Late Bronze Age collapse

Quick Facts: Who was Late Bronze Age collapse?

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Late Bronze Age collapse

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A period of widespread societal collapse across the Eastern Mediterranean (c. 13th–12th century BC).

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Origins & Early Life

The Late Bronze Age collapse was a period of societal collapse in the Mediterranean basin during the late 13th to early 12th century BC. It is thought to have affected much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, in particular Egypt, Anatolia, the Aegean, eastern Libya, and the Balkans. The collapse was sudden, violent, and culturally disruptive for many Bronze Age civilizations, creating a sharp material decline for the region's previously existing powers. The palace economy of Mycenaean Greece, the Aegean region, and Anatolia that characterized the Late Bronze Age broke apart into the small isolated village cultures of the Greek Dark Ages, which lasted from c. 1200 BC to c. 800 BC and were followed by the better‑known Archaic Age. The Hittite Empire spanning Anatolia and the Levant collapsed, while states such as the Middle Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia and the New Kingdom of Egypt survived in weakened forms.

Career & Major Achievements

Other cultures, such as the Phoenicians, enjoyed increased autonomy and power with the waning military presence of Egypt and Assyria in West Asia. Competing theories of the cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse have been proposed since the 19th century, with most involving the violent destruction of cities and towns. These include climate change, volcanic eruptions, droughts, disease, invasions by the Sea Peoples, economic disruptions due to increased ironworking, and changes in military technology and strategy that brought the decline of chariot warfare. Following the collapse, gradual changes in metallurgic technology led to the subsequent Iron Age across Europe, Asia, and Africa during the 1st millennium BC. Scholarship in the late 20th and early 21st century introduced views that the collapse was more limited in scale and scope than previously thought.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The German historian Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren first dated the Late Bronze Age collapse to 1200 BC. In an 1817 history of Ancient Greece, Heeren stated that the first period of Greek prehistory ended around this time, based on a dating of the fall of Troy to 1190 BC. In 1826, he dated the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt to around the same time. Also occurring in the first half of the 12th century BC were the Sea Peoples invasions, the collapse of Mycenaean Greece and the Kassites in Babylonia, and the carving of the Merneptah Stele. This period also saw the destruction of Ugarit and the Amorite states in the Levant, the fragmentation of western Anatolia's Luwian states, and chaos in Canaan.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1200: 1200 Milestone — The German historian Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren first dated the Late Bronze Age collapse to 1200 BC.
2. 1817: 1817 Milestone — In an 1817 history of Ancient Greece, Heeren stated that the first period of Greek prehistory ended around this time, based on a dating of the fall of Troy to 1190 BC.
3. 1826: 1826 Milestone — In 1826, he dated the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt to around the same time.

Notable Quotes by Late Bronze Age collapse

“Within a period of forty to fifty years at the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the twelfth century, almost every significant city in the eastern Mediterranean world was destroyed, many of them never to be occupied again.”

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Late Bronze Age collapse

True or False: “The initial belief that nearly every major city in the Eastern Mediterranean was violently destroyed during this collapse is entirely accurate according to modern archaeology.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Recent research has shown that many purported destruction events were misdated or based on insufficient evidence, significantly overstating the scale of the collapse.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Albertus Magnus — Historical peer (Born in 1200) (1200): A towering figure of medieval philosophy, science, and theology.
• Dōgen — Historical peer (Born in 1200) (1200): Founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan, known for zazen practice.
• Abraham Gottlob Werner — Historical peer (Died in 1817) (1817): Pioneering German geologist, known for establishing early theories of Earth's crust.
• Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg — Historical peer (Born in 1817) (1817): Grand Duke of Luxembourg, ruling from 1890 until his death in 1905.
• Frederick Barbarossa — Historical peer (Died in 1190) (1190): Holy Roman Emperor who dominated Italian politics and expanded imperial authority.
• Ivan Asen II — Historical peer (Born in 1190) (1190): Emperor of Bulgaria, who restored the Second Bulgarian Empire's power and influence.
• Bernhard Riemann — Historical peer (Born in 1826) (1826): Pioneering mathematician whose work shaped modern analysis, geometry, and number theory.
• Carl Maria von Weber — Historical peer (Died in 1826) (1826): Pioneering German composer, central to the development of German Romantic opera.

Frequently Asked Questions about Late Bronze Age collapse