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The Lesser-Known Dark Ages
How dark was the world after the Bronze Age Collapse?
In the ancient port city of Ugarit, in modern-day Syria, archaeologists discovered a desperate plea for help. They found a letter dating to around 1177 BC, from Ugarit’s last king, Ammurapi, to the king of Alashiya (modern Cyprus). It reads:
“My father, behold, the enemy’s ships came; my cities were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots are in the Land of Hatti, and all my ships are in the Land of Lukka? Thus, the country is abandoned to itself. May my father know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us.”
Ugarit, a magnificent Bronze Age metropolis, was burned to the ground, its people massacred, and the city abandoned. It was never rebuilt.
Ugarit wasn’t the only one.
Cities across the Mediterranean and the Middle East fell apart within a few decades. Mycenaean palaces in Greece were destroyed. The Hittite capital Hattusa was sacked. Sophisticated Bronze Age civilizations fell apart.
Egypt survived, but only just. It was well past its glory days, and its immense gold reserves helped it stay afloat.
