1: Bronze Age collapse

Bronze Age Collapse

Around 1200 BCE, the eastern Mediterranean and Near East faced a catastrophic transformation known as the Bronze Age Collapse. Within just a few decades, major civilizations crumbled, cities were abandoned, and complex societies unraveled. This event plunged the region into a "dark age" lasting centuries, marked by lost literacy, trade networks, and centralized power.

Key Civilizations Affected
Several powerful kingdoms disintegrated:

• Mycenaean Greece: Palaces like Pylos and Mycenae burned, ending their era of monumental architecture.
• Hittite Empire (Anatolia): The capital Hattusa was abandoned; their empire vanished.
• New Kingdom Egypt: Though it survived, Pharaoh Ramesses III recorded massive invasions weakening its grip.
• City-states in the Levant (e.g., Ugarit) were destroyed or deserted.

What Caused the Collapse?
Scholars debate multiple interconnected factors:

1. "Sea Peoples": Mysterious seafaring groups raided coasts. Egyptian inscriptions describe them as destructive forces, but their origins remain unclear.
2. Climate Shifts: Tree-ring data indicates severe droughts, triggering famine and migration.
3. Earthquakes: Archaeological layers in Troy, Mycenae, and Hattusa show earthquake damage.
4. Systemic Vulnerabilities: Overreliance on bronze (requiring scarce tin and copper) strained trade. When disruptions hit, elites lost control over resources and populations.

Consequences
The aftermath reshaped the ancient world:

• Lost Knowledge: Writing systems like Linear B (Mycenaean Greek) disappeared for 400 years.
• Depopulation: Urban centers shrank; survivors moved to rural villages.
• Iron Age Transition: As bronze trade collapsed, communities adopted ironworking—a cheaper, locally available technology.
• Rise of New Powers: Vacant territories eventually allowed Phoenician city-states and early Israel to emerge, while Greeks rebuilt during the Archaic period.

How We Study It
Archaeology reveals burned palaces, weapon hoards, and abandoned cities. Egyptian hieroglyphs and clay tablets (like Ugarit’s plea for help) provide written clues. Yet gaps persist—no single "smoking gun" explains the collapse, highlighting how interconnected societies can fracture under combined pressures.