Some European History from 750-500BC

Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Spouses

This post will look at European history for the period from around 750-500BC. While most of the European continent is without written sources for this time period, the Greeks had a written tradition that is readable today and their inscriptions from this time period, as well as the much more voluminous Greek traditions from later time periods, allows us to talk more confidently about this period. The Greek sources also mention some of their European neighbours, for example the Thracians, but these records are less reliable than the ones regarding the Greeks themselves. Much of Europe is not documented at all and for areas such as Ireland, or Scandinavia, it is correct to view them as still being part of prehistory.

By the year 750BC Indo-European languages were spoken in the majority of Europe, with the exception of certain areas such as upper Scandinavia, perhaps parts of Ireland, Crete, Sardinia and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Knowledge of iron-working was widespread at this point, but certain peripheral areas, such as Ireland and Scandinavia seem to have mostly used bronze at this point. For other points about the mid-700’s BC, these are dealt with in greater detail in the previous blog.

Reconstructed fortress at Biskupin

Around the year 700BC the fortified town of Biskupin was built in the region now known as Poland. This was a large island fortress that nevertheless had large wooden fortifications for defence. The builders were part of the Lusation culture, which was a Bronze/Iron Age culture that was related to the Urnfield and subsequent Hallstatt cultures further south in Europe. The fortified town was partially reconstructed by the Poles in the early 20th century, before it was intentionally destroyed by the retreating Nazis in WWII and subsequently rebuilt again after the war. It is one of the more impressive site reconstructions from the time period. I’m a fan of reconstructing history, as long as it can be done in a sensitive manner and without destroying what it purports to represent. We are visual and tactile beings and seeing a reconstruction may help us understand more history than we might otherwise get from a textbook alone.

On the Iberian Peninsula the treasure of El Carambolo dates from around this time. This is an exquisite hoard of golden treasure from the region generally referred to as Tartessos, to the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The golden hoard may be more closely associated with the Phoenicians however, as statues of their deities have been found nearby. It is an impressive hoard of gold regardless of whether its owners were Phoenician colonists or native Tartessians trading with the Phoenicians.

Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave

On the northern regions of the Italian Peninsula, the Villanovan culture gave way to the Etruscan culture around this time. The Etruscans are sometimes viewed as being external migrants to the region and there may be some truth to this. But if certain parts of Etruscan culture were imported from the outside, much of their culture was an evolution of the existing Villanovan culture.

Grave practices did seem to evolve and the tombs became quite elaborate. Cremation was still common, but rather than simply being interred in urns, elaborate sarcophagi and/or tombs were constructed for the nobles. Games for the dead may have formed the foundation for later gladiatorial games in Rome. Roman customs such as celebrating a triumph are also probably of Etruscan origin.

The Etruscan vision of the afterlife influenced later Roman conceptions of Hades and may have ultimately influenced medieval writers such as Dante. Later Roman writers viewed the Etruscans as being continually concerned with divination, augury and religious matters, to the point where they were viewed as almost superstitious.

The Etruscans ultimately formed into a confederation that was referred to as the Twelve Towns. These held an annual council at the shrine of the goddess Voltumna and decided matters between themselves. The League was a very loose one and in practice each city acted nearly independently. However these observations are taken from later sources and may not have been present at the beginning of the Etruscan civilisation.

Dipylon Inscription

In Greece, the earliest writings date from around this time. The two objects generally held to be have the oldest writing are the Dipylon Inscription and the Nestor Cup, both of which are small inscribed pottery pieces. Pottery and terracotta tend to survive the ages well. Even broken, they can be put back together. They cannot be melted down by looters like bronze or gold and once in the ground they can last for a very long time. Hence, why, even if nothing else survives of a culture, the archaeologists may still find the pottery.

It is around this time that Homer is said to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is unclear if the Odyssey and the Iliad were written by the same person, if that person was Homer, or even if Homer existed. But rather than calling the person Anonymous, we may as well call them Homer. These two epics were drawn together from the existing oral tradition of epic poetry. If Homer existed, he was more of a master compiler and editor than an author in the modern sense. We know that the Greek epic tradition was well known in the centuries that immediately followed Homer, but we cannot say for sure that the organisation of the epics was exactly the same as we have them today. The versions of the poems that survive to us are the earliest pieces of European literature extant today. They also have a justified claim to being some of the greatest literary works ever written, but this is subjective.

