Late Bronze Age collapse

The late Bronze Age collapse refers to a period in the twelfth century BCE when human civilizations in the Middle East and Mediterranean experienced a rapid decline. Prior to this time, many civilizations in the region had enjoyed significant economic and societal growth, achieving cultural milestones often referred to as a golden age. However, sometime in the early twelfth century BCE, a series of events occurred that brought about the collapse of several powerful civilizations and the abandonment of many urban centers. Historians are unsure of the exact cause of the collapse, although they speculate it was the result of factors including invasions, drought, earthquakes, and a disruption of trade. The resulting upheaval reshaped the power structure and cultural landscape of the region and began one of the first “dark ages” in human history.

Background

Anthropologists typically classify the developmental periods of ancient human history into three main segments, known as ages. These ages are defined by the predominant type of material humans used to make tools. The Stone Age is the earliest and longest of the three eras. It is generally accepted to have started with the invention of the first crude stone tools about 2.6 million years ago. The Stone Age was further divided into three periods: the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. During the Paleolithic period, humans evolved from ape-like creatures into nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers who developed better tools, weapons, language, art, and the beginning of religious thought. The Paleolithic period ended about 12,000 BCE and was followed by the Mesolithic, a period in which humans were transitioning from a hunter-gatherer existence into agricultural-based societies. The Neolithic period began in various places across the world between about 9000 and 3000 BCE. By this time, Neolithic humans had domesticated animals and began building settled agricultural communities. These communities grew into towns and eventually larger cities.

The Stone Age is considered to have ended about 3300 BCE when blacksmiths in Mesopotamia began making tools out of bronze—a metal made by combining copper and tin. Copper had been used to make tools and weapons for centuries, but bronze made those objects stronger and more durable. This period is known as the Bronze Age and marked the rise of the first human civilizations—more advanced societies that had centralized governments, specialized labor, and systems of writing. Similar to the other ages of human development, the Bronze Age began at different times in different regions. Anthropologists believe that bronze tools were not developed in Britain and China until about 1900 to 1700 BCE.

The Bronze Age lasted to about 1200 BCE, which coincides with the time of late Bronze Age collapse. After this period, humans began making tools and weapons from iron and steel—a metal made by combining iron with carbon—and ushered in the Iron Age. The Iron Age began later in northern Europe and the Far East and is considered to have come to an end between 500 BCE and the first century BCE.

Overview

The earliest human civilizations developed in Mesopotamia, a region located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near modern-day Iraq. The first civilization to arise was the Sumerians who founded large urban centers and developed the first known writing system about 3500 BCE. One of the largest of those urban centers, Uruk, is considered to be the world’s first true city. Over time, other civilizations in the region challenged the Sumerians for dominance. Forces from the city of Akkad ruled Mesopotamia from about 2330 to 2150 BCE, creating the world’s first empire—the Akkadian Empire. The southern Mesopotamian city of Babylon rose to power about 1900 BCE, forming the Babylonian Empire. About 1750 BCE, a Babylonian king named Hammurabi created one of the world’s first law codes, which helped unify the empire and further increase Babylonian power.

Civilization developed in a unified Egypt about 3100 BCE and experienced eras of great military and cultural achievements separated by transitional periods of political unrest and civil war. Egypt’s famous pyramids were constructed during the Old Kingdom, which lasted from about 2610 to 2180 BCE. During the Middle Kingdom (2040–1782 BCE), Egypt formed a standing army and established foreign colonies and trade routes with neighboring cultures. Egypt reached the height of its political and military power during the New Kingdom (1570–1069 BCE), expanding its trade network and conquering an empire that was, for a time, the largest in history.

About 2000 BCE, a prosperous seafaring civilization called the Minoans developed on the Mediterranean island of Crete. The Minoans established a large trading network across the Mediterranean. This in turn spread their art and culture from Mycenaean Greece, to Egypt, to the western Middle East. The ornate and complex places of the Minoan kings may have been the basis for the Greek legends of the Minotaur and the labyrinth. The Mycenaean Civilization flourished on mainland Greece beginning about 1600 BCE. The Mycenaeans established settlements and trading outposts throughout the Mediterranean region. They also built several large urban centers that later grew into powerful Greek city-states such as Athens and Sparta.

About 1700 BCE, a group of people known at the Hittites controlled a large region in Anatolia in modern-day Turkey. Details of the Hittites remain somewhat of a mystery to archaeologists, but they do know that the Hittites formed a powerful empire that emerged as a rival to the Egyptians. The Hittites are mentioned often in the Old Testament of the Bible as enemies of the Israelites. Their capital of Hattusa was estimated to have had a population of forty thousand at its height.

