Anatolia around 1300 BC Many Anatolian sites were destroyed at the Late Bronze Age, and the area appears to have undergone extreme political decentralization. For much of the Late Bronze Age, Anatolia had been dominated by the
Hittite Empire, but by 1200 BC, the state was already fragmenting under the strain of famine, plague, and civil war. The Hittite capital of
Hattusa was burned at an unknown date in this general period, though it may in fact have been abandoned at that point. Karaoğlan, near present-day
Ankara, was burned and the corpses left unburied. Many Anatolian sites have destruction layers dating to this general period. Some of them such as
Troy were immediately rebuilt, while others such as
Kaymakçı were abandoned. This period appears to have also been a time of migration. For instance, some evidence suggests that the
Phrygians arrived in Anatolia during this period, possibly through the
Bosporus or over the Caucasus Mountains. Initially, the Assyrian Empire maintained a presence in the area. However, it gradually withdrew from much of the region for a time in the second half of the 11th century BC.
Cyprus During the reign of the Hittite king
Tudḫaliya IV (reigned c. 1237–1209 BC), the island was briefly invaded by the Hittites, either to secure the
copper resource or as a way of preventing
piracy. Shortly afterwards, the island was reconquered by his son
Suppiluliuma II around 1200 BC. There is little evidence of destruction on the island of Cyprus in the years surrounding 1200 BC which marks the separation between the
Late Cypriot II (LCII) from the LCIII period. The city of
Kition is commonly cited as destroyed at the end of the LC IIC, but the excavator, Vassos Karageorghis, made it expressly clear that it was not destroyed, stating, "At Kition, major rebuilding was carried out in both excavated Areas I and II, but there is no evidence of violent destruction; on the contrary, we observe a cultural continuity." Jesse Millek has demonstrated that while it is possible that the city of Enkomi was destroyed, the archaeological evidence is not clear. Of the two buildings dating to the end of the LC IIC excavated at Enkomi, both had limited evidence of burning and most rooms were without any kind of damage. The same can be said for the site of Sinda as it is not clear if it was destroyed since only some ash was found but no other evidence that the city was destroyed like fallen walls or burnt rubble. The only settlement on Cyprus that has clear evidence it was destroyed around 1200 BC was
Maa Palaeokastro, which was likely destroyed by some sort of attack, though the excavators were not sure who attacked it, saying, "We might suggest that [the attackers] were 'pirates', 'adventurers' or remnants of the 'Sea Peoples', but this is simply another way of saying that we do not know." Several settlements on Cyprus were abandoned at the end of the LC IIC or during the first half of the 12th century BC without destruction such as Pyla
Kokkinokremmos, Toumba tou Skourou, Alassa, and Maroni-Vournes.
Greece Destruction was heaviest at palaces and fortified sites, and none of the Mycenaean palaces of the Late Bronze Age survived (with the possible exception of the
Cyclopean fortifications on the
Acropolis of Athens). Thebes was one of the earliest examples of this, having its palace sacked repeatedly between 1300 and 1200 BC and eventually completely destroyed by fire. The extent of this destruction is highlighted by Robert Drews, who reasons that the destruction was such that Thebes did not resume a significant position in Greece until at least the late 12th century BC. Many other sites offer less conclusive causes; for example it is unclear what happened at Athens, although it is clear that the settlement saw a significant decline during the Bronze Age Collapse. While there is no evidence of remnants of a destroyed palace or central structure, a change in location of living quarters and burial sites demonstrates a significant recession. Furthermore, the increase in fortification at this site suggests much fear of the decline in Athens.