Artifacts from the Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave

Around the year 650BC the climate in Scandinavia appears to have grown colder. In a probably unrelated development, the Novocherkassk culture of the Pontic steppe, in the lands north of the Black Sea, appears to have disappeared around this time. This is likely because they were subsumed into the Scythian culture that was becoming prominent.

Around this time the Etruscans seem to have developed their own script to write their language in. This was an alphabetic script and was based on the Phoenician and Greek alphabets, both of whom would have traded with the Etruscans. The Etruscans left a large number of inscriptions, but their language appears to be a language isolate and is quite difficult to understand. Thus very little of it can be fully understood.

By around the year 600BC the Scythians seem to have become dominant in the Pontic steppes. They were a nomadic tribe of horse-riders. The Greeks feared them as barbarians and saw them as “other”. Like other steppe peoples before them, they buried their dead in Kurgans and carried their wealth in horses, cattle and gold. Their religion is not well known, but their artwork seems to have motifs of deer, birds and leopards in a ceaseless struggle against each other. This may be an artistic trope rather than a religious belief however. The Scythians were said to practice human sacrifice as well.

Strettweg Cult Wagon

The Strettweg Cult Wagon appears to date from around this time as well. This was a bronze grave offering found in the tomb of a Hallstatt culture Celtic chieftain in what is now the region of Austria. The wagon is an elaborate four-wheeled creation with figures of warriors, worshippers, horsemen and deer surrounding a larger female figure bearing something upon her head, usually displayed as a bronze bowl although this is now disputed. It is a striking artwork and one that is usually used as a depiction of the Hallstatt Celts. It is still not entirely clear what the Cult Wagon is actually depicting. While it is probably a religious ceremony of some sort, it is hard to say more than this.

An even more mysterious memory from this time is the Girl of the Uchter Moor. The body of a girl was found in a bog in what is now Germany. She was dated to have lived around this time. However, she had not been cremated, nor were there grave goods found with her body. The girl was well-preserved and 17-19 years old. She had been malnourished and had clearly had a hard life, with her skeleton showing signs of lifting very heavy loads. She was clearly not a high-status woman and the fact that she was naked when buried in the bog suggests that this was not a burial, but an ancient crime scene.

Reconstruction of the Girl of the Uchter Moor

Maiden Castle was first built in Britain around this time. This would go on to later become one of the most spectacular ancient fortifications in the British Isles, but the initial fort was much more modest.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the Southwest Paleohispanic script, sometimes known as the Tartessian script, was developed. This was probably the third oldest European alphabetic script, after the Greek and the Etruscan, although the Latin alphabet may predate it. The Tartessian alphabet was actually a semi-syllabary and thus contained a number of redundant signs. It was almost developed after contact with the Phoenician script, but is not a direct copy, as the Phoenicians had no need for syllabic signs. The sounds can be guessed at by the connections to the Phoenician alphabet, but the language itself is not understood. It may be a non-Indo-European language.

Around the year 550 a Celtic chieftain was buried with great splendour in what is now the small village of Hochdorf in Germany. The mound was a large one, but had gradually sunk into the ground and had been lost to history. This obscurity saved it from looting and the golden objects survive to this day. The man buried here was doubtless of great importance, almost certainly a chieftain or a king. He was middle-aged, perhaps around 40 years old. The tomb held a wagon that was covered in iron and which carried grave goods to be wheeled into the next world. A great cauldron was filled with mead for feasting and the chieftain himself wore gold and amber. It was a magnificent burial and a sign of the grandeur of the Celtic world.

In the Italian Peninsula, an Etruscan couple were buried in the necropolis at Caere (now known as Cervetari). Their sarcophagus for their ashes was decorated with a scene of the couple reclining lovingly in each other’s arms as for a feast. It is a perhaps the most iconic piece of Etruscan sculpture. It was made in terracotta and was once painted, although this has faded. It is displayed in the Etruscan Museum in Rome. This artistic motif of a banqueting couple may once have been a common one, as a similar sarcophagus is preserved in the Louvre.

