seven or eight years ago - I think it was in the Spring of 2007 - and asked me if I would write a book on the collapse.

Rob Tempio at Princeton University Press. I suspect this was a book that you always wanted to write however, I am keen to know what was it about the Bronze Age collapse that intrigued you enough to write 1177 BC? Did it have anything to do with your prior archaeological work at Tel Kabri and Megiddo in Israel?ĮHC: Actually, the impetus to write a book on this topic came from Mr. In 1177 BC, you trace the social, economic, and cultural links between the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East - Egypt, Minoan Crete, Mycenaean Greece, the Hittite Empire, Mittani, Assyria, and Kassite Babylonia - and their cataclysmic demise during the late second millennium BC. I am pleased to speak to you about 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed as it has been on my reading list since its publication last year. JW: Professor Cline, welcome to Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE). Oil on panel, last third of the 16th century CE (?). sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age-and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.“Fire of Troy” by Kerstiaen de Keuninck (1560-1632 AD). Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries.Ī compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C.

In this major new account of the causes of this 'First Dark Ages,' Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians.

Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the 'Sea Peoples' invaded Egypt.

A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapse

After 1177 bc