Dan Snow's History Hit The Bronze Age Collapse
Aug 8, 2024
Eric Cline, an expert on ancient civilizations and author of '1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed', discusses the mysterious Bronze Age collapse. He explores the catastrophic events like famine, drought, and invasions that resulted in chaos in the eastern Mediterranean. Cline sheds light on interconnections among civilizations like the Minoans and Egyptians, and examines the role of the Sea Peoples, who may have been climate refugees. The conversation also reflects on the link between past droughts and today's climate challenges.
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Globalized Late Bronze Age Network
- The late Bronze Age was a highly interconnected “G8” network linking Egypt, Hittites, Mycenaeans, Minoans, Babylonians and Assyrians.
- Diplomatic gift exchanges and long-distance trade (tin from Afghanistan, amber from Scandinavia) bound elites and economies together.
Uluburun Shipwreck Reveals Trade Microcosm
- Shipwrecks like Uluburun give a snapshot of cross-cultural trade around 1300 BC with goods from at least seven cultures onboard.
- The Uluburun cargo suggests exchanges between Cyprus, Canaan, Egypt and the Aegean and may represent either merchant or royal shipments.
Polycrisis Triggered Rapid Regional Collapse
- The Late Bronze Age collapse was a rapid polycrisis combining earthquakes, prolonged drought, famine, disease and invasions after 1200 BC.
- The interconnected trade and diplomatic network fragmented within decades, causing urban depopulation and loss of administrative systems.