Duenos Inscription

Further south, in Rome, the first inscriptions in Latin begin to appear around this time. The probable oldest writing in Rome is on the Lapis Niger, in the Roman Forum. However another candidate for the oldest Latin inscription is the Duenos Inscription, which is on a small pottery piece held in the Altes Museum in Berlin. Another candidate for oldest Latin inscription is the Praenestine fibula, but there is still some doubt over the exact dating of this artefact.

In Greece, the main period of colonisation, of the sending out of spare citizens to explore and make new cities in new lands, came to an end around this period. Occasionally new colonies were sent out, but for various reasons, including needing increased manpower for hoplite warfare and increased participation of the hoplite class in government, the Greek cities generally ceased to send colonies.

The Greeks had mostly stopped sending colonists to conquer new territory, but around this time Thales, an Ionian Greek from the city of Miletus in Asia Minor, became the first philosopher in the Greek tradition. He also has some claim to the title of first scientist as well. Thales believed that water was the primordial entity and that all things came from water. This is of course wrong, but Thales is perhaps the first person known to us who attempted to rationally explain the world without reference to the gods. Much of what later became philosophy and science and all the sub-disciplines and related disciplines of these two endeavours, stems from this moment.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Around the time of 500BC the Iron Age arrived in Ireland, as well as into the Scandinavian region. The Celts probably also arrived in Ireland around this time, although it is not clear if there was a large migration from Europe or Britain into Ireland, or if it was a small migration that gradually spread the culture and language. The latter option is perhaps more likely.

The Celtic world on the mainland was also changing. The Hallstatt art style was beginning to be superseded by a newer style of Celtic art, known as La Tene. This was named after a village in Switzerland where a huge variety of objects had been dropped as votive offerings in an Alpine lake. The art style gives its name to the culture, which is said to supersede Hallstatt culture, although the change was primarily a stylistic one. The art style is one that most people would identify as Celtic, including the spirals and curving lines so associated with Celtic art. But the art style was probably also taken up by speakers of non-Celtic languages as well.

Around this time the actual Celtic settlement of Hallstatt seems to have been abandoned and looted. This would almost certainly have nothing to do with the change in art style, but was more likely to be tied to a nearby salt mine becoming unproductive. As the settlement shifted away to a new source of income, the abandoned town was looted by those who were leaving or by surrounding peoples.

The Lepontic and South Picene alphabets may date from this time. These are poorly attested alphabets from the Italian Peninsula. The Lepontic script (also known as the Lugano Alphabet) is from the Alpine region and probably was used by the Celtic inhabitants of the region, who would have been visited by Greek and Etruscan traders.

The South Picene alphabet is from the east of the peninsula. The people on the other side of the Apennine Mountains from the Etruscans developed their own script. Only around 20 inscriptions remain and it appears to be heavily influenced by the Etruscan alphabet. However because the language is Indo-European the inscriptions are (generally) readable.

Pyrgi Tablets

The Pyrgi Tablets, perhaps the most important Rosetta Stone like object for the Etruscan alphabet, dates from around this time. These are a collection of three golden sheets inscribed with Etruscan and Phoenician inscriptions. The tablets have aided a great deal in the better understanding of Etruscan, but the inscriptions do not seem to match exactly and the fact that Etruscan is itself an unknown language makes further advances with Etruscan inscriptions difficult.

An Etruscan artist in the city of Veii created the Apollo of Veii, a terracotta statue of the god Apollo disputing with the hero Heracles. This was as part of a scene to decorate a temple. The artwork is quite advanced and nearly on a par with the Greek Archaic statuary that was current in Greece at the time.

In the year 513BC King Darius I of Persia, ruler of the largest empire in the world at the time, launched an expedition across the Bosphorus into Europe. This was aimed at conquering the Thracians, Macedonians and Scythians. The Thracians and the Macedonians were quickly brought into the Persian Empire, but Herodotus records that the Persians had to cross the Danube to face the Scythians. The Persians marched fast but the Scythians retreated faster and even though Darius was said to have crossed both the Dnieper and the Don and advanced all the way to the edges of the Caucasus, he was unable to bring the steppe warriors to battle as he had wished. The Persians retreated to the Danube and returned to Asia.

In the year 509BC it is said that the Romans overthrew their last king, Tarquinius Superbus, a man of Etruscan descent, and established the Roman Republic. The foundation of the Republic has many legends associated with it and the date in particular is not fixed. However, this is the traditional date and I have mentioned it here.

