Bronze Age Collapse

A catastrophic period that saw the fall of multiple Bronze Age civilizations including the Hittite Empire, Mycenaean Greece, and various Canaanite city-states. The causes likely included climate change, invasions by “Sea Peoples,” and systemic economic collapse.

This upheaval created a power vacuum in Canaan, coinciding with the period of Israelite settlement described in the books of Joshua and Judges.