Trojan War
1250 BCE to 1190 BCE
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta.
The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology, and is narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer.
The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders.
Other parts of the war are told in a cycle of epic poems, which has only survived in fragments.
Episodes from the war provide material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets like Virgil and Ovid.The war originatea from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest".
The goddesses went to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple.
In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy.
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, lead an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besiege the city for ten years.
After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city falls to the ruse of the Trojan Horse.
The Achaeans slaughter the Trojans and desecrate the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath.
Few of the Achaeans return safely to their homes and many establish colonies in distant shores.
The Romans later trace their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to Italy.The Ancient Greeks thought the Trojan War was a historical event that had taken place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and believed that Troy was located in modern day Turkey near the Dardanelles.
By modern times both the war and the city were widely believed to be non-historical.
In 1870, however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated a site in this area which he identified as Troy; this claim is now accepted by most scholars.
Whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War is an open question.
Many scholars believe that there is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age.
Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War derive from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the 12th or 11th centuries BCE, often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 1194–1184 BCE, which roughly corresponds with archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VIIa.
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A confluence of events, apparently caused mainly by local factors, brings about the downfall of all the major cultures of the Near East and Middle during the Late Bronze Age.
The collapse of the palace systems and the movements of populations does not yet have a completely satisfactory explanation.
The earlier incidents of decay have undoubtedly influenced the collapse that comes later to some extent, but other factors are usually the primary causes.
Possible causes include a combination of factors such as climatic change and drought, harvest failure, starvation, epidemic, civic unrest, and resentment of palace taxes.
Other contributing factors may be the breaking off of trade with the east after the clash of the Hittites and Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh earlier in the thirteenth century, the presence of roving piratical bands of both local peoples and immigrants around the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean (known in the Egyptian records as the Peoples of the Sea) who were hired as temporary allies by several states, and general frictions caused by universally failing economies and alliances.
In any case, the stable states of the wealthy later Bronze Age, which had been bound by commercial exchanges and political alliances, gradually or swiftly collapse into near chaos.
The Hittite king, in addition to his role as the chief ruler, military leader, and supreme judge, is also the earthly deputy of the storm god; upon dying, he himself becomes a god. (Although the religion of the Hittites is only incompletely known, it can be characterized as a tolerant polytheism that includes not only indigenous Anatolian deities but also Syrian and Hurrian divinities.)
Hittite society is essentially feudal and agrarian; the common people are freemen, artisans, or slaves.
Migrants from Thrace begin to settle in northwestern Anatolia late in the second millennium, perhaps earlier than the semi-legendary Trojan War of the late thirteenth or early twelfth century, as the result of a mass movement of peoples from Macedonia.
The Near East (1341–1198 BCE): Religious Restoration, Imperial Ambitions, and Regional Shifts
The End of Akhenaten's Reforms and Restoration under Tutankhamen
Following the death of Akhenaten, his radical monotheistic reforms centered on the sun-disc deity Aten collapse, primarily due to ensuing economic instability and popular resentment. His successor, Tutankhamen (1347–1337 BCE), swiftly restores traditional religious practices, reopening temples, reinstating priesthoods, and reestablishing the worship of the traditional pantheon, especially Amun-Ra. Akhenaten’s capital, Akhetaten (Tell al Amarna), is deserted, symbolizing the rejection of his monotheistic experiment.
The Wealth and Artistry of the New Kingdom
The reign of Tutankhamen leaves a remarkable cultural legacy, best exemplified by the lavish treasures discovered in his nearly intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings. This trove showcases the extraordinary skills of Egyptian artisans in gold, ivory, precious stones, and other fine materials, offering insight into court life and funerary practices of the late Eighteenth Dynasty.
Ramesses II and Monumental Construction
The reign of Ramesses II (1279–1213 BCE) marks the apex of monumental construction in Egypt. His numerous building projects include the impressive Ramesseum, his mortuary temple in Thebes; the great hypostyle hall at Karnak; the massive rock-hewn temples of Abu Simbel; and the establishment of his new capital city, Pi-Ramesses, in the eastern Delta. These constructions signify both the grandeur of his reign and Egypt’s continuing wealth and imperial ambitions.
Military and Diplomatic Endeavors
Ramesses II confronts significant external challenges, notably from the Hittites, leading to the renowned Battle of Kadesh (circa 1274 BCE). Initially a setback, this confrontation eventually results in the first recorded international peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittite Empire, stabilizing regional politics in the face of common threats such as incursions by the enigmatic "Sea Peoples."
Cultural and Social Developments
Egyptian society in this era provides notable autonomy and rights for women. They are able to own property, manage businesses, initiate divorces, and occasionally represent absent husbands in official capacities. However, holding political office remains beyond their reach.
Technological Advancements and Cultural Influence
Significant technological advancements emerge, such as improved chariot design with six-spoked wheels and repositioned axles for stability. Water clocks become more refined, allowing precise measurement of time, critical for religious rituals and governance.
Mycenaean Influence in Western Anatolia
Mycenaean Greek influence extends into western Anatolia, particularly around the city of Miletus (Millawanda), which becomes a central Mycenaean stronghold. Texts from the Hittite archives mention ongoing political struggles and territorial disputes involving Mycenaean rulers, illustrating the dynamic intercultural interactions of this period.