Gold dress fasteners from Bronze Age Ireland

In the year 508BC, we can say with more certainty that the Athenians, having finally got rid of their tyrants two years previously, began to move towards a participatory democracy. I have spoken at length of Greek history elsewhere and the reader can check the associated blogs, but I feel it useful to give context as to what is happening in Europe.

Thus the period draws to a close, with La Tene Celtic culture becoming the dominant culture in central Europe and iron-working technology spreading entirely across Europe. In the Iberian Peninsula Phoenician influence is growing in importance, while in the Italian Peninsula Greek cities have been established in the south, the Etruscan civilisation is flourishing in the north, and between these lies the small and hitherto insignificant city of Rome. The period sees Europe move more fully into the historical period, with the beginnings of Greek philosophy and science and from this point onwards, much more can be said.

Related Blog Posts:
Some European history from 4000-3000BC
Some European history from 3000-2000BC
Some European History from 2000-1500BC
Some European History from 1500-1000BC
Some European History from 1000-750BC
Some European History from 750-500BC

Some European History from 1000-750BC

Golden Hat of Berlin

This post will look at European history for the period from around 1000-750BC. Due to the lack of sources we will have no real written records to rely on. This means that to look at history for this place and time we have to rely primarily on the archaeological record. This is fine and useful, but like all methods of looking at history it has its flaws and caution must be used. The dates in particular must be treated with caution. Some of the issues with dating have been dealt with in the previous post on European history. 

By the year 1000BC, Indo-European languages had probably reached nearly every part of Europe, although some areas, such as upper Scandinavia, perhaps parts of Ireland, Crete, Sardinia and parts of the Iberian Peninsula may not have spoken Indo-European languages. The Bronze Age had now spread across practically the entire continent, but was slowly being replaced by the new iron-working knowledge from the Middle East. While there were few trade routes as such, the Amber Road, which brought the prized amber from the Baltic, through the Moravian Gate and into central and southern Europe. 

Iron Age houses

In the century of the 1000’s BC the last remnants of civilisation on Crete appear to disappear. This had been known as the Sub-Minoan Age and was perhaps the last place where the palace organisations survived. But eventually this too was abandoned. It seems that Crete had a non-Greek speaking population until the 3rd century BC. This language, known as Eteocretan, was very likely to be a descendant language of the language spoken by the Minoans. Very few inscriptions remain; enough to be tantalising but not enough to translate satisfactorily, and some of those few were destroyed in World War II. Enough remains however to show that it has no clear relationship with Indo-European languages or any other known language family. 

Far to the north of Europe, it is around this time that the speakers of Uralic languages began to inhabit the northern reaches of Scandinavia. The languages spoken by these people would eventually evolve into Sami, Finnish and Estonian. 

Artifact from Hallstatt

Also in Scandinavia, at the site of Uppsala in Sweden, a great mound was made around this time called the Håga Mound. It is one of the largest Bronze Age burials in Europe and was larger even than the King’s Mound in Scania. Uppsala, where this tomb lay, would be an important cultural and religious centre in Scandinavia. It was the largest pre-Christian temple of the pagans and even today is the home of an old cathedral that was built at the site after the Christianisation of Sweden. The Håga Mound itself was excavated in 1902 by, among others, a young Swedish prince with a love for archaeology who later became King Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden. 

On the Balearic Islands of Minorca and Mallorca a new culture, known as the Talaiotic Culture, arose around this time. Like the torri of Corsica or the nuraghes of Sardinia, the taliots of the Balearic Islands were tower-like structures that appeared all over the islands. They do however appear to be somewhat later than the nuraghes and it is unclear if the two phenomenon are related. 

This period also saw the burial of a huge cache of gold known as the Treasure of Villena. This was the largest Bronze Age treasure from all of Europe. The hoard was discovered in Spain and contained gold, silver, iron and amber. Despite the fact that the prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula is poorly known outside the region and often is not talked about, the sheer volume of treasure found at this one site, outweighed the golden goods of the Mycenaean graves. 

One of the major shifts that was happening quietly around this time was that the use of iron was beginning to spread throughout Europe. The Treasure of Villena contained iron, but it seemed to be a valuable metal that was used more for a decoration. The Iron Age refers to a time when iron was so cheap and economical to use that people used it more than bronze or stone for their tools and weapons. It is the ubiquity of the material that makes the age. Slowly but steadily iron-working technology was spreading westward and northwards across Europe and bronze would be gradually used less. Thus the Iron Age came by slow degrees to Europe. 

