The Bronze Age Collapse: The End of an Era

[@jasonnikolauk4204]

I have often wondered if “the Odyssey” is an allegorical telling of the Bronze Age collapse given that the story tells of the crippling if not complete downfall of many regional powers of the time. Even the heroes own Ithaca would not likely survive as a local power once the power vacuum caused by the loss of the majority of the local “nobility” took hold.

[@FancyRPGCanada]

The writings of Homer were actually the amalgamation of several other writers of the time, much like the Bible. This is a very good theory honeslty.

[@billthomas7644]

Odysseus tells a story to the swineherd that sounds much like the sea people attack on Egypt as recorded by the Egyptians.

[@woolenthreads]

Actually, if you take the Trojan War as a war between the Hittites and the Myceneans, both of which were major trading nations, then you merely need to look at the after effects of both of them reducing each other to a much smaller manpower size. Without trading nations moving goods around, any emergency will move a non-trade nation to collapse. Look at the projected outlook for modern trading via trucks losing a large percentage of truck drivers for a week. Because we rely on the food being available in supermarkets which keep only 3 days supply, trucking companies being unable to deliver would cause chaos. Now apply the same principle to the loss of caravans and trading ships due to low man-power and an increase in banditry due to starvation....

[@katakimikusan]

@@FancyRPGCanada Isn’t Homer a ghost writer?🤔 Since there is no record of him anywhere before or after the 2 books, so it’s quite possible that it’s a mashup of different people’s stories or maybe it was a woman who wrote it but because of how they looked at women back then she used a male name & that’s why we can’t find anything🤔🤷‍♂️🤗👍

[@615TNwilson]

I love how I can read the comments and learn just as much as watching Simon.

[@TheRedneckGamer1979]

The bronze age collapse is a really deep rabbit hole to fall down that I have lost myself in for days before, it is absolutely fascinating.

[@MrBlipman]

It’s unfortunate that all knowledge, well most of all the knowledge of it was completely lost through time.

[@TheRedneckGamer1979]

@@MrBlipman Sadly that is just the nature of history bud.

[@smalltime0]

@@MrBlipman In fairness it's also because the Egyptians sucked at writing things down. "Where did you get that from?" "Oh it's from Punt" "Where's Punt?" "It's where the Pwene are" "Yeah but where is it?" "It's where that expedition went to" "Yeah but where is it?" "Everyone knows where Punt is, it's where I got this gold from"

[@9000Dogs]

I’m always down for videos on the Bronze Age, it’s not covered very often by many, but has a lot of importance and intrigue. Thank you, fact boy and co!

[@dewy-eyedrose8509]

I hard agree. It is especially hard to find someone covering right before, during, and after the collapse. It is kinda understandable. With the slow loss of the interconnected civilizations & proto writing leading to little or no records. Its more then likely many historians probably find it hard to cover this period. But it still it is a huge loss and a tragedy.

[@IntotheShadows]

Thanks for watching :)

[@babscabs1987]

That's Mr Factboy to you...

[@Iris_and_or_George]

Oops, I read 'fat boy' and was like: "Uh what? Oooh"☺

[@thebemabiletsa4328]

Please can you do a longer more in-depth video on these “sea peoples”. Absolutely fascinating

[@kae5717]

I think what I like best about this channel, out of all your channels, is how you just silently stand up and walk away at the end. It drives home the gravity: there is nothing more to be said, no way to soften it.

[@Dude0000]

The best thing about his videos is when he walks off? 😢

[@traveler804]

one of my favorite things about the internet.. learning

[@SC-zq6cu]

13:36 Iron isn't always stronger than bronze. In fact the iron made in the early days of the iron age were about as soft as bronze. Iron only surpassed bronze in hardness and springiness when people started to make it into steel, large scale production of which happened much later almost near the end of the classical era. The reason iron destabilized the bronze age world was because of its relative abundance to tin, one of the key components of bronze. Before iron became popular large scale production of bronze was only possible by the very wealthy because of the rarity of tin and tin mines. After iron became popular almost anybody could make a tool or a weapon which was about as useful as a bronze one. This made the pre-existing power structures meaningless and was a major reason for the collapse.

[@andywomack3414]

So, I'm not the only one to make that point. The usable iron produced, even back then, could probably be considered steel, as a lot of the muscle work in producing usable iron tools and weapons involved beating excess carbon out of the product.

[@SC-zq6cu]

​@@andywomack3414 Steel has a quite wide range of carboon content from far below 0.1% to about 2%. The steel that is not too brittle yet stronger than something like bronze was not regularly made in usable quantities in most places before the later classical ages. So yes, the iron produced since iron has ever been produced can be considered "steel", but the strength of such "steel" was really not a deciding factor in the ending of the bronze age.

[@nosuchthing8]

Every where all at once?

[@SC-zq6cu]

@@nosuchthing8 Of course not. Regions have their own iron and bronze ages.

