10. Between 1200 and 950 BCE many more changes were happening in the region. Describe them and explain why they are important.

Return to History 8 Near East Questions The Greek Dark Age is the interval between the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, around 1200 BCE, and the Greek Archaic Period, around c. 800 BCE. The Dark Age era begins with the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, when all major Mycenaean regional centers fell out of use after suffering a combination of destruction and abandonment. The Mycenaean writing system, was lost shortly after c. 1200 BCE; for this reason, we have no first-hand written documents of any kind for this period. Thus, our understanding of the Greek Dark Age relies largely on archaeological research. From Greece to Israel, many important cities were abandoned, or burned, perhaps at the hands of people displaced by the collapse of the Mycenaean palace system in the Aegean. Even the mighty empire of Egypt was put under siege as the Pharaohs Meneptah and later Ramesses III fought back attacks from the "Sea Peoples."

Sources: Manual page 111, http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Dark_Age/

William Perdue