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Bronze Age Collapse - Part 2: The Great Upheaval and Cause of the Collapse
The world of the Late Bronze Age was a dazzling network of powerful civilizations, bound together by trade, diplomacy, and shared technologies. As discussed in Part 1, the Hittites, Egyptians, Mycenaeans, and other major powers created an interconnected web of prosperity. Yet, by the end of the 12th century BCE, this world had crumbled. Entire cities lay in ruins, societies disintegrated, and long-established empires vanished from history. But what caused this collapse?To understand the causes it is important to explore the intricate and interwoven factors of environmental shifts, economic turmoil, military upheaval, and technological transitions, that created a perfect storm of crises, leading to one of the most dramatic periods of decline in human history.Terry Bailey explains.
The Sea Peoples in ships during battle with the Egyptians. A depiction of a relief from the mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu.
Environmental and climatic factorsArchaeological and palaeo-climatic evidence suggests that a series of severe droughts struck the Eastern Mediterranean during the late 13th and early 12th centuries BCE. Tree-ring analysis from Anatolia and pollen records from the Levant indicate a sharp decline in precipitation, leading to failed harvests and widespread famine.Lake sediments from Cyprus and the Dead Sea further corroborate this period of prolonged aridity. The Hittite and Egyptian records refer to grain shortages, hinting at growing food insecurity. The effects were catastrophic. Urban centers, which relied on stable agricultural output, suffered devastating food shortages, leading to depopulation, internal strife, and mass migrations. Trade routes became unstable as hunger forced people to move in search of sustenance, disrupting long-established economic patterns. In some cases, entire regions were abandoned, as evidenced by the decline of once-thriving settlements such as Emar in Syria. Economic decline and trade disruptionsThe Late Bronze Age economy depended on complex international trade networks that supplied essential raw materials. Bronze, the defining metal of the age, required a steady supply of copper and tin, elements that were often sourced from distant locations. When trade routes collapsed, so too did bronze production, crippling military and economic stability.Archaeological evidence from Ugarit, a major trading hub, shows that it was suddenly cut off from its usual trading partners before its destruction. Communications discovered in the ruins of Ugarit describe desperate appeals for aid and warnings of impending disaster. With trade in disarray, central authorities struggled to maintain control.Inflation and food shortages led to social unrest, as documented in letters from the Egyptian pharaohs lamenting the high cost of grain. The economic strain may have contributed to weakened state institutions, making them more vulnerable to internal and external threats. Warfare and invasionsPerhaps the most dramatic element of the Bronze Age Collapse was the wave of invasions and destruction that swept through the region. Chief among the aggressors was the enigmatic Sea Peoples, a confederation of warriors who attacked numerous cities across the Eastern Mediterranean. Egyptian inscriptions, such as those at Medinet Habu from the reign of Ramesses III, describe these seaborne raiders in battle, detailing their destruction of cities and their attempt to invade Egypt itself.Other major powers suffered even worse fates. The Hittite capital, Hattusa, was destroyed and abandoned, with no later reoccupation, signaling the total collapse of the Hittite Empire. The Mycenaean palaces in Greece were burned and abandoned, leading to a centuries-long decline in Greek civilization. The fall of Ugarit, documented in a final letter from its last ruler, shows the sudden and brutal nature of these attacks.The military infrastructure of these states was not prepared for such upheaval. Internal revolts, possibly by oppressed lower classes or mercenaries, further destabilized the already-weakened polities. The sheer scale and synchronization of these invasions suggest a combination of external aggression and internal fracturing. Technological and military shiftsThe changing nature of warfare may have also contributed to the collapse. The Late Bronze Age was dominated by chariot-based armies, which required large logistical support, training, and infrastructure. However, as societies became weaker and trade disruptions limited access to high-quality materials, the effectiveness of chariot warfare declined.At the same time, iron weaponry began to spread. While the transition from bronze to iron took time, some groups may have gained an advantage through the use of iron tools and weapons. The Philistines, a possible subset of the Sea Peoples, appear to have been early adopters of ironworking technology.Archaeological sites such as Ashkelon have revealed early iron artefacts, suggesting a gradual but significant shift in military capabilities. Additionally, shifts in military recruitment weakened traditional armies. Many rulers relied on foreign mercenaries, whose loyalty could be fickle. The breakdown of centralized authority may have meant that these warriors turned against their employers, contributing to the cycle of instability. The domino effect - Civilization in freefallOnce the collapse began, it rapidly spread across the Eastern Mediterranean. The destruction of key trade centers led to further economic and political breakdowns, creating a cascading effect. Archaeological evidence shows that entire regions were depopulated. In Greece, the