[@andywomack3414]

Thanks for that insight. I will accept as possibly correct your statement, "The steel that is not too brittle yet stronger than something like bronze was not regularly made in usable quantities in most places before the later classical ages." Some clarification of the terms might be useful however. For instance, when were the later classical ages? It would not have been the comparative quality of the respective metal alloys that made the difference. More important is the relative abundance of the ores from which those metals were refined. The scarcity of tin and the distance to the source of tin ore would have made bronze tools and weapons restricted to a ruling elite. The abundance of iron ores would have made iron tools and weapons available to many more people, "democratizing" warfare and manufacture. As a Clive Custler character once stated, quantity has a quality all its own. I can easily imagine how the loss of military power and economic control by a ruling elite could lead to a general collapse of that society.

[@chrisschultz8598]

Simon is probably one of the best narrators I've heard. His dolcett British tones convey Information, Intelligence and Irony is a smooth, easy to digest flow. Thanks, Simon.

[@carolynrosser1574]

Absolutely thrilled there was no sponsor ads!! Just enjoying the concise information. Wonderful.

[@Wkumar07]

I love thinking about how complex this age really was. I also enjoy thinking about how this collapse impacted the Hebrew stories that later gave birth to the Hebrew Bible.

[@ksanbahlyngwa1998]

Had a similar thought

[@jerichohill487]

Was literally just thinking this, but not as eloquent.

[@burnyizland]

I get stuck on the fact that this collapse has so many of the ingredients we see in our current global civilization. Not much fun in that.

[@Dragonette666]

Mopsus was a Greek seer / hero that lead attacks on Ashkelon and established a colony in the area. There are inscriptions that are found in Luwian that speak of his ruling dynasty. He was actually a Luwian / Arzawan but they were essentially a mixed Anatolian group that was culturally Greek / Mycenaean.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

and all the Nations went down to Egypt in that day because the Hunger and drought was great in the whole Earth...

[@sbsstorytelling]

Been waiting on this one, Simon; thank you. For some reason, I half expected maybe you'd shed new light on the whole affair. Such is the weight I recently find your narratives have on me. Anyways, great video, and thanks for manning the helm of seemingly 23 different You Tube channels! Your hard work is appreciated, my dude!

[@loke6664]

That letter was found among other copies of sent letter so the context tells us it was sent. If the recipient ever got it is another matter (source: 1077 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline). It could have been sent the day before the city fell or years earlier, it is impossible to say but it sounds more dramatic if it was the day before or never was sent at all so everyone is going for that. I recommend the book I mentioned, it goes very deep into details in a way a 16 minutes vid really can't including explaining several centuries before and what happened after. There is an audio version of it as well (not an add). There are also several in details vids here on KZbin but even 2 hours is a bit short to explain how an entire civilization collapsed due to a whole bunch of occurrences that by themselves wouldn't been more then a short economic slump. It was so bad that some places like Greece lost the technology of writing for hundreds of years, kinda like if we suddenly went back to medieval technology. Even the survivors had a very bad time the next few centuries, Ramses III eventually got killed and Egypt got another of it's intermediate periods. The difference between a bronze weapon and an iron weapon was not as great as people think though. The early iron weapons were not of great quality and similar to bronze weapons in strength, the difference is that the material were far easier to get. Tin you had to import from Cyprus, Afghanistan or Cornwall and was very expensive. Iron is basically everywhere. Even after iron weapons were introduce, bronze were popular among rich people. So it wasn't that iron was better (at the time) but you could equip far more soldiers with them unless you had a nearby source of tin. That changed as the technology of iron working improved but that change was far off when Ramses III fought the Sea people.

[@anthonyfrench3169]

absolutely love the Jenga analogy!! couldn't explain geopolitical issues better than this❤

[@staytuned2L337]

Simon videos even if it's "into the shadows" type stuff make my day...and I need my day made today.

[@aq5426]

Same.

[@staytuned2L337]

@@aq5426 cheers, mate. Hope it gets better

[@personzorz]

Hope you're doing better

[@Leapordskin77]

The Elder Scrolls Oblivion weapons lineup was a lovely touch to showcase iron weaponry!

[@bob456fk6]

I've seen several stories about this but Simon's narrative has a distinctive, melodious ring. I really like his presentation.

[@tscully1504]

Tough subject, but handled very well. Accurate assessment of what we know at this time. Hopefully more will turn up in archeological record in time.

[@algini12]

Your use of the word hopeful, becomes less about hope and more and more about certainty as technology and science becomes more and more advanced and uncovers uncomfortable truths. Sometimes with political ramifications in the present. Archaeology as you said, plus Anthropology and accompanying DNA. They already have pushed back time frames, removed sacred cows, and in some cases turned history on its ear. Sometimes it's personal. I think it's always a good thing. Many, especially if it's their culture or lineage, don't.

[@TheAndroidNextDoor]

I'd love an episode of the Battle off Samar in WW2. Easily one of the greatest battles in Military history where a collection of American destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers had to face off against a Japanese armada consisting of cruisers, battleships and the largest battleship in history.

[@brenatevi]

Good old Taffy 3.

