In many ways, “the world” of 3200 years ago was vastly different from today. The Torah (or “Hebrew Bible”, if you’re so inclined) wouldn’t be written for another 600 years. If Homer existed, he wouldn’t be born for another 300 years (give or take). Elsewhere in the world, the ancient Puebloans of the American Southwest first formed. The 12th century BCE is as far removed from the formation of the Roman Empire as we are from the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. In short, this was a long time ago.
But, in other ways, it is remarkably similar. The inter-connectivity of the region discussed here (generally, the eastern Mediterranean) was near absolute. The Egyptians, Hittites, Mycenaeans, Syrians and other ancient peoples all depended on one another, and relied on diplomatic exchanges to facilitate trade relations. There were alliances, political upheaval, climatic degradation, and wars, but there was also a flouresence of culture and technology that wouldn’t be seen for hundreds of years after this time period. This was, in many ways, the peak of early European history.
And then it all began to unravel. Within the space of a four decades (more or less), the New Kingdom of Egypt collapsed. Troy burned. Tthe Minoans, Mycenae, and the Hittite Empire were all torn apart. Almost every city between Pylos in Greece and Gaza were destroyed and often abandoned, never to be resettled. Trade routes were disrupted. Literacy began to plummet. The world was on fire, and it was forever changed.
Traditionally, the blame for this devastation has been put on the Sea Peoples. In actuality, the Sea Peoples were likely some loose configuration of different cultural groups, though they are often lumped together as one. Evidence for their existence can be found in ancient Egyptian stellae, which point to an unbeatable group who had mastered the seas and settled in Egyptian lands. These Sea People are thought to have originated in southern Europe and/or the Aegean.
And there is little doubt that they not only existed, but that entire cities may have been wiped from history because of their raids. No one really knows who most of them were, or why they stretched out across the Mediterranean.
But scientists and historians have, in recent decades, begun questioning this narrative. Climate change, natural disasters, famine, and technological advances have all been put forth as explanations for population shifts, city destruction, and societal disruption. Eric Cline does a superb job, here, of providing the historical context in which this collapsed happened, and going through the shifting explanations for what may have caused it. He favors a more general systems collapsed – wherein, essentially, as parts of the complex system of societal inter-connectivity begin to fail, the broader network of civilizations unravels, thereby leading to a more systemic collapse of the Late Bronze Age.
It’s a fascinating period in history, and one in which we don’t know nearly enough to form a clear picture. But there are enough tantalizing clues to give history buffs room to argue minutiae. This book is a bit on the academic side, and if you aren’t familiar with the era and cultures involved, some of the names can seem utterly alien (one of the most prominent Hittite kings was named Suppiluliuma…..which is delightful to say once you get the hang of all those syllables), but I don’t think it’s so dense that you shouldn’t be wary of reading it.