The Late Bronze Age Collapse in Canaan
The period witnesses growing instability in Canaan. Cities like Gezer and Hazor experience repeated cycles of fortification and destruction amid shifting alliances, invasions by nomadic groups such as the Habiru, and Egyptian military interventions. The end of the Late Bronze Age (circa 1250–1150 BCE) marks widespread urban destruction, economic disruption, and Egyptian withdrawal from the region.
The "Trojan War" and Troy VII
Archaeological layer Troy VII at Hissarlik corresponds closely with the legendary city described in Homer’s epic narratives, dated to around the late thirteenth century BCE. The fortifications and extensive food storage facilities indicate preparedness for a prolonged siege, echoing the legendary accounts of conflict described in Greek tradition.
Conclusion
From 1341 to 1198 BCE, the Near East undergoes profound religious shifts, significant military and diplomatic encounters, substantial cultural developments, and major urban upheavals. This transformative era sets the stage for the end of the Bronze Age, significantly reshaping regional politics, economy, and society for centuries to come.
The Trojan War, which is among the most important events in Greek mythology, is to be remembered in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer.
Ancient Greeks thought the Trojan War to be a historical event, believing that it took place in the thirteenth or twelfth century BCE, and that Troy was located in the vicinity of the Dardanelles, which is in modern day Turkey.
Whether there is any historical reality behind the events of the Trojan War cycle is an open question.
Many scholars would agree that there is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Greeks of the Bronze Age or Mycenaean period.
Some scholars believe that the Trojans were a Luwian-speaking people who came into conflict with the Achaean Greeks.
"Ahhiyaiia," which occurs in contemporary texts of the Hittite empire of Anatolia, appears to be the same word as "Achaioi," Homer's name for the Greeks besieging Troy, and possibly refers to such a Mycenaean empire, some lesser state, or its post-Mycenaean successor.
Mycenaean culture has spread through the Aegean to the central sector of the western coast of Anatolia (now in Turkey).
Known as Asia by the early Greeks, it is bounded by the regions of Aeolis on the north and Caria on the south and includes the adjacent islands.
The region consists of a coastal strip about twenty-five miles (forty kilometers) wide, extending from Phocaea at the mouth of the Hermus River in the north to ...
...the territory of Miletus south of the Maeander River, thus extending for a north-south distance of about one hundred miles (one hundred and sixty kilometers).
Its habitable area consists principally of three flat river valleys, the Hermus (modern Gediz), Cayster (Küçük Menderes), and Maeander (Büyük Menderes), that lead down between mountain ranges of five thousand to six thousand feet (fifteeen hundred to eighteen hundred meters) to empty into deeply recessed gulfs of the Aegean coast.
It will come to be known in the tenth century BCE as Ionia.
Miletus, which may first have been a Minoan colony, is first mentioned in the Hittite Annals of Mursili II as Millawanda.
Millawanda in about 1320 BCE supports the rebellion of Uhha-Ziti of Arzawa.
Mursili orders his generals Mala-Ziti and Gulla to raid Millawanda, and they proceed to burn parts of it (damage from LHIIIA:2 has been found on-site: Christopher Mee, Anatolia and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age, p. 142).
In addition, the town is fortified according to a Hittite plan (ibid, p. 139).
Millawanda is then mentioned in the "Tawagalawa letter", written by a Hittite king (generally accepted as Hattusili III) to a king of Ahhiyawa around 1250 BCE and part of a series including the Manapa-Tarhunta letter (about 1295 BCE) and the Milawata letter (about 1240 BCE), all of which are less securely dated.
The Tawagalawa letter notes that Milawata has a governor, Atpa, who is under the jurisdiction of "Ahhiyawa" (a growing state probably in LHIIIB Mycenaean Greece, or possibly in western Anatolia); and that the town of Atriya is under Milesian jurisdiction.
During the LHIIIA:2 period, kings of "Ahhiyawa" began to come to the attention of the Hittites, possibly as rulers of the "Achaean" states.
They rise in LHIIIB almost to the status of the Great Kings in Egypt and Assyria.
The Manapa-Tarhunta letter also mentions Atpa.
Together the two letters tell that the adventurer Piyama-Radu had humiliated Manapa-Tarhunta before Atpa (in addition to other misadventures); a Hittite king then chased Piyama-Radu into Millawanda and, in the Tawagalawa letter, requested Piyama-Radu's extradition to Hatti.
The Hittite king refers in this letter, to former hostilities between the Hittites and the Ahhiyawans over Wilusa, which had now been resolved amicably: "Now as we have come to an agreement on Wilusa over which we went to war..."
The Milawata letter mentions a joint expedition by the Hittite king and a Luwiyan vassal (probably Kupanta-Kurunta of Mira) against Milawata (apparently its new name), and notes that Milawata (and Atriya) are now under Hittite control.
Probably the only Greek-speaking communities on the west coast of Anatolia at this time are the walled Mycenaean colonies at Miletus and ...
...Colophon and ...
...settlements at Iasos and ...
There are Hittite records that apparently mention the maneuvers and political meddling of Greeks in coastal states; they refer to them under the name of Ahhíyawa, probably the equivalent to Homer's Achaeans at Troy.
These records, from the fifteenth through the thirteenth century, are confirmed archaeologically by finds from the cemetery at Müskebi in the south to Panaz Tepe (Phocaea) in the north.
Panaz Tepe has warrior equipment, and apparently, the soldiers take native wives, for the Greeks are buried while the Anatolians are cremated in the same small tholos tombs.