In 1177 BC, groups of raiders, known as the "Sea Peoples," invaded Egypt. The army and navy of the pharaoh managed to defeat them, but this victory weakened Egypt so much that it soon fell into decline, as did most neighboring civilizations. After centuries of greatness, the civilized peoples of the Bronze Age experienced a sudden and catastrophic end. Several kingdoms fell like dominoes in just a few decades. The Minoans and Mycenaeans disappeared. The Trojans, Hittites, and Babylonians were lost. The thriving economy and magnificent civilizations that were at their peak in the late 2nd millennium BC and extended from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia suddenly vanished, along with their writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. However, the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such an extensive collapse. What really happened?

The author paints a detailed panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that, precisely because of their interdependence, their dramatic collapse was accelerated, plunging them into a dark age that lasted for centuries. 1177 BC - when civilizations collapsed sheds new light on the complex relationships that fostered the rise and ultimately led to the destruction of the advanced civilizations of the Late Bronze Age - while laying the groundwork for the emergence of the classical era in Greece.