Urns of the Urnfield culture

Culturally, much of continental Europe was dominated by the Urnfield culture, where the dead were generally buried in urns. Cremation was common. Bronze was the main metal of choice, even as the use of iron began to spread through the tribal lands. Warrior elites fought from chariots with spoked wheels. Large fortified settlements were built atop hills, while in the lakes of the Alpine regions, houses were built on piles driven into the lakes to protect the dwellers from those who roamed the shores. In central Europe, though not necessarily outside it, the Urnfield culture may have corresponded loosely to the speakers of proto-Celtic, though we must be careful of confusing material cultures with linguistic ones. 

Two more of the enigmatic Golden Hats were created around this time. The Golden Cone of Ezelsdorf-Buch and the Avanton Gold Cone date from around this period. The astronomical features of these golden hats and other earlier artefacts such as the Trundholm Sun chariot might suggest that the Urnfield culture peoples, and the peoples of the Nordic Bronze Age cultures, might have primarily worshipped the sun. But this is speculation. 

The Golden Hat of Berlin

Around the year 950 the Golden Hat of Berlin was made. Like the Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, the Golden Cone of Ezelsdorf-Buch and the Avanton Gold Cone, this was an ornate golden hat, beaten out of thin sheet gold and covered with intricate spirals, similar in construction to the Mold Cape from Britain. The metallurgy needed to create such a perfect work from such a tiny amount of gold showed that the tribes of northern Europe had master goldsmiths. The golden hat would have been worn atop a hat of other materials and was probably worn for religious purposes. The symbols on the hat were probably astronomical in nature and may have represented the astronomical knowledge of the wise men of these tribes. 

The hat was deliberately buried with earth inside it to preserve its shape. The shape of the hat is tall, with a broad brim. The Berlin Hat is, in my opinion, the finest of the late Bronze Age Golden Hats and is well worth a visit to the Neues Museum in Berlin. 

I wonder if there was some cultural memory of old wise people wearing tall hats that transferred to a later wizard stereotype. It probably is a mere coincidence but I cannot look at any of the golden hats (there are four that are known to us) without considering the possibility of a Bronze Age Gandalf.

Around the year 900BC the Proto-Villanovan culture ended in Italy and was replaced by the Villanovan culture. This was more of a gradual evolution rather than a violent replacement. The Proto-Villanovan and Villanovan were both derived from or influenced by the Urnfield culture that was dominant in central Europe in previous centuries. 

Villanovan burial urn

The Villanovan culture roughly coincided with the spread of iron working to the Italian Peninsula. Their warriors wore elaborately crested helms and they had a warrior culture similar to the other regions of Europe. Not much more can be said of this culture, although those who came afterwards would be famed. 

Around this time the Phoenicians, who lived on the Levantine coast, began to send colonies throughout the Mediterranean. These were mostly in the eastern Mediterranean or in Africa to begin with, but not long afterwards Phoenician colonies would be settled in the Iberian Peninsula, on the island of Sicily and along the southern coasts of what is now France. There is the possibility that Phoenician colonisation began some centuries earlier, but this is debateable. 

Around the year 850 the Eberswalde Hoard was buried in the region that is now Germany. This was a hoard of the late Bronze Age, although the Iron Age was coming to that region of the world. There over 80 gold objects, mostly gold spirals and bangles, but including some beautifully decorated gold bowls. The treasure was stored in Germany and disappeared to Russia in the aftermath of WWII. A reproduction can now be viewed in Germany. 

Around the year 800BC the Urnfield Culture is generally viewed as coming to an end and the Hallstatt Culture is said to have evolved out of the parent Urnfield Culture. The Hallstatt Culture was named after a burial site at a village called Hallstatt in Austria. Over 1,300 burials were found, spanning a period of centuries. The distinctive artwork found in certain of these graves has given rise to the name of the culture. The Hallstatt culture, in the areas west of Hallstatt, are generally associated with the culture later known as Celtic. 

Around this time the Iron Age seems to have reached the island of Britain. Strangely enough the technology does not seem to have crossed over to Ireland, perhaps because there were large quantities of copper on Ireland that made bronze cheaper to produce than in other areas. 

