Review of 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed (by Eric Cline)
The Lion Gate at Mycenae, which was constructed in the Bronze Age. Photo by Andreas Trepte.
I just finished Eric Cline’s influential book 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed a few minutes ago and am ready to offer my thoughts.
But first, a little context. I’ve been researching Bronze Age Greece lately and came across Cline’s popular talk about the mysterious fall of so many ancient societies around the Mediterranean in the 12th century BC. Afterwards, I reached out to him to join me on my podcast to discuss the Bronze Age, the Trojan War, the Greek heroes, and more (episode below).
The conversation was fascinating, but I wish we had three hours instead of one. There is just so much to cover when it comes to the fall of the Bronze Age and it was clear I had only scratched the surface of Cline’s expertise on the subject. So I was very excited to see the book arrive in the mail a few days ago.
My first reaction was that it was shorter and smaller than I expected. For some reason, I assumed it was going to be a massive, 800-page tome, but it turned out to be much more manageable at under 200 (plus extensive footnotes, bibliography, etc.). This was a welcome surprise as I tend to prefer shorter books that I can read in a matter of days or a couple of weeks over ones I know could drag on forever.
The format of the book itself was less surprising. Cline had told me in our conversation that the entire middle portion of the book was focused on the centuries leading up to the Bronze Age collapse, rather than just the collapse itself. Understanding the societies of the time and how they were connected was critical to making sense of how things went wrong in the 12th century. But I have to admit I was still tempted to rush through this stage of the book to get to the parts about the Sea Peoples, earthquakes, etc.
Thank god I didn’t. One of the coolest aspects of this book is Cline’s willingness and ability to expand on tangential Bronze Age topics, including the legend of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the Trojan War, King Tut and his tomb, various sunken ships that have been found, and many others. He does an excellent job of summarizing the history of these topics and what the evidence tells us. This book really is a gold mine for those of us fascinated by myth and the historical truths that may underpin them.
Now let’s move on to the main subject of the book - the collapse of the Bronze Age. Cline readily admits that, at the end of the day, we simply still don’t know what actually caused the collapse. If there is a smoking gun, we haven’t discovered it yet. But that doesn’t mean we can’t use what we do know about the time period to weigh the merits of the various explanations that have been proposed, which include earthquakes, climate change, internal rebellion, the invasion of the Sea Peoples, and more.
Ultimately, Cline settles on an “all of the above” hypothesis as the most likely answer to what caused the fall of these civilizations.
“More than the coming of the Sea Peoples in 1207 and 1177 BC, more than the series of earthquakes that rocked Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean during a fifty-year span from 1125 to 1175 BC, more than the drought and climate change that may have been ravaging these areas during this period, what we see are the results of a “perfect storm” that brought down the flourishing cultures and peoples of the Bronze Age - from the Mycenaeans and Minoans to the Hittites, Assyrians, Kassites, Cypriots, Mitannians, Canaanites, and even Egyptians. ”
I’ll admit that before reading the book, Cline’s conclusion didn’t feel particularly satisfying. But after following him on a detailed appraisal of all of the key evidence and ideas - which is where this book really shines - it feels like the most plausible and well-reasoned stance.
Cline is writing here for a broader audience than he would be in a scholarly article, but he never dumbs things down for the sake of ease or entertainment. It is clear throughout that he is first and foremost a committed investigator himself, seeking the truth wherever it may lead.
Overall, the book is excellent. Cline draws from a wealth for knowledge to present a compelling argument, while going into depth on the most popular questions people have about this time period, including the historicity of the Trojan War and the identity of the elusive Sea Peoples. I’d go as far to say that the average level of depth and value this book brings per page may be higher than any nonfiction book I have read. There is no doubt I’ll be rereading parts of this book many times in the future.
Final verdict: 1177 BC isn’t one of those trendy pop history books that reads like a Michael Crichton novel. While it offers plenty of compelling storytelling, it is most concerned with the evidence itself and the puzzle that needs to be solved. 1177 BC is for readers, both history buffs and novices (like myself), who want to dive into the archaeological findings to understand what we actually know about this time period and how we know it. Cline references Sherlock Holmes in the book and I can’t help but think that the famous (fictional) detective would have greatly appreciated this work.
Highly recommended.
If you’re interested in getting a copy, you can find Cline’s Amazon page here.