Vincent Desborough asserts that this is evidence of later migrations away from the city in reaction to its initial decline, although a significant population did remain. It remains possible that this emigration from Athens was not flight from violence. Nancy Demand posits that environmental changes could have played an important role in the collapse of Athens. In particular Demand notes the presence of "enclosed and protected means of access to water sources at Athens" as evidence of persistent droughts in the region that could have resulted in a fragile reliance on imports. Up to 90% of small sites in the
Peloponnese were abandoned, suggesting a major depopulation. Again, as with many of the sites of destruction in Greece, it is unclear how a lot of this destruction came about. The city of Mycenae for example was initially destroyed in an earthquake in 1250 BC as evidenced by the presence of crushed bodies buried in collapsed buildings. Drews points out that there was continued occupation at these sites, accompanied by attempts to rebuild, demonstrating the continuation of Tiryns as a settlement. Demand suggests instead that the cause could again be environmental, particularly the lack of homegrown food and the important role of palaces in managing and storing food imports, implying that their destruction only stood to exacerbate the more crucial factor of food shortage. Eric Cline rebuts the idea that this is evidence of an attack by Sea People, pointing out that the tablet does not say what is being watched for or why. Cline does not see naval attacks as playing a role in Pylos's decline. Demand, however, argues that, regardless of what the threat from the sea was, it likely played a role in the decline, at least in hindering trade and perhaps vital food imports. The Bronze Age collapse marked the start of what has been called the
Greek Dark Ages, which lasted roughly 400 years and ended with the establishment of
Archaic Greece. Other cities, such as
Athens, continued to be occupied, but with a more local sphere of influence, limited evidence of trade and an impoverished culture, from which it took centuries to recover. These sites in Greece show evidence of the collapse:
Knossos,
Kydonia,
Lefkandi,
Menelaion,
Mycenae,
Nichoria,
Pylos, ,
Thebes,
Tiryns, and
Iolkos .
Egypt in their ships during the battle with the Egyptians. Relief from the mortuary temple of
Ramesses III at
Medinet Habu While it survived the Bronze Age collapse, the Egyptian Empire of the
New Kingdom era receded considerably in territorial and economic strength during the mid-twelfth century (during the reign of
Ramesses VI, 1145 to 1137 BC). Previously, the
Merneptah Stele () spoke of attacks (Libyan War) from Putrians (from modern
Libya), with associated people of
Ekwesh,
Shekelesh,
Lukka,
Shardana and
Teresh (possibly an Egyptian name for the
Tyrrhenians or
Troas), and a Canaanite revolt, in the cities of
Ashkelon,
Yenoam and among the
people of Israel. A second attack (
Battle of the Delta and
Battle of Djahy) during the reign of
Ramesses III (1186–1155 BC) involved
Peleset,
Tjeker,
Shardana, and
Denyen. The Nubian War, the First Libyan War, the Northern War and the Second Libyan War were all victories for Ramesses. Due to this, however, the economy of Egypt fell into decline and state treasuries were nearly bankrupt. By defeating the Sea Peoples,
Libyans, and
Nubians, the territory around Egypt was safe during the collapse of the Bronze Age, but military campaigns in Asia depleted the economy. With his victory over the Sea Peoples, Ramesses III stated: "My sword is great and mighty like that of
Montu. No land can stand fast before my arms. I am a king rejoicing in slaughter. My reign is calmed in peace." With this claim, Ramesses implied that his reign was safe in the wake of the Bronze Age collapse. Egypt's withdrawal from the southern Levant was a protracted process lasting about a hundred years and most likely a product of the political turmoil in Egypt proper. Many Egyptian garrisons or sites with an "Egyptian governor's residence" in the southern Levant were abandoned without destruction, including
Deir al-Balah,
Ashkelon,
Tel Mor,
Tell el-Far'ah (South),
Tel Gerisa,
Tell Jemmeh,
Tel Masos, and
Qubūr al-Walaydah. Not all Egyptian sites in the southern Levant were abandoned without destruction. The Egyptian garrison at Aphek was destroyed, likely by warfare, at the end of the 13th century. The Egyptian gate complex uncovered at Jaffa was destroyed at the end of the 12th century BC between 1134 and 1115 BC based on C14 dates, while
Beit She'an was partially destroyed, possibly by an earthquake, in the mid-12th century. There is little evidence that any major city or settlement in the southern Levant was destroyed around 1200 BC. At
Lachish, the Fosse Temple III was ritually terminated while a house in Area S appears to have burned in a house fire, as the most severe evidence of burning was next to two ovens, while no other part of the city had evidence of burning. After this, the city was rebuilt more lavishly than before. For Megiddo, most parts of the city did not have any signs of damage and although it is possible that the palace in Area AA might have been destroyed, this is not for certain. Many sites were not burned to the ground around 1200 BC, including Ashkelon, Ashdod, Tell es-Safi, Tel Batash, Tel Burna, Tel Dor, Tel Gerisa, Tell Jemmeh, Khirbet Rabud, Tel Zeror, and Tell Abu Hawam. Millek also demonstrated that trade with Egypt continued following 1200 BC. Archaeometallurgical studies performed by various teams have also shown that trade in tin–a non-local and essential metal for bronze production–neither stopped nor decreased after 1200 BC, despite that the closest sources of the metal were the (modern) regions of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, or perhaps even Cornwall, England. Lead from Sardinia was still being imported to the southern Levant following 1200 BC during the early Iron Age. These sites in the
Southern Levant show evidence of the collapse:
Akko,
Ashdod,
Ashkelon,
Bethel, Beth Shemesh,
Deir 'Alla (Sukkot),
Tel Hazor,
Tel Lachish, and
Tel Megiddo.