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Drachinifel has you covered on that score.

[@Chris-hx3om]

How about an episode on the Australian defense of New Guinea. 2,000 Australians facing 10,000 Japanese, in some of the thickest jungle and steepest terrain on Earth.

[@andywomack3414]

@@Chris-hx3om Such terrain can erase a numerical advantage.

[@chrysecreative5575]

Isn't the focus of this channel about the darkest or most tragic moments of History? Which reminds me, they should instead go for the Bataan Death March.

[@Dank-gb6jn]

It would be interesting to see more about the Philistines. I have only heard of them through biblical studies classes, or passing mentions, and never in great detail.

[@KS-PNW]

They're pretty fascinating. Also helps put some of the biblical stories in context. For example Goliath is often thought of as a Giant, which seems like it must be a myth yet the bible only says he was about 6'8". But if you consider that they had advanced metal working at a point where the Israelites hadn't developed it, and the fact that they averaged about 5' it seems perfectly plausible that a 6'8" guy in full armor might have seemed "gigantic".

[@joeyr7294]

Agreed!

[@Dank-gb6jn]

@@KS-PNW interesting observations. Anything about where the Philistines might have originated from? Also, the metal working angle is neat, considering “Philistine” is used as a slur for brutishness.

[@jackturner214]

@@Dank-gb6jn - What I was taught, and what I have taught in turn, is that the Philistines were a local Levantine group that was subjugated by peoples coming from around the Agean, most like Crete or Sardinia, but possibly even further afield. This is evidenced by the fact that early Philistine remains show a distinct adimixture of European origin that disappears over time, as well as the fact that toponymns retain similarities to Canaanite. Interestingly enough, this is likely how Israel likely settled the Levant: there was likely a group (possibly quite significant) centered on the worship of a deliverer god YHVH that left Egypt and settled the highlands of what is now the West Bank, steadily moving into the Shaphela and subjugating and absorbing the local Canaanite population (as described in the book of Judges). What's really ironic is that some connect the Philistines with the modern Palestinians; assuming that is the case, the Palestinians in control of the West Bank hold the territory that was originally inhabited by the Hebrews, while the modern day Israelis control most of the area that originally belonged to the Philistines, Gaza being the exception.

[@vespasian266]

a good theory is the Philistines or sea peoples demanded land from Egypt and thus were settled in Canaan. ie, the Egyptians didn't exactly beat down the sea people like they tried to make out. also its worth considering the Israelites were local coastal Canaanites who migrated inland to escape the ravages of the sea peoples.

[@aaronleverton4221]

I imagine the Sea Peoples arriving off the coast of Egypt and what followed to be basically the same as what happened to Lindisfarne in 793.

[@Wooargh]

the sea people were obviously the most advanced group of the era the australian aborigines

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:40 - Chapter 1 - The eastern mediterranean bronze age 4:50 - Chapter 2 - The collapse begins 5:50 - Chapter 3 - The sea people 7:55 - Chapter 4 - Devastation 11:05 - Chapter 5 - Environemental factors 13:15 - Chapter 6 - Iron emerges 14:10 - Chapter 7 - Unexplained devastation

[@carminegalante4925]

It is the selfless actions of people like you who give me hope for humanity

[@detroyes2]

At 12:17, the video mentions several ancient Greek cities, and images of their ruins are shown. HOWEVER... the image shown for Thebes is that of the Thebes in Egypt, NOT the Thebes in Greece. Remember... there were actually two different cities in the ancient world called "Thebes", one on the Nile in Egypt, and the other in Greece, NW of Athens.

[@Kaltagstar96]

That must've made things awkward if you were trying to get to Thebes at the time.

[@johnathanadams6378]

@@Kaltagstar96 Thebes in Egypt was actually called “Waset”, known as City of the Scepter, in the ancient Egyptian language.

[@detroyes2]

@@IRosamelia Anyone who's studied ancient history.

[@IRosamelia]

@@detroyes2 detroyes2, by "studying" you mean "watching videos on youtube" 🙄

[@jackalope07]

There was also apparently a Thebe(s) (Hypoplaika) in Turkey

[@andywomack3414]

Well done. This is a subject that I find fascinating. A reference to the date 1177 B.C. should be made to Eric Cline, who choose that date mostly for esthetic reasons in his book "1177 B.C. When Civilization Collapsed" I highly recommend that book or his KZbin lecture on that subject. Iron versus Bronze: Iron is common, but it takes a lot of thermal and mechanical energy to smelt iron from ore. The components of bronze, copper and, especially, tin, are far less common. Although easily accessible copper ore can be found in the region, tin was far less common. Although minor local deposits existed, most of the tin used during the bronze age came from mines in Afghanistan and, maybe, Britain. In my view, the primary reason iron came to dominate after the Late Bronze Age collapse was the relative local abundance of iron ore. The differences in the mechanical properties may have had some role, but iron by itself is hardly a superior tool and weapon metal. It's the impurities in iron, primarily carbon, that give it those edge holding and shatter resistant qualities. The trick to producing superior iron tools and weapons is knowing how to adjust it's carbon content. The introduction of carbon into the iron comes from the use of charcoal in the smelting process. The process of producing usable iron often involves the removal of excess carbon by repetitive heating and beating whatever comes out of the smelting furnace. It is possible that disruptions in the long and fragile supply chain that provided the region with tin contributed to the demise of these civilizations.

