shechem

States and people then as now formed alliances