Description
Book SynopsisThe Bronze Age came to a close early in the twelfth century bc with one of the worst calamities in history: over a period of several decades, destruction descended upon key cities throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. This title rejects the traditional explanations and proposes a military one instead.
Trade Review"[The End of the Bronze Age] provides a concise overview of the problem and the present state of our knowledge... Drews has produced a thought-provoking work with an intriguing thesis, informative and thorough in its scholarship, sound and imaginative in its arguments."--J. P. Karras, The Journal of Military History "[Drews] has differentiated between evidence and speculation so that those who will continue to debate the Catastrophe can use the book effectively. What is more important is that he has laid to rest some archaeological factoids which in their turn were based on no more than guesswork."--David W. J. Gill, Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Unusually sophisticated... Well argued and learned."--A. M. Snodgrass, The Times Literary Supplement
Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsPt. 1IntroductionCh. 1The Catastrophe and Its Chronology3Ch. 2The Catastrophe Surveyed8Pt. 2Alternative Explanations of the CatastropheCh. 3Earthquakes33Ch. 4Migrations48Ch. 5Ironworking73Ch. 6Drought77Ch. 7Systems Collapse85Ch. 8Raiders91Pt. 3A Military Explanation of the CatastropheCh. 9Preface to a Military Explanation of the Catastrophe97Ch. 10The Chariot Warfare of the Late Bronze Age104Ch. 11Footsoldiers in the Late Bronze Age135Ch. 12Infantry and Horse Troops in the Early Iron Age164Ch. 13Changes in Armor and Weapons at the End of the Bronze Age174Ch. 14The End of Chariot Warfare in the Catastrophe209Bibliography227Index245