[@askallois]

Iron appeared around the year 1000 B.C., the facts narrated are from 1200 B.C. The weapons were made of bronze.

[@andywomack3414]

@@askallois Yes, for the most part. But I think that the Hittites may have had some iron-working. I am not certain, might be worth checking.

[@bitkonnektlivestream2540]

This is very interesting. The view of Aleppo makes me want to make a suggestion for you. Maybe for another channel you have, but it would be really cool to see a video on the Citadel in the city of Erbil in Northern Iraq, it holds the title of the longest consecutively lived in site in human history. So of course, plenty of content to be made. I was there for a little while, it would be amazing to see something on it.

[@I_THE_ME]

I really like the description especially the [intro]

[@andykaufman7620]

Actually Elam remained and if you look at the map it pretty much was of the same size, so we could claim it was a 'winner' of the Bronze Age Collapse, but the true winners of those who survived and then took control of the areas we now call the Near East, Holy Land, Levant, Greece, etc. and later go on to found many new kingdoms and city-states were the true 'winners'.

[@DuckAllMighty]

I've looked quite heavily into the Collapse, bc it's simply fascinating. Some major factors for the Collapse, was the tin mining and trade and how fragile and expensive that whole system was, with repeated wars, droughts and famine, the tin trade broke down. Around the same time iron was discovered and it was found to be way easier to mine and work with and especially everyday tools could easily be made in a cast. Bronze was still better for weapons, even after the collapse, since steel production hadn't totally been figured out yet, but by the time of the Roman Empires heyday, bronze was only used for ornamental and decorative stuff, since steel had been figured out and was just better in any way. But anyways a fascinating and well made video.

[@erraticonteuse]

My current working theory on the Bronze Age Collapse is based on the facts that a) Mycenaean Greeks worshipped Poseidon as head god instead of Zeus and he was more a god of earthquakes, and b) Greek governments after the collapse were to some extent, if not entirely, democratic, and there was a great mistrust of kings even amongst the Greek city-states that had them. My theory is that devastation caused by earthquake storms (probably in addition to some kind of crop failures or famines) created unrest that led to a French Revolution-style uprising. In addition to the Mycenaean kings being deposed, Poseidon was also deposed as head god because he apparently could not be appeased, so f*** him, Zeus is in charge now. The Sea Peoples started with Greek revolutionaries seeking resources elsewhere and rallying more people to their banner like the French Revolutionary Army and later Napoleon's Grande Armée. Also, I wonder if the collapse of the Indus River Valley Civilization only about a century earlier may have had a part to play. We know they traded as far as the Levant.

[@erraticonteuse]

Also, I don't know for sure how the Mycenaean Greeks did their religious sacrifices, but I do know that the classical Greeks had a whole myth explaining why when you made it animal sacrifice, you offered the gods the bones and gristle and all the other inedible parts. It's kind of a weird myth, it's very very on the nose, almost as if it were invented whole cloth to explain a change that had been made very quickly. I wonder if maybe Mycenaean Greeks offered the prime cuts to the gods, so when there was already starvation and devastation going on, and you're constantly burning good food to send to a god who won't stop sending earthquakes, that's going to cause some upheaval. Maybe Zeus was the god who "responded" to sacrifices of bone and gristle, so that's how he got the promotion. Maybe Prometheus, who tricked Zeus in the myth to accept the sacrifices of bones and gristle, was based on a real priest who also "tricked" Zeus by wrapping the bones and such in a big tasty-looking slab of fat.

[@jaredhicks1370]

That's a really interesting idea. I'm glad I found your comment.

[@YeeSoest]

@@erraticonteuse i agree with what I read here but inventing a layer of disgusting fat to hide low quality ingredients may be copyright infringement ;)

[@covenawhite4855]

Well Spartans were very scared of their slaves Hoplites claiming that Spartan Ancestors used to be slaves until they rebelled

[@Derekzparty]

When God Gives You Lemons, You Get A New God !!!

[@jrssae]

Ahhh I was hoping for this topic!

[@prussianhill]

You should do the Toledo War next, a most unusual war fought between Michigan Territory and the state of Ohio over the Toledo strip. A war mostly fought in Congress and in back rooms, in which no deaths (or near enough) occurred.

[@alexandernadal9753]

sounds like a really boring topic

[@jasonnikolauk4204]

@@alexandernadal9753 depends on how it’s approached. It was a narrowly avoided civil war which progressed to the point of armies being raised and questionable actions leading to at least one death which drastically changed the shape of state boundaries (Wisconsin lost the most in the “war”) and still has some anomalous borders due to strict adherence to the eventual compromise and a lasting “rivalry” between the two states.

