1177 BCE, the year a perfect storm destroyed civilization

Haaretz ^ | April 13, 2015 | Julia Fridman

[2ndDivisionVet]

Sometime after 1200 BCE, civilization collapsed, and a dark age prevailed.

The Late Bronze Age collapse of societies throughout the Levant, the Near East and the Mediterranean some 3,200 years ago has been a mystery. Powerful, advanced civilizations disappeared, seemingly overnight. Now an archaeologist believes he has figured out what lay behind the cataclysm.

The trigger seems to have been the invasion of ancient Egypt in 1177 BCE by marauding peoples known simply as the “Sea Peoples,” as recorded in the Medinet Habu wall relief at Ramses III' tomb. The relief depicts a sea battle (and also carts full of supplies, women and children, something that always puzzled researchers. Why would the women and children have been at a sea battle, and why were there chariots? Did they bring them on ships as well?) The foreigners were depicted wearing distinct head gear....

[Rocky]

You can read about it here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3038573/Bronze-Age-civilisation-destroyed-perfect-storm-Ancient-Egypt-societies-collapsed-climate-change-war-earthquakes.html

[Focault's Pendulum]

Google the name.

[gattaca]

It works on Google News, but not plain Google

[Riley]

The trigger seems to have been the invasion of ancient Egypt in 1177 BCE by marauding peoples known simply as the “Sea Peoples,” ...

Sea peoples?

...Marines?

Must have been one hell of a liberty call.

I can't imagine the First Sergeant's a$$ chewing for blowing up the whole of civilization on a foreign port call.

[PapaBear3625]

Sometime after 1200 BCE, civilization collapsed, and a dark age prevailed.

Around the period 1800 BC to 1200 BC, the technology to make carbon steel was discovered around where Turkey currently is.

Bronze was expensive. Only an aristocratic warrior caste would have bronze swords and armor.

Carbon steel would have made weapons cheap enough to make, that a whole tribe could be armed. They could thus outnumber the Egyptian warriors. That could also explain the drawings of families: the whole tribe would have been in migration. The technological breakthrough of iron would mean that they could overrun older societies.

[fr_freak]

BCE = before common era

[fr_freak]

Well, since Jesus was not born at year zero (6 BCE) your point is simple evidence of ignorance.

Oh, sure - that six year difference PROVES that this new date scheme has nothing to do with trying to whitewash Christ from history. LOL

[elcid1970]

IIRC, the Hittites perfected carbon steel for swordmaking & the Egyptians knew their copper swords were no match.

[re_nortex]

Per the leftists ideology, BCE stands for "Before Common Era", thus denying Christ. See this article when the ultra-liberal BBC mandated that the mere mention of Christ be expunged from their reporting. There have been a number of Free Republic threads about the BC vs. BCE issue. FReeper stalwart and unabashed Patriot wardaddy said it best:

It’s total denial BS to rename something which means Before Christ just for secular sake when it doesn’t change the fact of how the epoch change is determined...Christ Birth.

[NorthMountain]

And yet it stands for Before The Christian Era?

It stands for "Before the Common Era". And what's the "Common Era"?

Don't ask ...

[Pontiac]

Ping

[Bratch]

The trigger seems to have been the invasion of ancient Egypt in 1177 BCE by marauding peoples known simply as the “Sea Peoples,” as recorded in the Medinet Habu wall relief at Ramses III' tomb. The relief depicts a sea battle (and also carts full of supplies, women and children, something that always puzzled researchers. Why would the women and children have been at a sea battle, and why were there chariots? Did they bring them on ships as well?)

[Mastador1]

Actually I looked it prior to my post and it stated it also stood for Before The Christian Era, what else can you expect from a bunch of atheist nimrods. I fully expect them to somehow work muzzies in. Hey if I misread this then Mea Culpa...........OH!

BCE is the abbreviation for Before the Common/Current/Christian Era (an alternative to Before Christ, abbreviated BC).

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Bkmrk.

[Colorado Doug]

Here is another source. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3038573/Bronze-Age-civilisation-destroyed-perfect-storm-Ancient-Egypt-societies-collapsed-climate-change-war-earthquakes.html

[reasonisfaith]

“BCE” and “CE” are just plain stupid.

[ThomasThomas]

They too did not understand global warming. To many cooking and heating fires.

[Islander7]

Related
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3038573/Bronze-Age-civilisation-destroyed-perfect-storm-Ancient-Egypt-societies-collapsed-climate-change-war-earthquakes.html

[angryoldfatman]

I don’t know about bronze being expensive. If anything, iron and steel are more labor-intensive and technologically difficult to manufacture, so I’d say they were technically more expensive.

I *do* know, however, that once forged, steel can destroy bronze implements and stay unscathed. In other words, it’s much harder and stronger, and thereby gives anyone armed with steel weapons a very substantial advantage.

An army with steel weapons against a bronze-armed foe would be practically like bronze-wielders fighting unarmed men.

[re_nortex]

The comic strip, per FReeper lore, that led to ZOT beiing canonized in the FR lexicon was titled by artist Johnny Hart as BC, as it rightly should have been, and not the ultra-PC BCE. There were numerous instances of ZOT featured in the lifetime of the classic comic strip, here's but one of many: