The BRONZE AGE COLLAPSE | 1177 BC by Eric Cline

I've seen several of Cline's lectures on this and he is one of the best speakers I have ever seen. Although he doesn't state it explicity, it's easy to see how, in the following dark age (where writing was lost for a time), the myths of giants, "Atlantis" and an ancient, vast civilsation where gods walked the Earth grew up. There had been complex, inter-dependent trading networks and all the great civisations collapsed except for Egypt, and she was never the same again. It seems that there was war, famine, and death, but no evidence of widespread disease.

So three out of four ain't bad.

{:-:-:}

Thanks again.

1177 is one of my favorite nonfiction books. I didn't know the revised edition had been published! Now I need to get it.

A wonderful read.

Oh yes I was hoping you had a video on the Bronze Age collapse! New favourite channel ever! Thank you so much from the UK!

Hi there, big fan. 
Could you look at Dan Gibson "Early Islamic Kibblas" and "Quranic Geography" dealing with the transformation of Nabatean cultures into Islam supporting the theory about a possible historic relocation of Mecca. Also the documentary "The Sacred City" where he tries and make a case for this hypothesis. It is hard to find supporting studies so a academic angle would be of help here.
Cheers

You healed my jaded heart by giving an endorsement. These days, it's all criticism wherever we go. Good to know that you (whom I respect) can point to a modern source of scholarship with an honest thumbs up. Thank you sir.

nice tie.

I’ve seen his lectures. He seems credible.

I recognize Fukuyama's "The Origins of Political Order" in the background. Have you thought about reviewing that one?

I've been searching for this book for some time. It's still unavailable in my country and I'm really not interested in paying the hefty shipping fees. Thanks for the review.

WHEW! I was afraid that you were going to trash his account. I've heard his thoughts on this for years and found it VERY informative. It's good to hear confirmation (mostly) from someone whose opinion I respect. Great history lesson.

The Bronze Age Collapse, yeah that is a placeholder. Much like the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the BAC did not happen in a day, or in a vacuum. We find out more and more about this period, I am excited to see what more there is to learn.

I’m particularly interested in civilisational collapse, though really ‘gradual decline’ is often more accurate. And now I’m curious about what you found forced. I agree on bibliography/endnotes/references; they’re great jumping off points to further pursue topics.

Do you ever write more detailed book reviews?

Dr. cline’s thesis that the Bronze age collapse having come about as a “ perfect storm” does have validity to the things people are concerned about today. We see snippets of both natural and man made events, as did the civilizations that preceded us . Then as now we may not be aware of all the reasons for disruptions and upheavals. His use of 1177, sees to be showing that nothing is immediate, as it was considered that the bronze age ended circa 1200 BCE.
There are still many facets that need further examination. These include the reasons for the interruption of the Tin trade from Iberia( possibly the Unfield incursion?) and the economics of Bronze age trade, Mediterranean shipping routes or the political implications of refugee migration.
His lecture on You Tube regarding this time is excellent and is a worthy companion to the book.

I've always been interested in history and especially ancient near eastern history but only recently decided to read up on the subject. I'm currently reading Captivating History's Mesopotamia as well as Finkelstein's Unearthing the Bible. I'll be adding this to my reading list.

I've read the book and I did NOT like it. For the reason that Cline in the book gives me the impression that he is extremely strongly in favor of authoritarian systems (which was how Bronze Age states were organized). Or more accurately expressed, centralized authoritarian bureaucratic government seems to be Cline's religion, to the point that it colors his perception. It's (in my humble opinion) not an unbiased view on history. In my view, good history presupposes that you can relativise (put into perspective) the subject you are investigating.

Read the book. Loved it. Yes, year is somewhat off.

I'll be sure to pick up a copy of this one. I had heard of it before your video, but was always dissuaded from buying it as I read some reviews that indicate that Cline glosses over some of the scholarly controversies related to this time period in order to provide a more cohesive narrative. Your review has made me reconsider and I'll look for a copy at my local library.

The Bronze Age Collapse has been solved.
Israel did it, under Moses and Joshua. Moses literally claims he's going to totally destroy the Hittites which happened in 1177 BC, and which was perhaps the central event of the Bronze Age Collapse.
Joshua claims the destruction of a number of cities that are still recognizable, including Kadesh.
All proof on my channel.