[@alexandernadal9753]

@@jasonnikolauk4204 sounds even more boring

[@QBCPerdition]

@@jasonnikolauk4204 As a Wisconsinite, I often bounce between being upset that WI lost a war between two other states/territories and relieved that the UP is Michigan's problem. My mom was from the UP, so I visited often. There is a lot of poverty up there.

[@JohnWayneCheeseburger]

Sounds terribly boring

[@Zeke1460]

Realistically, the sea people were probably a combination of all the groups you listed. Disenfranchised Mycanean warriors turned to piracy with similar people from every corner of the mediterranean on their ships. And all the factors combined were the perfect storm that caused the collapse, not just one thing on its own.

[@d-lo811]

But why would they go around destroying cities, instead of, say, rebelling against government and royalty?

[@MK_ULTRA420]

@@d-lo811 They wanted loot, not revolution.

[@McC.444]

Ancient history is always great to listen to

[@markt.3454]

Great bit of history regarding an era most of us have heard very little about!

[@dirtymcnuggets9933]

The most fascinating thing to me about the Bronze age collapse is what happened with religion, we went from God-Kings and polytheism to the Abrahamic religions.

[@darthracer777]

".....but we really don't know what happened..." That pretty much sums it up.

[@1003JustinLaw]

Here's my personal, if unsupported, theory: The Icelandic volcano eruption led to volcanic winter in the northern European areas, where the people of what would one day become the Germanic and Slavic tribes, the same ones who were just starting to develop iron tools and weaponry, were forced to leave their homelands due to a lack of food brought on by the volcanic winter. These people moved south and eventually sailed along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, fighting as they went in a desperate attempt to find a place they could settle.

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

Most sensible theory so far. Hekla 3 ejected 7.7km worth of material which is VERY high for a VEI 5 eruption and wouldn’t caused temporary global cooling in the northern hemisphere.

[@Kannot2023]

The dark age after the bronze age wasn't dark. Alphabet was invented, iron tools improved

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

And yet the documentation from that age is… extremely poor even for that era. That very likely is due to the 535-540 extreme whether events the cause of which remains… somewhat unknown.

[@mathiasbartl903]

Greeks literally lost the ability to write, such that they later had to invent a different alphabet.

[@MrPh30]

Trojan War were not only contained to Mediterrenean areas, but more divided from southern Britain ,Wales over to Greece hemisphere and further . Over a longer time and actions in various regions than before thought of / being known or told about.. But blended together as 1 war over the Decade span which the Illiad tells about it.

[@halfstep44]

Hey look, Simon finally changed his shirt!

[@finchytv12]

I just found this channel for the first time and it's good.... But Jesus Fn Christ, Simon!! How many channels are you working for? Hustlin!

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@Kalahridudex]

I love how the Minoan eruption did not wreck the bronze age world, but whatever happened in 1177bc did.

[@Belthal]

Great one, thank you!

[@joshjacob1530]

My favorite chariot battle in modern times was Elliot’s rampage as he dropped agents like flies. Truly glorious 🗿.

[@busker153]

the world stage today is prepared for Bronze Age Collapse Take II.

[@User122-ty]

MAGA

[@JenneeB927]

Awesome video!

[@Alovon]

Honestly sort of wondering if the Bronze Age Collapse was the ancient world equivalent to "World War 0" The Sea People being a coalition of nations that deemed they needed resources from the Eastern Mediterranean nations and attacked them, razing cities down as they finished their plundering. The Egyptians managed to repell the assaults twice, which shook the coalition's morale, which likely spurred the instability In the coalition nations which led to their own nations collapsing and those who did the city razing in the Eastern Mediterranean nations deciding to do the same to Western Mediterranean cities they conquered. Would explain the apparent scope and variety in the sea people depictions from Egypt, and the apparent power that even the mighty Egyptian empire at the time could barely hold back. Add in a Volcanic Eruption and/or Earthquakes, and you'd get the clean sweep of society that we see with the Bronze Age Collapse

[@WelziFC7]

It seems like every information channel Simon has videos on

[@chaunceychappelle2173]

One of the top five channels on KZbin in my book. Ironically all of my favorite KZbin channels are history channels with UK (sounding) people. The lady with the red hair is my fave though.😊

[@bencemervay]

Iron weapons - - > shows picture from Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. I love it!

[@oldstrawhat4193]

Excellent!!!!

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Such an incredibly fascinating time of history. Hopefully someday it gets figured out, I would love to know

[@gregorynixonAUTHOR]

Nicely done. I relate to the clarity of delivery but even more so to its speed. Do you, Mr Narrator (Simon?), also do audiobooks? I have a novel with many colourful characters that would really benefit from your unique vocal skills! Seriously.

