Bronze Age Collapse around 1200 BC destroyed Eastern Mediterranean civilizations. Around 1200 BC, a catastrophic event swept through the Eastern Mediterranean Within 50 years, the Hittite Empire collapsed Mycenaean Greece collapsed
Around 1200 BC, a catastrophic wave swept through the Eastern Mediterranean. Within just 50 years, the Hittite Empire fell, Mycenaean Greece collapsed, and the great trading city of Ugarit was burned and never rebuilt. Egypt survived but was permanently weakened. Researchers think interconnected systems failed simultaneously through drought, migration, revolt, and supply breakdown. The interconnected world of the Late Bronze Age simply broke.
Key Facts
- Around 1200 BC, a catastrophic event swept through the Eastern Mediterranean
- Within 50 years, the Hittite Empire collapsed
- Mycenaean Greece collapsed
- Ugarit, one of the great trading cities of the ancient world, was burned and never rebuilt
- Egypt survived but was permanently diminished
- Leading explanation involves interconnected systems failing simultaneously through drought, migration, internal revolt, and supply failure
Related site: Ugarit — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Something Disturbing Happened to Every Civilization by Michael Button