1177 B.C.

The Year Civilization Collapsed

By: Eric H. Cline

Narrated by: Andy Caploe

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen?

In this major new account of the causes of this "First Dark Ages", Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries.

A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age - and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.

©2014 Eric H. Cline. Published by Princeton University Press. (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Narrator Drove Me Crazy

What did you like best about 1177 B.C.? What did you like least?

The subject matter is very interesting although the backstory seems overly involved and protracted. What really stood out though was the sing song nature of the narration. It was like he was reading a children's book... or something.. his rhythm and tonalities weren't congruent with the subject matter.

We don’t know that’s the message in a nutshell

I’ll save you the trouble of reading the book. How did the Bronze Age fall? We don’t know. At least that’s what the book is about. Lots of conjecture and assumptions taken as fact. The book covers some good points of view how how it all went down. But there is a lot of holes in the narrative that are taken as fact which is kinda annoying. At the end they try to correlate the fall to the fall of Rome and our culture. The problem is no one know how Roman fell or at least they have a hundred different ideas of how that happened. A good read but the narrator is super annoying. Whenever he quotes a ancient verse he uses this weird kid voice that makes it sound a mad kid. Really takes away from the book.

Paper may be better

This is hard to follow on audio. For one thing it could really use some PDF maps. Also, although I know how to bookmark, I didn’t know what things it would be helpful to refer back to until it was too late. Flipping pages would be much easier.

Meticulous analysis

A very thorough and expansive analysis of the theories and factors that led to the collapse of civilization in the late Bronze Age. This not my field of study but I found it fascinating.

Good

Good information and a nice coherent argument, but can be a bit dry in places.

Accessible book on late bronze age history

Well-narrated; good overview of late bronze age kingdoms, not just their end. Could have been more expansive and covered more ground but would probably lose some readers if that was the case. I really appreciate the constant reference to geography while talking about the different kingdoms. Distinguishes fact and conjecture like an academic book without getting into too many nitty-gritties. Would have been perfect for me if it had talked about the individual societies in more detail.

Early History

Love the subject and was enlightened by the interconnected trade of early empires and wonder how ..

Maybe this or maybe that….

This is more of a survey of other scholar’s opinions than an original work. Various theories regarding the cause(s) of bronze age societal collapse (war, famine, climate change, earthquakes, capitalism, etc) are reviewed to which the author comments the actual cause(s) could be one or more of same (but probably unknowable). I prefer a more distinct opinion, even if different than mine, I find it more thought provoking.

A bunch of stuff happened, or maybe it didn't.

I really wanted to like this and the reader made a heroic effort to make it interesting. This book covers so much ground and yet so little. There are so many factors which could have brought about a cascade failure and some are of interest to modern readers based on current challenges and threats. However, the book just comes of like a bloated term paper. I can understand not wanting to commit to a theory and get blasted by peers for being a crackpot but, to say so much and not say "here's what I think happened" is bothersome and a waste of a reader's time. If I just wanted to know about the "could have beens" of the late bonze age, I could have spent half on day on wikipedia and been just as informed. There is no firm stance taken by the author. The facts are assembled but they never march anywhere. It's also very repetitive. That begins to feel like a student trying to pad a subject to make a page count quota and, on the whole, makes this highly academic in the worst ways. I never thought I'd leave the subject thinking "Yeah, so what".

Relevant for us, a story of how climate change ended civilization

Interesting story with lots of details from the daily life of the predecessors of European civilization. The last chapter is the best.