From a period of about 1800 to 1200 BCE, the empires of the Mediterranean and the Middle East conducted a robust system of trade that has been described as the first example of a global economy. Much of the trade consisted of goods such as tin, ivory, wine, timber, olive oil, and gold; some of the goods came from as far away as Afghanistan and India. The trade network also fostered a cultural exchange of ideas, which included a widespread sharing of myths and religious beliefs. This extensive network not only strengthened the economies of the various empires, but also, in some cases, provided the impetus to expand their boundaries.

Then, roughly between about 1225 BCE and 1150 BCE, something occurred that radically changed the landscape of the ancient world. Cities that were once booming trade centers were abandoned, their inhabitants retreating to the countryside to live in smaller towns and villages. The Hittite capital of Hattusa, the Mycenaean trade city of Pylos on the Greek coast, and the bustling port city of Ugarit in modern-day Syria were destroyed. Almost all the larger cities in Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean met similar fates. The Babylonian, Hittite, Minoan, and Mycenaean empires collapsed, while the Egyptian Empire was left severely weakened and began to decline. The interruption of trade stopped both the flow of goods and ideas, and literacy, art, and writing became scarce in areas where they once flourished.

Archaeologists do not believe that one event was responsible for the sudden and widespread collapse of the Bronze Age civilization. Modern consensus is that a series of catastrophic events occurred in the region during a relative short time period. One event by itself may have been enough for the ancient peoples to survive. However, experts believe the combination of hardships proved too much to overcome. Many archaeologists theorize that the most significant of these catastrophes was a campaign of invasions by a mysterious group of raiders known as the Sea Peoples.

The name Sea Peoples is a modern invention that was first ascribed to the invaders in the nineteenth century. Ancient accounts tell of powerful raiders who attacked from the sea but make no mention of who the people were or their place of origin. Carved stones from Egypt describe one battle with the invaders, stating only that they “came from the sea in their war ships and none could stand against them.” Modern archaeologists still do not know the identity of the Sea Peoples, although they know the raiders attacked coastal towns across the Mediterranean from about 1275 to 1177 BCE.

Letters sent from the king of Ugarit before his city was destroyed tell of a flotilla of approaching warships and beg nearby kingdoms for aid. The letters claim the king’s land and sea forces were deployed elsewhere as the invaders “did evil things in my country.” After the fall of Ugarit, another letter was dispatched describing the city’s fate: “Our city is sacked. May you know it! May you know it!” Egyptian records show that the Sea Peoples attacked several times, and each time Egyptian forces prevailed. In a final, decisive battle in 1177 BCE, Egypt defeated a large onslaught of the Sea Peoples. However, the battle was so costly in terms of money and lives that the empire was left crippled. The Sea Peoples disappeared from history at this point, and the Egyptian Empire began a slow decline.

While the Sea Peoples played a significant role in the late Bronze Age collapse, some historians believe that the invasions were triggered by a larger climatic event that had impacted the entire Mediterranean region. The letters sent from the king of Ugarit also mention a devastating drought and famine. Modern analysis of pollen grains from the late Bronze Age show signs of a decline of larger plants and trees and a rise in smaller, desert-like plants. This evidence indicates a centuries-long period of drought that likely caused crop failures and widespread starvation. The Sea Peoples’ invasions of Egypt seemed to be for the purpose of settlement, suggesting that they may have been driven from their homelands by diminishing natural resources. Drought and famine could also have been responsible for forcing large populations to migrate from cities to the rural countryside.

Geological evidence also suggests that Greece and the Mediterranean region were struck by several powerful earthquakes in the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BCE. A previous earthquake and fire had destroyed the great palaces of the Minoan civilization about 1700 BCE. The palaces were rebuilt but then destroyed again three centuries later. Other Mediterranean cities also show evidence of destruction followed by rebuilding, signs that point to possible natural disasters. Although the cities were rebuilt several times, the destruction would have interrupted the flow of trade across the Mediterranean. With the civilizations of the region reliant on the interconnected trade network they had created, any disruption in the flow of goods would have had a significant economic impact. For example, the Hittite Empire imported grain from Egypt, while much of the region’s tin came from Afghanistan. Even a temporary disruption in the trade network would have left the Hittites short of food and craftsmen unable to use tin to make bronze weapons and tools.

The late Bronze Age collapse plunged the ancient world into a three- to four-century period of cultural and economic decline. In Egypt, the rule of the pharaohs slowly weakened until the empire collapsed with the fall of the New Kingdom about 1069 BCE. In the Middle East, groups such as the Phoenicians and the Israelites stepped in and thrived in the power vacuum left behind by the decline of the great Mesopotamian empires. In the wake of the collapse of the Mycenaean Civilization, the Aegean Sea region entered a period known as the Greek Dark Ages. Although iron working thrived during this period, many of the Mycenaean cities and palaces remained abandoned and art, culture, and literacy were virtually nonexistent. The Greek Dark Ages is generally considered to have lasted from about 1200 to 800 BCE and ended with the rise of the Archaic Greek Civilization—the precursor to Classical Greece.

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