Mesopotamia The
Middle Assyrian Empire (1392–1056 BC) had destroyed the Hurrian-Mitanni Empire, annexed much of the
Hittite Empire and eclipsed the
Egyptian Empire. At the beginning of the Late Bronze Age collapse, it controlled an empire stretching from the
Caucasus Mountains in the north to the
Arabian Peninsula in the south, and from
ancient Iran in the east to
Cyprus in the west. However, in the 12th century BC Assyrian satrapies in
Anatolia came under attack from the
Mushki (who may have been
Phrygians) and those in the Levant from Arameans.
Tiglath-Pileser I (reigned 1114–1076 BC) was able to defeat and repel these attacks. The Middle Assyrian Empire survived intact throughout much of this period, with Assyria dominating and often ruling Babylonia directly, and controlling southeastern and southwestern
Anatolia, northwestern
Iran and much of northern and central
Syria and
Canaan, as far as the
Mediterranean and
Cyprus. The Arameans and
Phrygians were subjugated, and Assyria and its colonies were not threatened by the
Sea Peoples who had ravaged Egypt and much of the East Mediterranean. The Assyrians often conquered as far as
Phoenicia and the
East Mediterranean. However, after the death of
Ashur-bel-kala in 1056, Assyria withdrew to areas close to its natural borders, encompassing what is today northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, the fringes of northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey. It retained a stable monarchy, the best army in the world, and an efficient civil administration, enabling it to survive the Bronze Age Collapse intact. Assyrian written records remained numerous and the most consistent in the world during the period, and the Assyrians were still able to mount long range military campaigns in all directions when necessary. From the late 10th century BC, Assyria once more asserted itself internationally, and the
Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to be the largest the world had yet seen. Syria during this time was known as "the land of the Amurru". Before and during the Bronze Age Collapse, specifically between the 15th and late 13th centuries BC, Syria became a battleground for the Hittites, the Middle Assyrian Empire, the Mitanni, and the New Kingdom of Egypt. The Assyrians destroyed the Hurri-Mitanni empire and annexed much of the Hittite empire. The Egyptian empire had withdrawn from the region after failing to overcome the Hittites and, being fearful of the ever-growing Assyrian might, left much of the region under Assyrian control until the late 11th century BC. Later, the coastal regions came under attack from the
Sea Peoples. During this period, from the 12th century BC onward, the incoming
Northwest Semitic-speaking Arameans came to demographic prominence in Syria; the region outside of the Canaanite-speaking
Phoenician coastal areas eventually came to speak
Aramaic. This region eventually came to be known as
Aramea and
Eber Nari. The
Babylonians belatedly attempted to gain a foothold in the region during their brief revival under
Nebuchadnezzar I in the 12th century BC but they, too, were overcome by their Assyrian neighbors. Late Bronze Age Levantine sites previously showed evidence of trade links with
Mesopotamia (
Sumer,
Akkad, Assyria, and
Babylonia),
Anatolia (Hattia, Hurria, Luwia, and later, the Hittites), Egypt, and the
Aegean. Evidence at Ugarit shows that the destruction occurred after the reign of Merneptah (r. 1213–1203 BC) and even the fall of
Chancellor Bay (d. 1192 BC). The last Bronze Age king of Ugarit,
Ammurapi, was a contemporary of the last-known Hittite king,
Suppiluliuma II. The exact dates of his reign are unknown. A letter by the king is preserved on one of the clay tablets found baked in the conflagration of the city. Ammurapi stresses the seriousness of the crisis faced by many Levantine states due to attacks. In his response to a plea for assistance from the king of
