Bronze Age collapse facts for kids

The Bronze Age collapse was a time of big changes that happened around 1200 to 1150 BC. During this period, many powerful kingdoms and civilizations in places like the Aegean region (around Greece) and Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) fell apart.

Before the collapse, these areas had strong "palace economies." This means that powerful kings and their palaces controlled most of the trade, farming, and daily life. After the collapse, these big kingdoms were replaced by smaller "village cultures." This time is sometimes called the 'Greek Dark Ages'.

Many important things were lost during this collapse. Trade routes, which were like ancient highways for goods, were broken. Also, the ability to read and write (called literacy) disappeared in some areas and became very rare in others. Many cities, like Hattusa, Mycenae, and Ugarit, were violently destroyed and left empty.

After this difficult period, new kingdoms slowly began to rise. These included the Neo-Hittite and Aramaean kingdoms, and later the powerful Neo-Assyrian Empire.

What Happened in Different Regions?

The Bronze Age collapse affected many different areas. Here's a look at what happened in some of them:

Anatolia (Modern-day Turkey)

Almost every important city in Anatolia from the late Bronze Age shows signs of being destroyed. It took about a thousand years for civilization there to reach the same level it had before. Hattusa, the capital city of the Hittites, was burned and left empty forever. The famous city of Troy was destroyed at least twice and then abandoned for a very long time.

Cyprus

Cities like Enkomi, Kition, and Sinda on the island of Cyprus were attacked and burned, possibly more than once, before people left them. Some historians think there were two waves of destruction. The first might have been around 1230 BC by a group called the Sea Peoples, and the second around 1190 BC by Aegean refugees.

Syria

In Syria, cities like Ugarit had strong trade connections with Egypt and the Aegean. Evidence shows that Ugarit was destroyed after the time of an Egyptian pharaoh named Merenptah.

The last king of Ugarit, Ammurapi, wrote a letter to the king of Alasiya (Cyprus) asking for help. He wrote about enemy ships burning his cities and doing bad things to his country. He explained that his troops and chariots were away in another land, and his ships were also gone. He said his country was left alone and that seven enemy ships had caused a lot of damage.

Sadly for Ugarit, no help arrived. The city was burned to the ground around 1178 BC.

Levant (Eastern Mediterranean Coast)

All the cities along the coast from Gaza northward were destroyed. Many of them were not lived in again for up to thirty years.

Greece

None of the grand Mycenaean palaces from the Late Bronze Age survived. The destruction was worst at palaces and strong, fortified cities. For example, Thebes was attacked many times between 1300 and 1200 BC before it was finally destroyed by fire.

In other places, it's not always clear what happened. Athens, for instance, saw a big decline, but there's no clear sign of it being violently destroyed. People might have just left because they were afraid or because of other problems.

The Peloponnese region in Greece was hit the hardest. About 90% of the smaller towns and villages were abandoned, meaning many people left the area. The city of Mycenae was first damaged by an earthquake around 1250 BC. It was rebuilt but then destroyed again by big fires around 1190 BC. Some historians think these fires were from an attack, but others say there's no archaeological proof of a fight.

A similar situation happened in Tiryns around 1200 BC when an earthquake destroyed much of the city. However, people likely continued to live there for some time after. So, earthquakes alone probably didn't cause the complete collapse of Mycenae or Tiryns. A lack of local food was also a big problem. Palaces were important for managing and storing food, and their destruction made food shortages even worse.

The city of Pylos was destroyed by fire around 1180 BC, which suggests a violent attack. Some ancient clay tablets found at Pylos talk about "Watchers guarding the coast," which might mean they were expecting an attack from the sea. Whatever the threat from the sea was, it likely hurt trade and important food supplies.

The end of the Bronze Age collapse led to a period called the Greek Dark Ages, which lasted for over 400 years. Some cities, like Athens, continued to exist, but they were much smaller, had less trade, and their culture became simpler. It took centuries for Greece to fully recover.

Mesopotamia

Several cities in Mesopotamia were destroyed. The Assyrian Empire lost some of its northwestern cities, which were later won back by King Tiglath-Pileser I. The control of the Babylonian and Assyrian regions barely went beyond the cities themselves. Babylon was attacked by the Elamites.