[@craigfirman1809]

It's quite interesting tying back what happened then to where we are today. We are very interconnected, trading vast amounts of goods. These goods are needed in our day to day lives but a major disruption in these trading systems could be catastrophic. We saw a glimpse of what happens during the pandemic and still today. Common goods skyrocketing in price. For me the most noticeable one was vehicles. Used vehicles jumped in price. From the disruptions in production, to people not wanting to take public transport, the price increase, especially among cheap vehicles, was massive. Combine that with the increased inflation and rising cost of living we are now experiencing and it's easy to see how fragile our society can be. Despite our modern technologies I wouldn't dismiss a total societal collapse under the right (or wrong) conditions.

[@seanmurray7983]

the biggest questions raised by the 'Sea Peoples' theory is, If they did do raids and steal food and livestock and pillage, then where did they go afterwards with their spoils of war? where was their homeland that was able to flourish off the gains? it just doesn't match up with any real world evidence we have been able to find. The 'Arrowheads' found in captured cities would most likely come from invaders, firing arrows at the defenders of the keep. The arrowheads found in the suburbs outside the walls would most likely belong to the defenders firing at the invading force. Is there any metallurgical difference between the arrowheads? Can we say that the attackers had a certain arrowhead recipe different than the defenders? The answers just lead to more questions. its an insidious conundrum

[@bkohatl]

Droughts are now thought to have caused the collapse of the Egyptian OLD KINGDOM, the MIDDLE KINGDOM AND the NEW KINGDOM, all of which lasted around 10 years. I suspect a massive drought caused the turmoil of the Sea People. It is believed a massive volcanic explosion caused the collapse of the Roman Empire, when another "year without summer" like 1816.

[@andykaufman7620]

King Darius fought Alexander with, wait for it, Chariots. Is that the last chariot battle. Nope, but Simon, you did try on this video. You get a Participation Ribbon.

[@mathiasbartl903]

Actually Brittons fought Rome using chariots

[@andykaufman7620]

@@mathiasbartl903 I know they did, and if you look at Celtic cultures they were civilized, so it is Roman prejudice (what we could call Racism or Colorism today) that looked down on Celtic people and their culture but Rome (Latins) adopted Greek attitudes like Greek vs Barbarian who viewed anyone not Greek as 'Barbarians'. But the Celtics held onto outdated civilization which was cutting edger in the bronze age, but by the classical area when the Roman's met them, those Chariots were deeply outdated, but it was never a civilization that invented them. Egypt did not invent the chariot, neither did the Sumerians though they did create something like a wheeled cart, but the true war chariot and the one later designed by the Celtic tribes were created, invented, by pastoral peoples of the steppes because they had a mostly semi-nomadic and mobile lifestyle. They had settlements but these were built differently, and they adopted metal working. On the open plains of the steppes the Chariot is an advantage, but in less ideal environments or against advanced strategies used to defeat chariot using armies they were expensive uses of resources, than say, armored calvary like the middle eastern cultures had developed the Romans 'culturally appropriated' into their own forces, just like the Romans adopted Celtic sword design via Cultural Appropriation. Cultural Appropriation is good and the most successful cultures have used it: Japanese, Roman, Hellenic/Macedonian/Hebrew all have done this, and it is what allowed them to acquire and incorporate key tools toward their cultural spreading and long lasting nature.

[@andrewgoldstein6904]

Great summary team. I just read 177bc by Eric Cline, good read.

[@ZOB4]

“Egyptian descriptions” should have been one of the Anchorman warmups

[@rcrawford42]

Think about this: we've been able to read Roman sources since they were written. We've lost many, many of their works, but we have some in-depth details -- and still can't nail down a "cause" of the collapse of Rome. We've been able to read Egyptian, Babylonian, and Assyrian for only about 150 years, and Hittite for just over 100. There are many, many tablets still untranslated, and hopefully many more to be found. And more of their writings were lost than from the Romans.

[@891Henry]

Food. The answer is always food. Within the timeframe of 1200-1100 there was a huge drought in the Middle East and most of the Mediterranean region. Crops fail repeatedly, city-states fight other city-states for food, displaced peoples invade from the sea, trade breaks down, and starvation follows. When you have no food, you don't worry about culture. You just want to survive. The earthquakes and volcanoes might have caused the environmental changes that began the chaos or just added to it. Bottomline - It doesn't bode well for our interconnected, global world - not when it is all about food.

[@dgray3771]

Another interesting story is that of Joseph in the bible. Might have been a story that was told "a bunch of half-truths" of this period when Egypt did survive but other states did not.

[@matthewlawlis2421]

I remember in college when I learnt about Ramses the 3rd being the last great pharaoh, and the guy who fought back the invading Sea People. Kind of weird that the Egyptians were able to stop the Sea People, as the Ancient Egyptians themselves were afraid of the ocean, and did not have a large navy until much later in history.

[@user-hu7lw4le1k]

The thumbnail is beautiful.