Giant of Mont’e Prama

Around this time the people of the Nuraghic culture, on the island of Sardinia, built a huge tomb, possibly an entire necropolis. This tomb, near Mont’e Prama, was flanked (probably) with large statues carved as outsized warriors. The artwork might appear crude to us, but the site was subject to extensive looting after its discovery and many of the most impressive sculptures are probably missing. The dating of this tomb and these statues is problematic. They could date anywhere between 1000-300BC. I have written about them during this time period, but this is merely one interpretation. It is worth remembering that there were little known civilisations who nevertheless produced artworks. Without writing it is of course difficult to say more. 

On the Pontic steppe, in the areas now referred to as Ukraine and southern Russia, the Novocherkassk culture began. These were a steppe people who buried their dead in kurgans. Like other steppe peoples they appear to have been very concerned with horses and cattle, but not much more can be said of them. 

In the year 776BC the first Olympic Games in Greece are said to be held and the Greeks dated their Olympiads from this date. There is no contemporary evidence of this event and I would be wary of taking the date overly seriously. But there is no real reason to discount it automatically either. 

Spread of Celtic culture across Europe

In the year 753BC Rome was said to have been founded by Romulus. As with the Olympic dating in the previous decades, there is no contemporary evidence of this and there is a strong chance that it is legendary. However, it is likely that there were some village settlements on the hills of Rome during this time and that they may have begun to amalgamate themselves in or around this time period. Possibly they did this under the guidance of a charismatic tribal leader: Possibly his name was Romulus. But while not impossible we cannot leave it unquestioned either. 

The Oracle of Delphi was probably established by around the mid-700’s BC. This was a prophetess cult in Central Greece. Volcanic vapours wafted into a cavern over which a temple was later built. A woman specially chosen for the purpose would be sent into the cave for some time, before emerging in a euphoric trance speaking prophecies, which might or might not be intelligible. Those who came to the Pythia, for so she was called, would have these replies cast into a definite form by the priests and this guidance led most of the Greek world. Whenever a Greek individual or city wished to do anything of importance they would first consult the Oracle and thus it became the main focal point of the Greek world. 

Reconstruction of the Eberswalde Hoard

It was around this time that the Greeks were beginning to emerge from their Dark Ages. Greek cities, while still small and relatively poor compared to the cities of Egypt or the Near East, were now suffering from overpopulation. To solve the problems of overpopulation and discontent, Greek cities would send away colonies, groups of perhaps a thousand or more people to found a new city in faraway lands. There would be generally good ties between the parent city and the child colony, but many of the colonies became major cities in their own right. The prospective colonists would consult the Oracle who would give advice on where and how to settle the new lands. After this the Greeks would sail out into the frightening waters, for navigation was still an uncertain art for the Greeks. They would come into conflict with the Carthaginians who were already colonising and trading in the Mediterranean. 

Treasure of Aliseda

One of the most important markets for both the Carthaginians and the Greeks was the semi-mythical city of Tartessos. This was probably located in the region of southern Spain/Portugal, past the Pillars of Heracles, but south of the Tagus. Archaeology has shown that there was a rich culture in the region, but it is unclear exactly where the city of Tartessos itself existed, if it did exist. 

The Greek accounts are contradictory as to where exactly it lay and there is the possibility that Tartessos was not an exact place. The Phoenicians of Tyre, Sidon and Carthage were the main commercial contacts of Tartessos and jealously guarded their secrets. The confusion over Tartessos may be as the result of contradictory tales put about by the Phoenicians to protect their trade secrets. 

Tartessos may even be mentioned in the Bible a number of times, as the Biblical writers mention a trading port named Tarshish across the sea to the west. But they give few further details of this strange place. 

Villanovan Helmet

Possibly the most important change that occurred around the mid-700’s BC was the creation of the Greek alphabet, adopted from the Phoenician alphabet. This is the ancestor of the current Greek alphabet, as well as the ancestor of many of the alphabets in use in the world today. While no texts survive from this exact time period, the script must have been invented around this time, as many inscriptions appear shortly afterwards. This means that after several centuries of near total silence, at least one European civilisation could transmit their writings to later generations. 

