1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, by Eric H. Cline, deals with the sudden and unexpected collapse of various interconnected civilizations throughout the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Some of these civilizations include Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Greece, Cyprus, Syria, and Egypt. The author, Eric H. Cline, is an archaeologist, historian, and professor at George Washington University, who also finds the Late Bronze Age to be his “favorite period in ancient history.” That being said, Cline is a very well qualified individual to be composing a book about this time period as he has a great knowledge of, and is very passionate about, this period in history. His book represents the political history of the time, as it has a great focus on
…show more content…
Rather than picking one particular cause and trying to find evidence to prove it, he approaches the situation the opposite way. He looks at all of the evidence and tries to find the most logical explanation for all of the events that have transpired. This gives the readers the most realistic and likely explanation for the cause of the fall of Late Bronze Age Civilizations, which is described as “A Perfect Storm of Calamities” (Cline). This means that a combination of many factors led to the demise of these great and sophisticated civilizations. Overall, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed is worth reading for us as historians and students. Despite the fact that there is no definitive answer to how a sudden end came to such a vast and extensive world, there are still many important things we can take away from this book. Although we do learn a great deal about the time period from the sixteenth to eleventh century B.C., the idea of internationalism stands is a focal point throughout the whole book. …show more content…
This is probably one of the most important ideas in the world and it will be seen again and again throughout history. Finally, this book allows us to learn and better understand how a historian learns and interprets history. In my opinion, this is one of the most important takeaways for me and other students who are learning about history. This book clearly expresses how the mind of a historian works while trying to come up with a theory or a conclusion to explain a past event. This can teach us how we should approach the situation using the evidence that we are given. Cline uses trusted sources to gather the facts in which he uses as the foundation of his interpretations. Then, he chooses the most logical and probable scenarios based on information he has on the time period. This allows Cline to make safe, yet accurate, claims to explain complicated scenarios. In short, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed is worth reading as it uses trusted sources, makes scholarly interpretations, teaches us about internationalism in the twelfth century B.C., and gives us insight into how we can be accurate
Rather than picking one particular cause and trying to find evidence to prove it, he approaches the situation the opposite way. He looks at all of the evidence and tries to find the most logical explanation for all of the events that have transpired. This gives the readers the most realistic and likely explanation for the cause of the fall of Late Bronze Age Civilizations, which is described as “A Perfect Storm of Calamities” (Cline). This means that a combination of many factors led to the demise of these great and sophisticated civilizations. Overall, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed is worth reading for us as historians and students. Despite the fact that there is no definitive answer to how a sudden end came to such a vast and extensive world, there are still many important things we can take away from this book. Although we do learn a great deal about the time period from the sixteenth to eleventh century B.C., the idea of internationalism stands is a focal point throughout the whole book. …show more content…
This is probably one of the most important ideas in the world and it will be seen again and again throughout history. Finally, this book allows us to learn and better understand how a historian learns and interprets history. In my opinion, this is one of the most important takeaways for me and other students who are learning about history. This book clearly expresses how the mind of a historian works while trying to come up with a theory or a conclusion to explain a past event. This can teach us how we should approach the situation using the evidence that we are given. Cline uses trusted sources to gather the facts in which he uses as the foundation of his interpretations. Then, he chooses the most logical and probable scenarios based on information he has on the time period. This allows Cline to make safe, yet accurate, claims to explain complicated scenarios. In short, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed is worth reading as it uses trusted sources, makes scholarly interpretations, teaches us about internationalism in the twelfth century B.C., and gives us insight into how we can be accurate