[@thelordofcringe]

You make a huge mistake near the end when you state that iron is stronger than bronze. It's not. Bronze is better, it's just hard to supply thanks to needing tin from halfway across Europe. Iron technology existed long before the collapse, it's just no one was interested because it was worse. It was only with the bronze age collapse that it was realized that iron weapons could be produced in greater quantities, allowing for empires with a greater population or poorer economy to field many more soldiers. Even a thousand years later, Bronze weapons and armor were status symbols and given to elite warriors, until steel became commonplace. Rome still gave their senior officers Bronze helmets a thousand years later. And even then, the best quality Bronze armor was similar in strength to the poorer quality steel of the era, so it was still encountered in warfare occasionally despite weighing more. Of course, by that point, steel and iron weapons dominated the battlefield, with steel taking the prestigious place Bronze had once occupied, and slowly becoming the norm, replacing iron too.

[@chcomes]

yes! one of the theories for the collapse is also the depletion of tin mines and therefore short supply of bronze. Iron also need if I am not wrong higher temperatures that need a different type of furnace, so it was a worse product, more difficult to make, easily rusts, but is more available than tin ergo bronze

[@andywomack3414]

@@chcomes See my recent comment. The theory I posted is somewhat different but along the same line of thought.

[@andywomack3414]

I posted a comment that essentially expands on what you write here. I tend to post while the idea is fresh, then read comments to see if anyone else has made the same point, and it has.

[@amberkat8147]

Makes me feel better about collecting old copper pennies.

[@StrangeTerror]

Sorry but better doesn't always come down to the first unit of measurement you think of with an object. Whether a material, food, or otherwise. Availability does effect a decision like this greatly. In fact, I would argue that simply due to availability, iron is simply better for the situation. Also, Although Iron had been kicking around awhile, I don't think they had reliable means to cast and Smith the iron. Of course I can't say for sure where I'm remembering that from though too.

[@rickpilhorn]

One HUGE theory was left out of this video: Impact from an meteor or comet. A layer of ash is not always caused by fire started by man. And to have a layer of ash so widespread, an impact is actually a more plausible explanation as it would have caused massive fires spread over a huge area.

[@surrealsoupuniverse]

Everything happened because the route to tin mines were cut off because of the sea peoples invasion. Tin is required to create bronze which was used to create armor and weapons and stuff. No tin then no bronze, no bronze then no bronze age :D

[@charlesjmouse]

History is always worth studying, both for it's own sake and for the lessons it may provide: The Bronze Age Collapse. We don't fully grasp the story but what we do know is here were a group of powerful technological civilisations existing together in a web of mutual support through trade for all their rivalries. Seemingly stable the whole thing collapsed in just a few years so disastrously that whole cultures disappeared and decimated populations didn't recover for hundreds of years. Is our very similar situation any more stable..?

[@deansheets]

Can you do an into the shadows on life and death of the other humaniods that didnt make it ie: Neanderthals, lucy species, etc

[@gifttanz]

I feel like this was supposed to be more a highlight history vibe or Geographics, rather than ITS. Still love any Simon time

[@gregoryeatroff8608]

I like the systemic collapse theory. Civilizations are generally fairly resilient things -- individual dynasties and empires collapse but others are generally ready to step into the vacuum. The notion that a bunch of disasters, either all hitting in a bunch or a chain reaction, could take out societies that had weathered major problems before seems logical.

[@9thDallasMowerExpo]

13:35 Unexpected Skyrim reference. Looks like all that time the Sea People spent grinding their Smithing skill paid off

[@MrsSmith-dz5gt]

Would you consider covering the story/mystery of what happened to several missing persons in the state of Alabama? They went missing in front of others and were never found. I have thought to visit the locations, but probably will stay away. "On October 14, 1888, a page-long article appeared in the "Sunday Supplement" of the San Francisco Examiner. Titled simply "WHITHER?" it told several stories of people who had literally vanished into the air without leaving a trace; in most cases, these disappearances occurred in front of eyewitnesses."

[@alexbowman7582]

Disaster seldom travels alone, it’s likely there was also a plague or climate crash.

[@the-chillian]

The Sea People were certainly a confederation of some kind. There isn't really any controversy about that. Peleset/Philistines were in fact Mycenaeans, either adventurers or refugees from the general Helladic collapse. We know this because the earliest pottery from Philistine sites were of a distinctly Mycenaean character, although they eventually assimilated with their neighbors somewhat.

[@marcschubert139]

Watching this video, while we all live through our own current day Bronze Age Collapse.

[@kerrybarnes2002]

I think current-day collapse is a good way to call it. Lol!

[@eiriksrvik1826]

@@kerrybarnes2002that name won’t age well, though

[@constantinekovalishyn8905]

not even close, Marc

[@xpendabull]

Anyone else think a video game based on the Bronze Age Collapse would be awesome? I would imagine it similar to the Mount and Blade games or Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

[@dr.zoidberg8666]

No need. You'll probably get to see the reenactment. A vast system of international trade creating unstable wealth & societal complexity never before seen on Earth brought down by ecological collapse & the resulting wars/famines/mass migrations. Sounds pretty familiar to me.

