

In this major new account of the causes of this “First Dark Ages,” Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations.

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the “Sea Peoples” invaded Egypt.
