History is an important area of study because it supplies valuable knowledge and insight for current governing organizations regarding how to properly conquer threatening enemies, how to maintain control over the citizens a country, and how to maximize a country’s profits from increasing prosperous trade and sustaining a thriving internal economy. It is also particularly insightful to investigate the factors that contribute to the crumbling and downfall of some of history’s most prosperous and successful civilizations to understand what one must avoid to prevent ultimate destruction. In Eric H. Cline’s 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed, Cline discusses how the culmination of catastrophe and misfortune contributed to the end of the great empires of the Late Bronze Age rather than one individual factor and he examines international relations through the use of long-distance trade. While Cline ineffectively organized his content and provided irrelevant information, his writing was intriguing with the discussion of deep sea excavations and his argument about the large number of factors compiling to contribute to the eventual destruction of civilization was strong in his final conclusion.
Cline theorizes that the ultimate collapse of the Late Bronze Age civilizations is due to what he calls a multiplier effect, saying that the vast combination of detrimental factors magnified each of their destructive effects in each society. Consecutively, the failure of multiple societies led to a “fragmentation of the global economy and the breakdown of the interconnections upon which early civilization was dependent” (Cline, 162). In other words, the practically simultaneous earthquakes, climate change, and famine along with the uprisings, invaders, and breakdown of international trade all accumulated and caused one central breakdown in the Near East throughout the twelfth century B.C. As international relations became weaker, it decreased the safety and reliability of international trade as well as decreased the number of treaties and alliances between strong and powerful empires. This contributed to an increased number of rebellions, pirate looting sites, and invasions from outside civilizations.
Based on his textual evidence and large collection of credible sources, the text makes Cline’s argument intriguing and credible. His points were also effective in relating to material learned during lecture, such as the discussion of climate change (the 4.2 KA BP event), international campaigns (Hammurabi and the Amarna letters), and wide spread trade (the Uluburun ship wreck) and how they proved to have dramatic influence on the power of empires; these topics all line up with Cline’s prediction and it seems plausible that the accumulation and spontaneity of these factors could cause a major downfall for the Late Bronze Age civilizations. However, Cline’s method of organization was ineffective in strengthening his argument. After the prologue where he initially discusses his claim, there is a lot of background information on the many civilizations and empires during the time and he fails to clearly restate his thesis until the last chapter of his work. Majority of the information was irrelevant to his argument, as he uses such a wide range of information from a wide variety of time periods, even going so far back as to mention Egypt in 3000 B.C. He also jumps around between the different civilizations without a consistent pattern that made it challenging and slightly overwhelming to keep track of his ideas. But, the use of short and individualized passages with precise titles made the current topic obvious so readers can have a general sense of what they are about to read next and what the main focus is.
The passages most captivating in Cline’s work were the ones regarding women and their impact on international trade durning the time period. Women from the Late Bronze Age lived in an era that was heavily patriarchal and that women were practically disregarded in places of high power and not given a fair opportunity to show off their intellect or political capabilities. The one that stood out the most was titled “Hatshepsut and Thutmose III,” as Hatshepsut proved to be a woman who could be both a fearless leader on the battlefield and a peaceful ruler who helped Egypt establish foreign trade routes, which brings about the theme of globalization and internationalism through trade that frequently arise throughout the text. The Uluburun shipwreck that Cline discusses is a strong passage that touches on the interconnectivity of the Late Bronze Age kingdoms. Although the exact details of the shipment and it’s journey are still up for debate, the wide array of treasures discovered on the ship, from hand crafted swords and daggers in Italy and Greece to pottery fresh out of the kiln from Cyprus and Canaan, described by Cline demonstrate how widespread the range of trade was. Also, as seen in the Amarna Letters and other royal transcriptions, the highly powerful rulers referred to each other as brother, father, or son (Cline, 54), even though they were not related, when they wrote about the gifts or goods they were exchanging through long distance trade. Cline elaborates on how this shows that civilizations developed relationships with each other internationally and were expanding their line of communication from simply their immediate kingdom. These relationships, although starting slowly by only discussing trade, began to advance over the years into more complex and trustworthy bonds. The exchange of extravagant goods like body oils and gold show that some civilizations looked to each other as allies, and rulers began to realize there was power with having particular people in the right places. Kings or emperors would marry off their sons and daughters to instill confidence in their neighboring rulers or would have scribes compose official peace treaties, where the wrath of the gods would serve as punishment and be released over the other’s civilization if they were to ever break the treaty. As cline describes the considerable impact that trade had on these powerful empires, he also supports his claim that the breakdown of international trade could have contributed to the collapse of civilization.
Cline also does something unique by discussing the work of excavators, particularly going into detail about deep sea excavations, and this touches into the theme of monumentality and legitimacy of civilizations. Most literary works discussing history go into depth about the facts and details relating to the story, they give you the dates, the people, the places. But very few authors mention the work that was required to attain their information. The required time, money, and tools necessary for safe excavation (for the archeologists and the artifacts) are immense. This is particularly true when engaging in underwater excavation, specially trained personnel must wear specific scuba equipment and follow safety guidelines to prevent serious injury, or potentially, death. Cline also mentions though his work how a lot of history’s questions are left unanswered because of destroyed or missing artifacts. However, every new piece found through excavation adds only a little piece to an infinite puzzle. Archaeological artifacts are fundamental to the discovery of new historical information, and being able to learn about the process behind how these ancient pieces are examined and preserved for research through Cline’s work is absolutely fascinating. Plus, the discussion of finding these artifacts relates to the legacies of ancient civilizations. Artifacts can prove a civilization’s legitimacy, as tablets with trade records or inscriptions on monuments give a glimpse into the living conditions for civilians as well as what the most influential and paramount events were during that era. Also, when archaeologists discover astounding and enduring pieces, it shows a civilization’s monumentality because only the rich and powerful could afford or organize such labor intensive luxuries.
The work of a revolution or uprising, a mass extinction from a large earthquake, a drought that killed every crop in the Middle East… these all could have contributed to the crisis, collapse, and ultimately, no successful regeneration; there’s no outstanding evidence proving what was the main trigger was that caused civilization to be destroyed during the Late Bronze Age. None the less, Cline does make his conclusion satisfying, stating that there was an accumulation of factors that potentially contributed to the termination of the Late Bronze Age and it’s many, once powerful, civilizations. Although there may never find the proof necessary to make a unanimous conclusion, modern civilization may find it valuable to learn from the mistakes of these ancient empires, as those who do not learn from mistakes are bound to make them again and as General Edmund Allbeny once said, “those who study history can successfully repeat it, if they choose to do so” (Cline, 30). 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed discusses some of the triumphs of the most successful empires of the era and proves to be a useful source of knowledge and a tool for impending governing success.