View source for 13th century BC

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 1300 BC to 1201 BC}}
{{redirect|1200s BC|the decade|1200s BC (decade)}}

{{Centurybox|-13}}

[[Image:Gu wine vessel from the Shang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Chinese ritual bronze]] wine vessel, [[Shang dynasty]], 13th century BC, [[Arthur M. Sackler Gallery]]]]
The '''13th century BC''' was the period from 1300 to 1201 BC.

==The world in the 13th century BC==

[[Image:East-Hem 1300bc.jpg|thumb|centre|550px|Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 1300 BC]]

==Events==
===Asia===
* c. 1300–1046 BC: in China, the [[Shang dynasty]] flourishes as it settles its capital, [[Yinxu|Yin]], near [[Anyang]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Tan Koon |last=San |title=Dynastic China |publisher=The Other Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-983-9541-88-5 |page=17}}</ref> Chinese settlers swarm in compact groups to create new clearing areas towards the [[Yangtze]] basin in the south, the [[Shanxi]] terraces in the northwest and the [[Wei River]] valley. The Shang then seem to frequently wage war with the still non-Sinicized populations who inhabit the [[Huai River]] valley. Graves in the form of cruciform pits have been discovered in Anyang containing [[Chariots in ancient China|chariots]] with their yokes, numerous bronze vases and the remains of human sacrifices, as well as the first [[Oracle bone script|Chinese inscriptions]] on [[oracle bone]]s (''Jiaguwen'') or bronze vases.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Michel |last=Soutif |title=L'Asie, source de sciences et de techniques |publisher=[[EDP Sciences]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-2-7598-0125-1 |page=33}}</ref> China's Shang armies are organized into infantry and archers in companies of one hundred men, supporting sections of five chariots.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Richard A. |last=Gabriel |title=The Great Armies of Antiquity |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-275-97809-9 |page=143}}</ref>
* c. 1300 BC: the [[Aryan]]s dominate northwest India as far as the [[Sarasvati River]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Alain |last=Daniélou |title=Histoire de l'Inde |publisher=[[Fayard]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-2-213-63953-6 |page=223}}</ref> The [[Vedas]] mention the ''[[Dasa]]s'' (slaves) as their enemies. Dasas are interpreted as being a North [[Iran|Iranian tribe]], Dahae. The Aryans are organized in tribal monarchies headed by a [[raja]] (king), who shares power with two councils or assemblies that will differentiate over time, the sabhā (court of justice) and the samiti (council of war).<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Paul |last1=Masson-Oursel |first2=Philippe |last2=Stern |first3=H |last3=de Willman-Grabowska |title=L'Inde antique et la civilisation indienne |publisher=[[Éditions Albin Michel]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-2-226-26086-4 |page=88}}</ref> Only one raja is named in the [[Rigveda]]: [[Sudas]] of the [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bharatas]], a tribe established on the upper reaches of the Sarasvatî. He is described as the victor of the coalition of ten kings, the most powerful of which was Pûru. Subsequently, the Kurus take control of the Bharatas.<ref name="Boivin">{{Cite book |first=Michel |last=Boivin |title=Histoire de l'Inde |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |year=2015 |isbn=978-2-13-073032-3 |page=8}}</ref>
* c. 1260 BC: [[Lapita culture|Lapita]] pottery discovered at the Bourewa site southwest of [[Viti Levu]] dates back to this period.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Jeffrey L. |last=Gross |title=Waipi'O Valley |volume=1 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5245-3905-4 |page=221}}</ref>

===Middle East===
* c. 1350–1210 BC: the Igihalkid dynasty in [[Elam]]. They resume the title of "Kings of Anshan and Susa".<ref>{{Cite book |first=Louis Vanden |last=Berghe |title=Reliefs rupestres de l'Irān ancien : Bruxelles, Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, 26 octobre 1983-29 janvier 1984 |publisher=Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire |year=1983 |page=25}}</ref>
* c. 1306–1186 BC: the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt]]. [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], then [[Pi-Ramesses]], are the capitals of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]].<ref name="Margueron">{{Cite book |first=Jean-Claude |last=Margueron |title=Le Proche-Orient et l'Égypte antiques |publisher=Hachette Éducation Technique |year=2012 |isbn=978-2-01-140096-3 |page=384}}</ref> It is a period of relative prosperity. During the reign of [[Ramesses II]], the construction of the [[Great Hypostyle Hall]] of the temples of [[Karnak]], the [[Luxor Temple]] and the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] are completed.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Xavier |last=Barral I Altet |title=Histoire de l'art |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |year=2013 |isbn=978-2-13-062338-0 |page=19}}</ref>
* 1307–1275 BC: the first Assyrian mention of the ''Ahlamu'', proto-[[Aramaic]] people, during the reign of [[Adad-nirari I]], in the region of the north of the Euphrates. The Aramaeans, a Semitic people reported from the 14th century BC by the [[Amarna letters|archives]] of [[Amarna]] and then [[Ugarit]], settled in North [[Mesopotamia]], then in [[Aram (region)|Aram]] (now [[Syria]]) and [[Lebanon]] where they formed kingdoms in the [[11th century BC]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Juliet |last=Clutton-Brock |title=The Walking Larder : Patterns of Domestication, Pastoralism, and Predation |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-59838-1 |page=133}}</ref> The biblical tradition of the sons of Jacob, apparently originating from the Aram Naharayim or "Aram of the two rivers", in the loop of the Euphrates, around the towns of [[Harran]] and Nahur, seems to confirm that this region was populated by Proto-Aramaic pastors around the 13th century BC.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.clio.fr/BIBLIOTHEQUE/les_arameens_un_peuple_une_langue_une_ecriture_au_dela_des_empires.asp |title=Les Araméens, un peuple, une langue, une écriture, au-delà des empires |first=André |last=Lemaire |website=www.clio.fr}}</ref>
* 1274 BCE: the Egyptian and Hittite Empires clash in the [[Battle of Kadesh]], with heavy losses to each side but no decisive outcome.
* [[1207 BC]]: [[Merneptah]] repels attacks by northern invaders (the "[[Sea Peoples|Sea-Peoples]]") in the 8th year of his reign, according to the [[Great Karnak Inscription]]. [[Eric H. Cline|Eric Cline]] closely links this event with the beginning of the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]].<ref>[[Eric H. Cline|Cline, Eric]]. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcu-ysocX4 ''1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed''] [video], 2016, 1h10'17. See 5'41-6'19 for the invasion of the Sea People in the 5th yr of [[Merneptah]]'s reign and the 8th year of [[Ramses III]]'s, and 4'30 for the start of the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] "on either side of 1200 BC".</ref>

