The Wheel Turns Again
Political fragmentation, invasions, and dynastic instability weakened the Hittite Empire and accelerated this wider historical phenomenon.
What is the Bronze Age Collapse?
This group of invaders weakened Egypt late in the New Kingdom, appearing in reliefs during the reign of Ramses III.
Who are the Sea People?
Written centuries after the events it describes, this epic poem preserves Bronze Age warfare and social values through oral tradition.
What is the Iliad?
Rather than enriching them, victory at Troy likely weakened this Greek civilization and contributed to its later collapse.
Who are the Mycenaeans?
After the fall of Hammurabi's dynasty, this city lost its dominance in Mesopotamia.
What is Babylon?
The collapse of trade networks throughout the Eastern Mediterranean affected the production of this material, contributing to the decline of civilizations during the 11th century BC.
What is bronze?
This migrating group is traditionally credited with bringing an end to the Hittite Empire during the late Bronze Age.
Who are the Phrygians?
By the 11th century BC, Egypt was divided, with figures like this high priest ruling Upper Egypt independently.
Who is Herihor?
Known as "the Greatest Battle in Very Ancient Times," this clash was fought around 1275 BC between Egypt and the Hittite Empire.
What is the Battle of Kadesh?
Traditionally credited with invading Greece after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization, this group is associated with the Greek Dark Age.
Who are the Dorians?
Continued invasions by this nomadic Semitic people finally plunged Mesopotamia into its own dark age.
Who are the Aramaeans?
This ancient city stood in northwestern Anatolia near the Dardanelles, allowing it to control key trade routes leading to its power and prosperity.
What is Troy?
Control of this strategically vital region caused relations between Egypt and the Hittite Empire to deteriorate during the late 18th and 19th Dynasties.
What is the Levant/Near East?
Repeated raids by these western desert peoples forced pharaohs of the Nineteenth Dynasty to defend Egypt’s borders while facing growing internal pressures.
Who are the Libyans?
This Egyptian pharaoh, famous for his hooked nose, became known for monumental building projects, extensive self-promotion, and fathering over 100 children.
Who is Ramses II?
According to legend, this Athenian king saved his city by sacrificing himself, ensuring Athens would not fall to invasion.
Who is Codrus?
This Assyrian king temporarily reversed Mesopotamia’s decline by launching successful military campaigns during the late Bronze Age.
Who is Tiglath-Pileser?
Much of what we know about early Greek values during the Bronze Age comes from epics attributed to this poet.
Who is Homer?
The Hittite Empire began to produce this material in the 15th century BC, which gave it an advantage in combat until its widespread use centuries later.
What is iron?
Despite military victories, Egypt's decline is shown by civil unrest, corruption, and this violent event late in the reign of Ramses III.
What is attempted assassination/palace conspiracy?
This king of Ithaca devised the trick that ended the Trojan War.
Who is Odysseus?
This writing system disappeared in Greece during the Dark Age and would not be replaced for centuries.
What is Linear B?
The return of this god's statue symbolized the restoration of divine favor and political legitimacy in Babylon.
Who is Marduk?
Who is Ramses I?
By defeating Babylon and removing its chief god’s statue, this Assyrian ruler asserted imperial dominance but destabilized Mesopotamian politics.
Who is Tukulti-Ninurta?
Egyptian inscriptions used these three names to describe the coalition of invaders that assaulted the Nile Delta during the 19th Dynasty.
What are the Weshesh (Africans), Shekelesh (Aegeans), and the Peleset (Cretans)?
In addition to Homer, this Roman poet retold the Trojan War's aftermath in an epic connecting the fall of Troy to Rome's origins.
Who is Virgil?
The ancient Greeks attributed the spread of this disease during the Late Bronze Age to Apollo under the epithet, Lord of the Mice.
What is the bubonic plague?
By defeating Elam and restoring a stolen statue, this Babylonian king revived imperial prestige during the Second Dynasty of Isin.
Who is Nebuchadnezzar I?
This Hittite king relied heavily on chariot troops against the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh.
Who is Muwatalli II?