[@the-chillian]

"Many forms of writing" were not lost. Only the Linear B of the Mycenaeans was entirely forgotten. In the Levant and Fertile Crescent, cuneiform persisted for centuries, while the Egyptians never abandoned their hieroglyphs until the Christian era. Hittite hieroglyphs also disappeared, but this was not as commonly used to write Hittite as cuneiform.

[@N.Sniper]

I recently learned the bronze age collapse was during a drop in temperature. Lower temperature have often coincided with bad periods for humanity, whereas warm temperatures have coincided with prosperity. As such it is very likely this could have been the cause of the collapse. Makes sense as the homo sapiens is a tropical species that originated in Africa. Only by clothing and shelter can humans live in colder areas. It also has huge effects on for instance agriculture and cattle. If you want to know more about this watch video's from geologist Gregory Wrightstone.

[@JackieWelles]

Someone should make disaster movie/series about Bronze Age Collapse.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

To be honest i feel like they just run out of luck and a perfect storm of natural catastrophies, political unrest, war and collapse of order overwhelmed them to the point that they couldn't do anything to help themselves A classic example is Minoan Crete it seems like the Minoan state collapsed into anarchy after the explosion of thira volcano, there are events of famine infighting and invasion... So desperate the Minoans was that they turned to human sacrifice and.. cannibalism...

[@inelouw]

This is a terrifying example of what may happen when climate change causes more and more extreme weather events. Droughts, trade networks crumbling, migrations and violent invasions by desperate people... I wonder how long it'll take us to rebuild civilisation.

[@ncr_ranger96]

The superiority of iron is definitely not the reason. Early iron tools and weapons were not typically as good as their bronze counterparts. However, iron ore is much more common and accessible than the combination of copper and tin (particularly the latter). Once you have the ability to work iron, it is much more economical than bronze and has a higher upper limit in terms of quality (I did specify *early* iron tools, after all).

[@mikedl1105]

5 seconds in and Simon calls the Bronze Age a golden age

[@User122-ty]

"we came looking for bronze but found gold"

[@becnal]

“1177 bc the year civilization collapsed” is a pretty good book about this if you’re interested in learning more.

[@triciac.5078]

Just added it to my audible wish list. Thanks.

[@ivangold9218]

Good video!

[@rjspires]

In 3500 years time, someone could be talking the same about us. A lot of this rings true of the world today.

[@robertbodell55]

One point Simon early iron tools and weapons would have been weaker or similar in sharpness to properly work hardened bronze weapons and tools the main advantage was iron is relatively abundant on earth and generally spread more evenly unlike bronze which is an alloy which includes the very scarce tin which is only really abundant in few sources available to the bronze age people via trade cornwall in England and the mountains of Afghanistan. As a result iron rose because it was just easier to access it only became completely superior when processes into types of steel which only became common latter

[@astrid703]

But the ready availability of iron destabilized society because lower classes had access to weapons, even if just weak iron, not just the elite warriors with their sophisticated bronze swords and armor.

[@thehangmansdaughter1120]

My 6yo niece just cracked it. Dragons! She says dragons did it.

[@Albukhshi]

@ 13:35 Iron--at least as produced at the time--was NOT stronger than bronze. What it was, however, was cheaper. Much cheaper. After all, you don't need to import copper or tin: iron oxides and hydroxides are far more widespread; you can even get them from bogs.

[@josephpercente8377]

I wonder if the illiad is a retelling of a more ancient tale. The events mirror the bronze age collapse. We're the Greeks the people of the seas?

[@hobinrood710]

is the lighting different? i like it.

[@cameronlee9425]

There is a very brief piano tune played at 0:36. Anyone know what this piano tune is called?

[@timsalz1922]

Darude- Sandstorm

[@jmanj3917]

*"Nothing happens in a vacuum."*

[@SilverMe2004]

Not Happy. I saw the thumbnail "final chariot battle" and just assumed you were talking about a much later period when chariots were used in war for the last time

[@Alltime2050]

The twentieth century saw the fall of even more empires than the Bronze Age collapse.

[@zutai1]

big question that may answer who the sea people were, who survived the era? who got stronger? i only hear about suffering, but no growth. the sea peoples took much home, having taken down so many cultures in their wake. they had to bring it home to somewhere, right?

[@jaylee9552]

Wow last time I came this early, she spent the rest of the night complaining 😂

[@kompo1012]

Massive earthquakes, disease, droughts, floods, volcano eruption, famine, wars could all combine in a single period for disaster reducing societies to fighting for survival rather than luxury.

[@KlaximumSkroeft]

No way I spent an hour looking at bronze age memes today. This cannot be a coincidence. Like the discovery of iron.

[@karineriva]

At first I read the Final Carrot Battle and I was very intrigued

[@sebastianriemer1777]

What I don't understand is that the empires knew their surrounding ethnicities and would have recognised them. According to their writings the invading force was completely alien to the Egyptians. Its just crazy. You should think that a group that has enough ships for a full scale invasion of one of the biggest empire of the day would be known by the coastal states. Maybe proto celtic people that took over the navies of the Greek kingdoms?

[@smooshiebear80]

I like the theory that they were early Vikings, lol