1177 bc the year civilization collapsed by eric cline

Egyptian and Hittite texts record a widespread plague during the 14th and 13th centuries B.C.Ĭline explains that the cumulative effect of all these phenomena triggered the Bronze Age collapse: Ugaritic and Hittite texts mention famine and beg for assistance.

Drought. Ancient pollen reveals that a large drought affected much of the Mediterranean world, from Italy to Iran.

Earthquake damage has been found at sites in Greece, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan.

Invasions. Egyptian and Ugaritic texts record invasions in their lands.

Photo: Annatsach/ CC by-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Similar frescoes have been found throughout the Mediterranean world, demonstrating the interconnectedness of many Mediterranean kingdoms before the Bronze Age collapse. At the center of the Knossos palace was a throne room, decorated with frescoes of griffins and plants. The Minoans created beautiful, colorful frescoes. Cline identifies a series of environmental and societal factors that contributed to the collapse. Yet, despite their interconnectedness, these kingdoms collapsed around 1177 B.C. These describe activities commensurate with an intertwined network of commercial and diplomatic interactions, with at least eight different cultures working together on a scale not often seen in the history of the world, bound together through an integrated supply chain that traded in raw materials such as copper, tin, gold, silver, and glass. His article appears in the Summer 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.Ĭline explains that the Late Bronze Age kingdoms were connected through trade networks and political alliances:

This was not just the collapse of one kingdom, but the collapse of a vast network of interconnected kingdoms-the collapse of Bronze Age civilization. Cline of the George Washington University investigates what caused the Bronze Age collapse. In “ 1177 B.C.: The Collapse of Bronze Age Civilization,” Eric H. Neither were those who lived in Mediterranean kingdoms during the 12th century B.C. Sadly, we are not strangers to these phenomena. Photo: © Megan Sauter/Biblical Archaeology Society.Įarthquakes. Eric Cline investigates what caused the Bronze Age collapse. Despite the advancements and connections of the Minoans, their kingdom collapsed in the 12th century B.C.-along with other powerful kingdoms. Parts of the palace have been reconstructed.

Knossos served as the capital of Minoan civilization, and its elaborate palace complex spanned 5 acres.

1177 bc the year civilization collapsed by eric cline