Late Bronze Age collapse

The Bronze Age collapse is the name of the period of history of the Ancient Middle East extending between the collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria, and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Palestine between 1206 and 1150 BC, down to the rise of settled Aramaean kingdoms of the mid-10th century BC, and the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In the first phase of this period, almost every city between Troy and Gaza was destroyed, and often left unoccupied thereafter (for example, Troy, Hattusas, Mycenae, Ugarit).

Regional evidence

Anatolia

Every site important during the preceding Late Bronze Age shows a destruction layer, and it appears that here civilization was not to recover to the same level as that of the Hittites for another thousand years. Hattusas, the Hittite capital was burned and abandoned, and never reoccupied. Karaoglan was burned and the corpses left unburied. Troy was destroyed at least twice, before being abandoned till Roman times.

Cyprus

The catastrophe separates Late Cypriot II (LCII) from the LCIII period, with the sacking and burning of the sites of Enkomi, Kition, and Sinda, may have occurred twice, before being abandoned. A number of sites were not destroyed, but also abandoned. At Kokkinokremos, a short-lived settlement where various caches concealed by smiths suggests that none ever returned to reclaim treasures, suggesting they were killed or enslaved.

Syria

Syrian sites previously showing evidence of trade links with Egypt and the Aegean in the late Bronze Age. Evidence of Ugarit shows that the destruction there occurred after the reign of Merenptah and even the fall of Chancellor Bay. Letters found baked in the conflagration of the destruction of the city speak of attack from the sea, and a letter from Alashiya (Cyprus) speaks of cities already being destroyed from attackers who came by sea. It also speaks of the Ugarit fleet being absent, patrolling the coast.

Palestine

Evidence shows that Deir Alla (Succoth) was destroyed after the reign of Queen Twosret. The destruction of Lachish was briefly reoccupied by squatters and an Egyptian garrison, during the reign of Rameses III. All centres along the Via Maris, from Gaza north were destroyed, and evidence shows Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Akko, and Jaffa were burned and not reoccupied for up to thirty years. Inland Hazor, Bethel, Beth Shemesh, Eglon, Debir, and other sites were destroyed.

Greece

None of the Mycenaean palaces of the Late Bronze Age survived, with destruction being heaviest at palaces and fortified sites. Up to 90% of small sites in the Peloponnese were abandoned, suggesting a major depopulation. It was the start of what has been called the Greek Dark Ages, which was not to lift for more than 400 years. Other cities continued but with a more local sphere of influence, limited evidence of trade and an impoverished culture.

Mesopotamia

The cities of Norsuntepe, Emar and Carchemish were destroyed, and the Assyrians narrowly escaped an invasion by Mushki tribes during the reign of Tiglath Pileser I. With the spread of Ahhlamu or Aramaeans, control of the Babylonian and Assyrian regions extended barely beyond the city limits. Babylon was sacked by the Elamites under Shutruk-Nahhunte, and lost control of the Diyala valley.

Egypt

After apparently surviving for a while the Egyptian Empire collapsed in the mid twelfth century BCE (during the reign of Rameses VI). Previously the Merenptah stele spoke of attacks from Lybians, with associated people of Ekwesh, Shekelesh, Lukka, Shardana and Tursha or Teresh, and a Canaanite revolt, in the cities of Ashkelon, Yenoam and the people of Israel. A second attack during the reign of Rameses III involved Peleset, Tjekker, Shardana and Denyen.

Conclusion

Robert Drews describes it as "the worst disaster in ancient history, even more calamitous than the collapse of the Western Roman Empire".

Nature and causes of destruction

As part of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age Dark Ages, it was a period associated with the collapse of central authorities, a general depopulation, particularly of highly urban areas, the loss of literacy in Anatolia and the Aegean, and its restriction elsewhere, the disappearance of established patterns of long-distance international trade, increasingly vicious intra-elite struggles for power, and reduced options for the elite if not for the general mass of population.

There are various theories put forward to explain the situation of collapse.

Earthquakes

Amos Nur shows how earthquakes tend to occur in "sequences" or "storms" where a major Earthquake above 6.5 on the Richter scale can in later months or years set off second or subsequent earthquakes along the weakened fault line. He shows that when a map of Earthquake occurrence is superimposed on a map of the sites destroyed in the Late Bronze Age, there is a very close correspondence.

Migrations

Ekrem Akurgal, Gustav Lehmann and Fritz Schachermeyer, following the views of Gaston Maspero have argued on the basis of the wide spread findings of Naue II-type swords coming from South Eastern Europe, and Egyptian records of "northerners from all the lands"

Ironworking

Leonard R. Palmer suggested that iron, whilst inferior to bronze weapons, was in more plentiful supply and so allowed larger armies of iron users to overwhelm the smaller armies of bronze using maryannu chariotry. This argument has been weakened of late with the finding that the shift to iron occurred after the collapse, not before. It now seems that the disruption of long distance trade cut easy supplies of tin, making bronze impossible to make. Older implements were recycled and then iron substitutes were used.

Drought

Barry Weiss , using the Palmer Drought Index for 35 Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern weather stations, showed that a drought of the kinds that persisted from January 1972 would have affected all of the sites associated with the Late Bronze Age collapse.

General systems collapse

A general systems collapse has been put forward as an explanation for the reversals in culture that occurred between the Urnfield period of the 12-13th centuries BC and the rise of the Celtic Haalstadt culture in the 9th and 10th centuries BC.

Raiders

The Ugarit correspondence draws attention to such groups as the mysterious Sea Peoples. Equally translation of the preserved Linear B documents in the Aegean, just before the collapse, demonstrates a rise in piracy and slave raiding, particularly coming from Anatolia. Egyptian fortresses along the Libyan coast, constructed and maintained after the reign of Rameses II were constructed to reduce raiding.

Changes in warfare

Robert Drews argues that the appearance of massed infantry, using newly developed weapons and armor, such as swords and javelins, on a proto-hoplite model, who were able to withstand attacks of massed chariotry, destabilized states based upon the use of chariots by the ruling class and precipitated an abrupt social collapse when raiders and/or infantry mercenaries were able to conquer, loot, and burn the cities.[1][2]