Mycenaean palace complexes, including Pylos and Tiryns, were burned and abandoned. The Hittite heartland became a wasteland, and Ugarit ceased to exist.Egypt, while surviving, emerged from the crisis in a weakened state. Ramesses III's inscriptions claim victory over the Sea Peoples, but Egypt's empire shrank dramatically. The loss of territories in Canaan and the Levant marked the beginning of a long decline for the New Kingdom.The knowledge and administrative skills that had supported these civilizations were also lost. The collapse of writing systems, such as Linear B in Greece, marks a regression in literacy and bureaucratic administration. The world of vast interconnected states gave way to small, isolated communities struggling to rebuild. The end of an era and birth of the New WorldThe collapse of the Late Bronze Age was not the result of a single catastrophic event but rather a convergence of multiple, interwoven crises that overwhelmed even the most powerful civilizations of the era. Environmental stress, economic disintegration, military upheaval, and technological transitions combined to create an unprecedented period of societal collapse.Severe droughts led to widespread famine, weakening the agricultural and trade-based economies that had sustained the great empires. The disruption of trade routes not only crippled industries dependent on essential resources like tin and copper but also destabilized political structures, as rulers struggled to maintain control over increasingly desperate populations.At the same time, waves of invasions and internal revolts further shattered these fragile societies. The arrival of the Sea Peoples marked the final blow for many city-states, while the fall of the Mycenaean palaces, the destruction of Hattusa, and the obliteration of Ugarit signaled the disintegration of long-standing power centers. The changing nature of warfare marked by the decline of chariot-based armies and the slow but inevitable rise of iron weaponry ushered in a new era, leaving behind the remnants of a world once dominated by bronze.The aftermath of the collapse reshaped the geopolitical landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean. Egypt, though it survived, never regained its former dominance. The once-mighty Hittites disappeared entirely, while the Greek world plunged into centuries of economic and cultural regression. The loss of centralized administration, literacy, and trade networks meant that knowledge, technology, and governance had to be rebuilt almost from scratch.However, from this period of darkness, new societies eventually emerged. The Phoenicians, the Israelites, and the early Greek city-states would rise from the ruins, laying the groundwork for the Iron Age civilizations that followed.Ultimately, the great upheaval of the Late Bronze Age is a solid indication of the fragility of complex societies. It serves as a powerful reminder that even the most interconnected and prosperous civilizations are vulnerable to the cascading effects of environmental stress, economic turmoil, and military conflict. While the Bronze Age world may have vanished, its legacy endures in the lessons it offers about resilience, adaptation, and the ever-changing nature of human history.In Part 3, we will explore the aftermath of the collapse: how survivors rebuilt, what new civilizations rose from the ashes, and how the lessons of the Bronze Age Collapse continue to resonate in history today. The site has been offering a wide variety of high-quality, free history content since 2012. If you’d like to say ‘thank you’ and help us with site running costs, please consider donating here. Notes:The sea peopleThe Sea Peoples were a confederation of maritime raiders and invaders who played a significant role in the collapse of several major civilizations during the late Bronze Age (circa 1200 BCE). As indicated in the main text, these groups attacked and contributed to the downfall of powerful states such as the Hittite Empire, Mycenaean Greece, and the Egyptian New Kingdom. The origins and identity of the Sea Peoples remain a topic of intense scholarly debate, as they left no written records of their own, and much of what is known comes from Egyptian and other contemporary sources, particularly inscriptions by Pharaoh Ramesses III, which potentially could be tainted with bias.One prevailing theory suggests that the Sea Peoples were not a single unified culture but rather a coalition of various displaced or migratory groups. The upheavals of the late Bronze Age, including climate change, famine, internal strife, and the collapse of trade networks, may have forced numerous populations to seek new lands and resources, leading to waves of seaborne invasions. Among the names recorded in Egyptian sources, such as the Medjay, Sherden, Lukka, and Peleset (often identified with the Philistines), it is possible that the Sea Peoples included displaced Mycenaeans, Anatolian groups fleeing the collapse of the Hittite Empire, and even people from the central Mediterranean, such as Sardinia or Sicily.Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that the Sea Peoples were both warriors and settlers, with some groups integrating into the societies they attacked. For example, the Peleset are thought to have settled in Canaan, eventually forming the Philistine culture. Other groups may have contributed to the cultural and demographic shifts that marked the transition from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age.While their exact origins remain elusive, the Sea Peoples are best understood as a diverse and fluid collection of migrants, adventurers, and raiders whose actions reshaped the ancient Mediterranean world.
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