Egypt

After surviving for a while, the Egyptian Empire also collapsed in the mid-12th century BCE, during the time of Ramesses VI. This led to a period of instability in Egypt.

Conclusion

Historians describe the Bronze Age collapse as a huge disaster, even worse than the fall of the Western Roman Empire. People remembered this time as a "lost golden age." For example, the ancient Greek poet Hesiod wrote about different ages, like the Age of Gold and Bronze, which were separated from his own harsh time by the Age of Heroes.

Why Did the Collapse Happen?

The Bronze Age collapse was a time when central governments fell apart, many people left cities, and long-distance trade stopped. There were also more power struggles.

Many different ideas have been suggested to explain why this collapse happened. Often, these ideas can work together.

Volcanoes

Some historians think a big volcanic eruption, like the Hekla 3 eruption around 1159 BC, might have caused problems. Volcanic ash can block sunlight and affect weather, leading to crop failures.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes often happen in groups, where one big earthquake can trigger others along weak fault lines. When maps of destroyed cities from the Late Bronze Age are compared with earthquake zones, there's a very close match.

Migrations and Raids

Evidence suggests that new groups of people moved into the region. For example, a type of sword called Naue II (from southeastern Europe) has been found in many places. Egyptian records also mention "northerners from all the lands" invading.

Letters from Ugarit mention invasions by mysterious groups like the Sea Peoples. Also, the last ancient documents from Greece (called Linear B tablets) talk about a big increase in piracy and slave raids, especially around Anatolia.

This idea is supported by the fact that many new ethnic groups appeared around the time of the collapse. These include Indo-European tribes like the Phrygians, Thracians, Macedonians, and Dorian Greeks, who might have come from the north. There also seems to have been a big movement of the Aramaeans from the southeast.

The reasons for these migrations could include drought, new ways of fighting wars, earthquakes, or other natural disasters. This means the migration theory can fit with other ideas about the collapse.

Ironworking

The Bronze Age collapse also happened as people slowly started using iron instead of bronze. At first, iron weapons were not as good as bronze ones. However, iron was much easier to find. This might have allowed larger armies of iron users to defeat smaller armies that still relied on bronze weapons and chariots.

It also seems that when long-distance trade stopped, it became very hard to get tin, which is needed to make bronze. So, people started recycling old bronze tools and using iron instead.

Drought

Long periods of dry weather, or drought, could have caused or made worse social and economic problems, leading to wars. Some research shows that changes in weather patterns, which brought drought to the Eastern Mediterranean, were linked to the Late Bronze Age collapse.

Changes in Warfare

Some historians believe that new ways of fighting played a role. Massed infantry (large groups of foot soldiers) started using new weapons and armor. These included cast spearheads and long swords that were good for cutting and thrusting. The sudden increase in bronze foundries (places where bronze was made) in the Aegean suggests that making many bronze items quickly became important.

These new weapons, used by infantry that could stand up to attacks from chariots, might have destabilized kingdoms that relied on chariots and a ruling class of warriors. This could have led to a sudden social collapse as raiders or hired soldiers began to conquer, loot, and burn cities.

General Systems Collapse

Another idea is that the collapse was a "general systems collapse." This means that many different problems combined to bring down the complex societies of the Late Bronze Age.

In the Middle East, things like a growing population, damaged soil, drought, and new weapon technologies might have made weapons too expensive for the traditional warrior leaders. These societies were very complex and fragile. This mix of problems could have led to their downfall.

The main weaknesses of the late Bronze Age societies were that they were very centralized, specialized, and complex, with power held by a few at the top. These weaknesses showed up through revolts, people leaving, population problems (too many people), and wars between states. Other things that added pressure were the attacks by the ‘Sea Peoples’, pirates hurting trade, drought, and crop failures leading to famine.

Images for kids

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  View of the Megaron of the palace at Tiryns, one of the many Greek palaces destroyed during the Bronze Age Collapse.

See also

In Spanish: Colapso de la Edad del Bronce Final para niños