1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed. By Eric H. Cline.

New Jersey: Princeton

University press, 2014. Pgs no.

1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed (2014) is one the most renowned works of Eric H.

Cline under the series Turning Points in Ancient History which is edited by Barry Strauss. In

this book, Cline attempts to analyse the fall of the Bronze Age Civilization which was a

crucial and key moment of the ancient world. The Later Bronze Age communities that had

been thriving for centuries witnessed disintegrationof their longstanding empires due to a

number of reasons which are the primary focus of Cline’s discussions.

Cline points out the causes of the wiping away of the Bronze Age societies in detail and

endeavours to justify that the demolitionof the powers of this period cannot solely be

attributed to the Sea Peoples or the migrants who were equally affected by the changes that

thenationshad started to witness. His argument is that a chain of natural and human events

was ultimately responsible forbringing about the collapse even though the migrants were

responsible for some of thedamages.

Concentrating on all the kingdoms situated along the Mediterranean Sea, Cline emphases on

the upper classes of the society and their proceedings in the years of the Bronze Age. His

view tends towards being history ‘from above’, which gives prominence to the leaders and

elitegroups,almost disregarding the presence of the common masses. The book under review

only takes into consideration the monarchs, directing attention on their inscriptions and

writings to show how they dealt with the coming of the calamity that started with the attacks

of the Sea Peoples, around 12th century BCE.

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Earlier historians had also discussed about the Bronze Age kingdoms together with the

reasons for their fall and a number of such works still remain prominent. The most important

of such propositions on the Bronze Age civilization and its decline, was upheld by Robert

Drews who unlike Cline focused on the military grounds that may have led to the fall of the

provinces around the Mediterranean. He presumed that the physical destruction of the cities

and nations of this age was the base of devastation in the Mediterranean world finally leading

to its collapse.On the other hand Sir Arthur Evans and Carl Blegen had put forward the

seismic cause of annihilation stating that earthquakes resulted in the weakening and finally

the crash of the major Bronze Age sites. V. Gordon Childe chose to present the theory that

the development of ironworks had a major role in the disaster of the Mediterranean kingdoms

as the iron weapons which according to him was unknown to most Later Bronze Age empires

helped the barbarians to attack and overrun them. He also concentrated on the inherent

weakness and the fragility of the Later Bronze Age monarchies in Mycenae, Anatolia, Ugarit

and Egypt. Another hypothesis had been put forward by Rhys Carpenter who states that the

abandoning of manycities was a result of a prolonged drought that engulfed the region in the

Late Bronze Age period and this could have finally resulted in theirmassacre and collapse.

Eric Cline’s claims in ‘1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed’ appear to be dissimilar to

Robert Drews’ argument of physical destruction, as he had emphasised on environmental and

human reasons which initiated the fall. Also the approach of Sir Arthur Evans, Carl Blegen,

Rhys Carpenter and Gordon Childe remained narrow as they focused on few specific causes

for the coming of the cataclysm, but Cline combined all those to present a more integrated

basis for the widespread destruction of the Later Bronze world.

Historiographically, this writing reflects an influence of Positivist ideology over the author.

The Positivist school preaches a strict adherence to the observation and experience of facts

excluding the notion of any speculation. Cline bases his knowledge on veritable facts,

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providing a logical analysis on the effects of the calamity that befell upon all the Later

Bronze Age empires in addition to a detailed elucidation of the root of the catastrophe. He

alsocentred, on empirical research, facts with statistical data, to justify the claims he makes as

the book progresses.

Among the sources that Cline uses in his book,archaeological sources which were obtained

from the Bronze Age sites remain the mostvital. These were primary sources comprising

ofthe inscriptions of the major Bronze Age monarchs in Egypt, Anatolia and Mycenae along

with a number of artefacts, textsdiscovered about theera,that serve as significant documents

for this volume. The lists of battles fought and information aboutcalamities which happened

under the rule of a particular emperor is found in these inscriptions which provide assistance

to a meticulous study of the coming of the Bronze Agedisaster. Besides his archaeological

sources, Cline also utilizes secondary sources drawing upon the research and interpretations

of other preceding scholars.

The book presents a conscientious explanation of the big monarchies that arose on the banks

of the Mediterranean Seatogether with the relationships established among them through

trade andby undertaking a diplomatic approach. Cline’s research remains thorough which he

successfully organizes in a reader friendly manner in his book. He deals separately with each

individual aspect and also their amalgamationthatmakes his writinga balanced account on the

interactions of the Later Bronze Age societies and the probable reasons of theirdestruction.

The suggestion, that the synthesis of various events such as earthquakes, climate changes,

internal revolts, decline of international trade routes leading to changes in economic structure

and the invasion of Sea People continuously from the 12 th century BCE, increased the

complexity of the Later Bronze Age is the core of Cline’s book. He enters into deep

evaluation of the factsthat even though individuallyeach of the causes remained harmful, it

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was only when all of them assimilated that they brought on the Catastrophe rapidly on the

flourishing regimes.

Cline’s credibility lies in the fact that he puts forward a record of all the Bronze Age realms

such as Hittites, Egyptians, Mitannians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Cypriots, Canaanites,

Minoans and Mycenaeans. He also efficaciously explores and describes the connections

established among these powers on the basis of commercial interactions whichformulated a

number of new partnerships, gift exchanges between the royal courts including gold, silver

and other precious objects and royal marriages which effectively cemented contacts among

the prestigious empires. It is also seen that the book takes into consideration a vast time frame

which begin from around 15th century BCE as the author tries to show how the changes in the

Bronze Age worldgradually appeared through the centuries,finally resultingin themisfortune

that was brought about during the 12th century BCE. Cline stands apart from other historians

in the fact that he declares that neitherthe natural nor the man-made causes separately had the

potential to bring the vast regimes of the Bronze Age to a conclusion.

However Cline’s work is not completely flawless and it presents quite a few drawbacks. The

most significant of these is his comparison of the Later Bronze Age world to the present

globalized society due to the widespread trade and diplomatic relations among the rulers. But

even though he speaks about the existence of a globalized world system during the Bronze

Age civilization, his discussions remain limited to addressing only the kingdoms of the

Mediterranean region. Thus all communication and intertwined relations between states

remained confined to a particular area therefore it cannot be compared to the present

interconnectedworld.

Another significant shortcoming in the book under review is the author’s ignorance of the

common masses and the limitation ofhis discussions only to the upper sections of the society.

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He does not refer to the people who lived outside the palaces providing attention only to the

exchanges that happened between the kings. The cultural and technological exchange that

occurred as a result of contact between the larger populace is not reflected in his book.

Still, Cline’s work and his claims remain highly significant in the study of the fall of Bronze

Age civilization. It offers a fresh synthesis of the coming of the Sea people along with the

other environmental as well as economic reasons that triggered the rise of a complex social

system finally leading to the downfall. He stresses onthe Systems Collapse that happened

within these kingdoms when the Bronze Age was almost drawing to an endsince all the

problems began to act together. The Catastrophe Theory of the collapse of the Late Bronze

Age arose from the conglomeration of causes his book puts forward. Besides this, Cline also

provides us with an optimistic view when he talks about the rebuilding of the civilization

after it was ruined. He concludes his book declaring that as the Bronze Age ceased to exist,

transition happened in societywhich finally led to the dawn of a new era or the Iron Age.

In this manner Eric Cline’s book contributes to a comprehensive study on the Later Bronze

Age societies and their relations with particular emphasis on their internal and external

problems.