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Welcome to the World of Antiquity Book Review series, in which I share with you some thoughts
about books I have been reading about ancient history.
I’ve just finished this one, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline.
Some of you may note from the date that it is set in the late Bronze Age.
Geographically it focuses on the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. The time
and place have always been of particular interest to me, and I love it when ancient
historical subjects that are not generally part of the public consciousness are covered.
Eric Cline is professor of Classics and Anthropology at George Washington University,
where he also is director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute. He’s a very fine
scholar, and I found his writing engaging and interesting, though I will warn you right off
the bat that this is dense with information, and if this is a period you are not familiar with,
you may find it heavy-going at times. Cline does his best to make it all go down very
easily though, and to help out, he provides a glossary in the back of all the important names.
The title is slightly misleading. Civilization did not collapse in a single year.
I expect the title is modeled after the book 1492: The Year the World Began. It does have a nice ring
to it. And you should also know that the year 1177 BC is the year that the Sea Peoples are believed
to have invaded Egypt, but the precise year is not known for certain. It’s probably correct to within
maybe 5 years. On the subject of the date, Cline says in the book (p. 168): “One can, in fact,
argue that 1177 BC is to the end of the Bronze Age as AD 476 is to Rome and the end of the western
Roman empire. That is to say, both are dates to which modern scholars can conveniently point
as the end of a major era, though they are simply chronological placeholders.”
Besides providing an excellent overview of what was happening at this time in history,
he discusses in depth what was the cause of the Bronze Age collapse, going over many of
the theories that scholars have proposed. He does not think, as some have in the past,
that the invasion of the Sea Peoples was responsible for most of it.
He shows it’s much more complicated than that. In what is perhaps his most interesting chapter,
Chapter 6, he analyzes the systems collapse, summarizing the evidence and the various possible
interpretations of that evidence as to the causes of that collapse. It’s really quite fascinating.
There are times when Cline tries hard to give the subject of the book
meaning in today’s world. I expect that this was something the publisher encouraged, though
I don’t know. It’s not easy to do that when talking about events so long ago,
and sometimes it feels a little forced. But some of what he says certainly has validity.
There are a few black and white images in the book, but not many. There is a handy map,
and voluminous endnotes. See that? It’s like a quarter of the book. This is one
of the ways you can tell good scholarship from bad. Or good scholarship from none.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read. For me, it was an excellent retelling of things I studied in
grad school. For the average reader, who doesn’t know about any of this stuff and wants to, I would
say it is an excellent summary of the events and the evidence. A worthy addition to any bookshelf.
If you liked this book review, please give the video a thumbs up, and if you have read the book,
let me know your thoughts on it. I’d be interested to hear. Until next time, happy reading!
You might like my little e-booklet, "Why Ancient History Matters." It's designed to persuade people
that the subject is important, even in the modern world. You might also wish to use it to help
spread the word. So feel free to share it with someone you know. It's free for anyone who wants it.
I've left a link in the description box below the video for you to grab a copy. Catch you later!