And thus the period draws to a close, with the Iron Age technology spreading westwards across the continent, but with the fringe regions still primarily using bronze. The proto-Celtic Urnfield Culture had evolved into the primarily Celtic Hallstatt culture. Great advances were being made in Greece, which was once again linked by trading ties to the Near East and the Greek region is about to re-enter the field of history rather than prehistory.

Related Blog Posts:
Some European history from 4000-3000BC
Some European history from 3000-2000BC
Some European History from 2000-1500BC
Some European History from 1500-1000BC
Some European History from 1000-750BC
Some European History from 750-500BC

The Early Iron Age and the Death of Kings: Part I

This blog post is about the aftermath of the Bronze Age Collapse. I have written fairly extensively about the Late Bronze Age in the Middle East, with articles on the period as a whole, on the Mitanni and the Pharaoh Akhenaten in particular. At some point I may write some dedicated articles on Hittite history, the Kassites, the Battle of Kadesh and other interesting topics, as there is a wealth of material on this period. But in case the reader is tired of hearing of the Late Bronze Age I’m going to try to advance the narrative in the meantime and move on to the early Iron Age, in my very slow, very haphazard, piecemeal history of the world. I will not give absolute dates, as dating in this era is not entirely agreed upon and many of the kings mentioned have multiple names. I will use the most common English names for the kings and/or call out where my usage differs.

Many of the quotations given here are taken from the very interesting reshafim.org site which can be found here. A lot of enjoyable reads have been posted on this site.

In the Bronze Age Collapse, the civilisations collapsed at a different rate and to a different extent. The collapse was the worst in the west, with Mycenaean Greece falling utterly. Its settlements were abandoned and its writing system forgotten. The Hittites were destroyed but a small remnant survived in Syria. Egypt, Assyria and Babylon survived but were weakened. Elam appears to have actually grown stronger. I will try to give the history of roughly 1200-1000BC, moving from west to east (in a geographically confused fashion).

A later Greek depiction of Heracles

Around 1200BC the Mycenaean cities and palaces were burned. Some time may have elapsed between the burnings but textual evidence is non-existent and carbon dating is unable to provide great precision. Eventually some of the citadels were reoccupied and may have even flourished briefly before the final abandonment. The relatively unimportant citadel of Athens appears to not have been destroyed. Possibly it was overlooked, but it is more likely that they collaborated in the destruction. There is a legend that the sons of Heracles (Hercules) were expelled from the Peloponnese (where Mycenaean power was strongest) and stayed at Athens before returning generations later to attack the king of Mycenae.

If there is any truth to this legend it would suggest that the invaders may have been part of a civil war and that the inhabitants of Attica were on good terms with the invaders. However, this is to read a great deal into myth. Myth is fascinating, but we do have to be cautious. There are so many (quite wonderful) Greek myths, that it is possible to make all sorts of theories and selectively use myth to create elaborate justifications for them.

Building from the Iron Age in Lefkandi

For whatever reason, Attica was spared the general destruction, as were the islands. There was a migration from the Peloponnese to the islands of Euboea and elsewhere in the Aegean. Greek speakers began to colonise the western coast of Asia Minor over the next few hundred years, ringing the Aegean with Greek speaking settlements. Many of these settlements spoke an Ionic dialect, which they shared with Attica, but few other places on the mainland. The Peloponnese spoke a Doric dialect of Greek with the notable exception of the highlands of Arcadia to the north. Again, people have made a great deal of this, treating the Ionic speakers as fugitives from the old Mycenaean kingdom and the Doric speakers as the descendants of the invaders, but the situation is almost certainly more complicated. In history, things are always complicated.

Almost nothing of note would be created in Greece for the two hundred years under discussion. However, pottery styles changed from the Mycenaean styles to a variety of localised styles and iron weapons became widespread throughout the region. On the island of Euboea, a town now known as Lefkandi has some buildings dating from slightly after this period, with the main structure of the small settlement being a large ritual building with a major burial there. There were later burials in the vicinity and it is speculated that this was a “heroon”, meaning the tomb of a hero. Perhaps this was a community’s way of commemorating a great warrior leader who was reverenced by his community after his passing and whose remains were the focus of his community. The size of the structure compared to the settlement suggests that the towns of this time were quite isolated and were controlled by single rulers. Apart from this, there is not much that can really be said for Greece at this period. The fall had been total, but the subsequent rise in centuries to come was to be dazzling.