Alasiya, Ammurapi highlights the desperate situation Ugarit faced in letter RS 18.147: Eshuwara, the senior governor of Cyprus, responded in letter RS 20.18: The ruler of
Carchemish sent troops to assist Ugarit, but Ugarit had already been sacked. Letter RS 19.011 (KTU 2.61) sent from Ugarit following the devastation read: This quote is frequently interpreted as "the degraded one", referring to the army being humiliated, destroyed, or both. The letter is also quoted with the final statement "Mayst thou know it"/"May you know it" repeated twice for effect in several later sources, while no such repetition appears to occur in the original. The destruction levels of Ugarit contained Late Helladic IIIB ware, but none dating from LH IIIC (see
Mycenaean Greece). Therefore, the date of the destruction is important for the dating of the LH IIIC phase. Since an Egyptian sword bearing the name of
Pharaoh Merneptah was found in the destruction levels, 1190 BC was selected as the date for the beginning of the LH IIIC. A
cuneiform tablet found in 1986 shows that Ugarit was destroyed after the death of Merneptah. It is generally agreed that Ugarit had already been destroyed by 1178 BC, which was the eighth ruling year of
Ramesses III. Letters on clay tablets excavated from the site speak of an attack from the sea, and a letter from
Alashiya (
Cyprus) speaks of cities already having been destroyed by attackers who came by sea. There is clear evidence that Ugarit was destroyed in some kind of assault, though the exact assailant is not known. In one residential area called the Ville sud, thirty-two arrowheads were found scattered throughout the area. Twelve of these arrowheads were found on the streets and in open spaces. Along with the arrowheads, two lance heads, four javelin heads, five bronze daggers, one bronze sword, and three bronze pieces of armor were scattered throughout the houses and streets, indicating that a fight occurred. An additional twenty-five arrowheads were also found scattered around the city centre. All of the recovered weaponry suggests the city was ruined by an assault, not by an earthquake. At the city of Emar on the Euphrates, at some time between 1187 and 1175, only the monumental and religious structures were targeted for destruction. The houses, on the other hand, appear to have been emptied, abandoned, and left intact. This particular scenario suggests that Emar was burned by attackers, despite the lack of weapons at the site. While certain cities such as Ugarit and Emar were destroyed at the end of the Late Bronze Age, there are several others which were not destroyed, even though they erroneously appear on most maps of destruction at the end of the Late Bronze Age. No evidence of destruction has been found at Hama, Qatna, Kadesh, Alalakh, and Aleppo, while for Tell Sukas archaeologists only found some minor burning on some floors, likely indicating that the town was not burned to the ground around 1200 BC. The
West Semitic Arameans eventually superseded the earlier Amorites and people of Ugarit. The Arameans, together with the
Phoenicians and the Syro-Hittite states, came to dominate most of the region demographically; however, these people, and the Levant in general, were also conquered and dominated politically and militarily by the Middle Assyrian Empire until Assyria's withdrawal in the late 11th century BC, although the Assyrians continued to conduct military campaigns in the region. However, with the rise of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire in the late 10th century BC, the entire region once again fell to Assyria. These sites in Syria show evidence of the collapse:
Alalakh,
Aleppo,
Emar,
Hama,
Kadesh,
Qatna,
Tell Sukas, and
Ugarit. ==Possible causes==