===Europe===
* c. 1300–1200 BC: [[Aegean civilization|Bronze IIIB]] in [[Greece]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Claude |last=Baurain |title=Les Grecs et la Méditerranée orientale : des siècles "obscurs" à la fin de l'époque archaïque |publisher=[[Presses universitaires de France]] |year=1997 |page=60}}</ref> The [[Lion Gate]] and the [[Treasury of Atreus]] are built in [[Mycenae]]. It is a time of peace and prosperity in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. Mycenaean imports to the Levant peak. A [[Uluburun shipwreck|wreck]] found on the southern coast of [[Anatolia]] contained ingots of copper, tin, ivory, Syrian, Cypriot and Mycenaean vases, and pieces of elephant and hippo ivory. The [[Acropolis of Athens]] is developed: towards the end of the century, a [[Cyclopean masonry|Cyclopean wall]] four to six meters thick, known as the “pelasgic wall” (''Pelargikon''), is constructed, as well as a well to supply the citadel with water.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Roland |last=Étienne |title=Athènes, espaces urbains et histoire |publisher=[[Hachette (publisher)|Hachette]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-2-01-181444-9 |page=23}}</ref> [[Linear B]] tablets are created in [[Pylos]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=L'Europe au temps d'Ulysse. |publisher=RMN - Grand Palais |year=1999 |isbn=978-2-7118-6293-1 |page=234}}</ref>
*c. 1300–1200 BC: approximately 4,000 men fight a [[Tollense valley battlefield|battle at a causeway over the Tollense valley]] in Northern Germany, the largest known prehistoric battle north of the Alps.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Curry|first1=Andrew|title=Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/slaughter-bridge-uncovering-colossal-bronze-age-battle|website=Science|access-date=11 March 2017|date=24 March 2016}}</ref>
* c. 1300–500 BC: the [[Lusatian culture]] in [[Poland]], parts of the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]], eastern [[Germany]] and northern [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=T. Douglas |last=Price |title=Ancient Scandinavia |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-023198-9 |page=212}}</ref>
* c. 1250–850 BC: the [[Urnfield culture]], characterized by vast cemeteries housing urns with the ashes of the deceased and offerings, marks the Late Bronze Age in Western Europe.<ref name="Gimbutas">{{Cite book |last=Gimbutas |first=Marija |author-link=Marija Gimbutas |title=Bronze Age cultures in Central and Eastern Europe |publisher=[[De Gruyter]] |year=1965 |isbn=978-3-11-166814-7 |page=245}}</ref>
* c. 1250–1000 BC: the culture of [[Necropolis of Pantalica|Pantalica]] develops inland in [[Sicily]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Robert |last=Leighton |title=Sicily Before History: An Archaeological Survey from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8014-8585-5 |page=150}}</ref>
* 1225–1190 BC: [[Helladic chronology|Late Helladic IIIB2]] in mainland Greece.<ref name="Brunet">{{Cite book |first=Olivier |last=Brunet |title=Les marqueurs archéologiques du pouvoir |publisher=Publications de la Sorbonne |year=2016 |isbn=979-10-351-0005-6 |page=28}}</ref> The perimeters of the defense systems of the Mycenaean palaces ([[Mycenae]], [[Tiryns]], [[Midea (Argolid)|Midea]]) are widely extended, a sign that insecurity is increasing. The end of the period was marked by widespread destruction on most sites: Mycenae, Tyrinth, Midéa, [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]], [[Dimini]], and [[Pylos]], whose unfortified palaces have not been rebuilt.<ref name="Demoule">{{Cite book |language=fr |first1=Jean-Paul |last1=Demoule |first2=Dominique |last2=Garcia |first3=Alain |last3=Schnapp |title=Une histoire des civilisations |publisher=La Découverte |year=2018 |isbn=978-2-7071-8878-6 |page=319}}</ref>

==Sovereign states==
* [[List of sovereign states in the 13th century BC]].

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Decades and years}} 
{{Centuries}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:13th Century Bc}}
[[Category:13th century BC| ]]
[[Category:2nd millennium BC|-7]]
[[Category:Centuries|-87]]