Many of us learned near-eastern ancient history as having multiple ages, including the Bronze Age which lasted from about 3,300 to 1,200 BCE, and which ended with a collapse of the Mycenean, Hittite, and Cypriot kingdoms, and widespread invasions by the Sea Peoples. Recent scholarship is more ambiguous, though. Evidence in support of a Bronze Age “collapse” happening around 1200 BCE could equally fit if the period were slightly unpleasant, or indeed, completely normal.
This post is basically a public service announcement about the Bronze Age. Because the evidence is too complex to really get into. But if you are wanting a deeper dive, here is a longer-form treatment why a “collapse” is a matter of interpretation.
