The Collapse Of The Bronze Age

Mercenary Mayhem in the Bronze Age

The Bronze Age ended at the beginning of the twelfth century in a collapse that appears to have been both sudden and difficult to define. A key reason that the cause of this collapse is so difficult to identify is because the collapse was so wide spread and complete. The groups we would look to for evidence on this event ceased existing, from the residents of Crete to the Greek mainland, removing their recording capabilities. We have archeological evidence, in the form of ruined cities, but most written records that provide insight into the collapse of the Bronze Age and the events of the world are Egyptian in origin, and thus are limited in their scope and reliability. In fact, these Egyptian records at

Up until the collapse of the Bronze Age, warfare was ruled by a chariot elite, who used their mobile platforms to better their enemies, either as battle taxis or as mobile archery platforms.2 These tactics were effective and utilized the weapons of their time effectively. However, it was around the time of the Bronze Age collapse that the slashing sword came into popularity. This weapon gave infantry an advantage over their restricted opponents, who could only stab with their pointed weapons. Coupled with the javelins ability to cripple horses and stop chariots, this new sword enabled less experienced warriors to fight more effectively.2 A swarm of infantry equipped with these weapons could therefore defeat a typical Bronze Age army of soldiers and chariots with relative

The destruction of cities and cause of refugees could have been a large scale natural disaster, and the evolution in tools and combat may have been a symptom of the collapse instead of a source. It is not strictly the validity of the evidence, though the evidence is quite supportive and sensible, but the improbability of other options that makes the aggressive entity hypothesis so appealing. The cities were razed with deliberate fire, their riches either hidden or plundered, and the citizens forced to become refugees or suffer at the hands of those who had defeated their outdated armies. This is not to say it was one particular force that caused the entire collapse. The scale of the destruction and the vast area effected indicate that there were likely many separate entities who partook in this raiding. How these people gained their advanced technology and tactical information is still unknown, though one hypothesis is that mercenaries spread these new tactics with each of their campaigns.2 This theory doesn’t rule out that other factors may also have weakened the societies of the Bronze Age prior to the aggressor’s attacks. Earthquakes, droughts, and top heavy governmental systems may have further enabled raiders to best otherwise overwhelming forces.1 None the less, it is quite clear that it was some living entity that caused the collapse. The particular destruction done the cities alone is enough to determine