I've read it like a month ago and I was astonished by the amount of information Cline managed to pack into a fairly thin (around 200 pages without bibliography in Polish edition) book.
It was not the first time I've heard about the Bronze Age Collapse, but despite of me having higher education in history (my Ancient History course was a joke, reduced mostly to some Mesopotamia and Egypt and much more of Greece and Rome) I didn't know that much. I started watching some videos on the subject and one of them referenced Cline's lecture. I watched it and instantly got his book. After reading, I really wish school education covered at least some of the Bronze Age Collapse. I mean, come on, great and prosperous civilisations falling (seemingly) mysteriously one after another? Kids love mysteries and I'm sure they'd get hooked on that easily. I am certainly going to tell my students something about that next year.

Ive enjoyed the book as much as I’ve enjoyed watching his lectures about it. I find the collapse fascinating and look forward to his much awaited sequel.

I read it a few years ago, i thought it was really interesting

I've read the book myself, it was very interesting, it was a very good read!

I have read this book and still have this book. It's a great book.

Cline, Finkel, Yourself...all of you are treasures. I can't tell you how much I thoroughly enjoy your content. Thank you for what you do.

1177 BC.

Not Bee See Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


{:o:O:}

No surprises that book review is positive. Another example of western historians supporting another. Have Mr Cline found Noah’s Ark yet?

A very good book although sometimes a Bit cramped with information. But to me it was a good book to start an i want to learn more on 1200 BC.

I loved this book. I am a recent convert to ancient history and I found this book was a great general purpose introduction to a fascinating period of history.

i wasn't really intrigued with the points you found in the book so interesting?... i think you could have expanded on things like the basics... draught... shortage of tin... and... the sea peoples... the philistines... and... the greeks... the same people...

Thank you very much for this review. This book has been recommended to me by Amazon on several occasions, but I never really took it seriously. For some reason, I always considered it 'pseudo' history, bordering on the 'ancient alien' crowd. Now I know different, so thanks again for putting me right.

With the lifelong research of Claude Schaefer not even being considered in this work, Eric Cline’s book lost much credibility for me. ✔️

Without the Bronze age Collapse we do not get Abrahamic religions, the collapse could be the worst time in human history because of what came after.

I have read the book and I really liked it. It was one of the first historical books I added to my library, later historical books followed like The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan, Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff, and John Adams by David McCollough to name a few. I believe that a person's library should reflect one's own tastes and interests and mine should also show that I'm a history buff and not just simply a fantasy, sci-fi, and classic literature nerd.

I think I read an earlier edition about 15 years ago, it is an easy read and presents many possible causes besides the poor refugee Sea Peoples.

Great book. Great review.

I got 4-5 future band names from this book, too. 😂🎸🐾

I'm not a historian of the ancient world. My grad work was in early US and early Soviet military history, and I work in local history in the US. So it's not my specialty. But it was a page turner for me. I think I read it in one insomniac night. And I've re-read it at least one other time, based on the color of the ink in my margin notes.

I've liked this book since the original version was published, and I always recommend it any chance I get. For anyone interested in that area of history, it's an excellent primer; and while it is dense, it also has the advantage that if you can't get interested in this topic with this kind of engaging prose and storytelling, then there is NO WAY you'll get through "regular" texts on the subject! :D

A similar story is the suddenish appearance of "Vikings" raids in western europe. What sparked it? Poor harvests and climate change....heard stories how comparatively rich others were, that they were rumoured to be a pushover.....over-population. Boredom and couldn't see a future for the adventurous.Economic migration or warfare at home? Scarce resources drying up? One, some or all? Similar the voyages of exploration by the Portuguese, Spaniards, British, Dutch etc which turned into colonialization.

Finally read this! Very good book

Yes. I know this book. I've read it. I've even met Dr. Cline. A pal of mine did his graduate studies under Dr. Cline. Good stuff. I especially like how the book progresses through all the different theories and knocks them all down. Ultimately he has the right arguments for the right theory.
Interesting tid-bit! He had it all finished and then, at quite literally the very last minute, he had to call the printers and shout "STOP THE PRESSES!" because a new paper appeared in the journals which pretty much invalidated much of his thesis. Fortunately the presses were stopped, he was able to re-write the last half of the book, and things are all better!
I highly recommend it.

1177 has a real craps ring to it, probably worth 10% more in sales than 1175 or 1179.

Do you plan to do a follow up video now that "After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations" is out?