Presented by Eric H. Cline, Ph.D.
Professor of Classics, History, and Anthropology; Director, GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute, The George Washington University
Join Dr. Eric Cline for an evening of ancient history!
In the years after 1177 BCE, many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost.
In this illustrated talk, Dr. Cline will trace the compelling story of what happened during the next four centuries across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean world. It is a story of resilience, transformation, and success, as well as failures, in an age of chaos and reconfiguration. Those who failed to adjust disappeared from the world stage, while others transformed themselves, resulting in a new world order that included world-changing innovations such as the use of iron and the alphabet.
It is now clear that this period, far from being the First Dark Age, was a new age with new inventions, new opportunities, and lessons for us today. It was also a period that led to opportunities for new peoples to establish themselves in the area. These included the Israelites, who may have taken advantage of the power vacuum caused by the turmoil at the end of the Late Bronze Age as well as the Egyptian withdrawal from Canaan to settle down and establish themselves in the region.
This may be the context in which we should understand the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, and, ultimately, the establishment of the United Monarchy of David and Solomon and then the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Registration is no longer open for this program. You can enjoy this talk, along with many other on our Program Recording Archive.
Dr. Eric H. Cline is Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology, the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and the current Director of the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute.
He is a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright scholar, an NEH Public Scholar, a Getty Scholar, and an award-winning teacher and author.
In May 2015, Muhlenberg College awarded him an honorary doctoral degree (honoris causa).