The Mysterious Collapse of the Bronze Age

The Bronze Age was a period of economic growth, involving flourishing trades between the Mediterranean and Near East. Several great kingdoms encompasses these relationships, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, Minoans, Mycenaeans and the Hittites. Historians describe the Bronze Age as a "golden age of globalisation". The greatness of this period is what made its eventual collapse such a highly studied and debated topic today.

The Bronze Age collapsed within decades, with its survivors following 1177BC falling into a "Dark Age" characterised by the disappearance of written languages and disintegration of kingdoms. While the exact cause of this collapse is debated, several historians describe the cause as a "perfect storm" of several interconnected problems.

An initial potential cause is the severe megadrought experienced across the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean, Anatolia and the Near East approximately 1250-1100BC. Some areas may have even experienced the drought for 150 to 300 years. This natural disaster led to reduced water supplies, thus causing a decline in agricultural production and trade across ancient cities and kingdoms. These crop failures and food shortages additionally led to a famine which weakened already vulnerable societies, potentially contributing to people migrating in search of resources.

Additional natural disasters attributed to the Bronze Age collapse were earthquakes experienced across the Mediterranean approximately 1225-1175BC, which contributed to the destruction and decimation of cities, infrastructure and economies.

Another potential cause of the Bronze Age collapse are the mysterious groups called
"Sea Peoples", which attacked settlements across the Mediterranean, destroying or contributing to the destruction of cities and kingdoms. The Sea Peoples are frequently incorrectly described as the sole cause of the Bronze Age collapse, however, they were a cause and symptom of the wider collapse rather than a singular driving factor.

These causes all drove a disruption of international trade, which was detrimental to the Mediterranean and Near East as their societies depended on the important of resources such as copper and tin. This led to a severe economic decline, a key characteristic of the Bronze Age collapse.