1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

by Eric H. Cline

We are told at one point that a Hittite king named Mursili I, grandson and successor of the above-named Hattusili I, marched his army all the way to Mesopotamia, a journey of over one thousand miles, and attacked the city of Babylon in 1595 BC, burning it to the ground and ending the two-hundred-year-old dynasty made famous by Hammurabi “the Law-Giver.” Then, instead of occupying the city, he simply turned the Hittite army around and headed for home, thus effectively conducting the longest drive-by shooting in history.

This is known as a Bond event (named after Gerard Bond, the lead author on Science articles in 1997 and 2001, rather than after Ian Fleming’s 007 creation).

Useful clarification!

However, in suggesting that complexity theory should be brought to bear on the analysis of the causes of the Late Bronze Age Collapse, we may just be applying a scientific (or possibly pseudoscientific) term to a situation in which there is insufficient knowledge to draw firm conclusions. It sounds nice, but does it really advance our understanding? Is it more than just a fancy way to state a fairly obvious fact, namely, that complicated things can break down in a variety of ways?

Kinda my reaction to this whole book.