And all of the cities of the land of Carchemish, Murmurik, Shipri, Mazuwati and Šurun – these fortified cities– I gave to my son (Piyassili).
Detail from the Suppililiuma-Shattiwazza treaty telling of the creation of the Hittite viceroy in Carchemish

Hittite relief from Carchemish

The Hittite collapse was vicious also but not quite as complete as in Mycenae. After Suppiluliuma I had captured Carchemish (a major city on the Euphrates in Syria) from the Mitanni, there had been a powerful viceroy set up in the city to rule as a deputy and representative of the royal house. The deputy was Piyassili, a son of the king Suppiluliuma and he was treated as a de facto minor king in his own right, with his descendants succeeding to his throne. When the last king of the Hittites (Suppiluliuma II) disappears from history, Talmi-Teshub was ruling in Carchemish. His son, Kuzi-Teshub, proclaimed himself as a Great King upon his succession. The main Hittite Empire was no more but many refugees must have fled to the southern cities and for a time the empire survived in a truncated form in Carchemish. Another important state, Milid, survived. Initially it was dependent on Carchemish but soon it, like other cities, became independent and became a flourishing centre in its own right. The site is known today as Arslantepe.

Hittite reliefs from Carchemish

How Hittite these kingdoms really were is subject to interpretation. The main Hittite dialect was almost extinct and nearly all the inscriptions are in Luwian, a related Indo-European language. The native inhabitants of the region spoke Semitic tongues, particularly Aramaic; the language of the new tribesmen that had moved into the region. Carchemish had no ability to hold an empire together so a group of states that are referred to as Neo-Hittite formed a loose confederation in the north of Syria. These survived and kept the Hittite legacy alive until they were crushed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries.

Ramesses III had stemmed the worst of the assault on Egypt. The Sea Peoples had been defeated in the Battle of the Delta and even though Egyptian influence was now minimal in its old Syro-Palestinian empire, the Egyptians still controlled Sinai. However, despite Ramesses III’s claims to have saved Egypt and his magnificent temple building, unrest seems to have grown in the later years of his reign. There are records of food shortages, workers strikes and increases in the price of bread.

The stresses of this turbulent period may have fostered dissent. Possibly the dissent had nothing to do with external pressures and was simply the result of palace intrigue but for whatever reason, a conspiracy against the Pharaoh was hatched. Tiye, a wife of the Pharaoh, appears to have wanted her son Pentawer to inherit the throne. A host of accomplices who used black magic to subvert the guards’ defences attacked the king at night while he was in Thebes in Upper Egypt to celebrate the Heb Sed ritual. According to some documents the Pharaoh may have initially survived an attack by poison before expiring later. Modern analysis of the embalmed body of the Pharaoh tells a different story. Hidden under thick bandages, analysis showed that a deep cut had been made to the throat of the king; a cut that could not have been survived for more than minutes. Perhaps it was a mercy killing, perhaps a second conspiracy or perhaps our readings of the documents were simply wrong.

He arrived at the side of the harem, this other large, deep place. He began to make people of wax, inscribed, in order that they might be taken in by the inspector, Errem, [hindering] one troop and bewitching the others, that a few words might be taken in, and others brought out. Now, when he was examined concerning them, truth was found in every crime and in every evil (deed), which his heart had devised to do. There was truth therein, he had done them all, together with the other great criminals, the abomination of every god and every goddess all together. The great punishments of death were executed upon him, of which the gods have said: "Execute them upon him.
Lee Papyrus, describing the magic rituals used by the conspirators to assist in their assassination attempt

The mummy of Ramesses III
with heavy bandaging on the neck

 The conspirators were caught by the favoured heir, Ramesses IV, who allowed judges to examine and pass judgement upon the conspirators. The high ranked Prince Pentawer, who was to have become Pharaoh, was allowed to kill himself, allowing him to enter the afterlife in disgrace. The lower ranked conspirators were probably burned alive, thus denying them entry to the afterlife in any form; a terrible punishment designed to destroy in both this life and the next. The fate of Queen Tiye, the instigator of the conspiracy, is unknown.

Ramesses IV succeeded to the throne in 1155 and reigned over a diminishing kingdom. Ramesses IV was perhaps the last Pharaoh of this dynasty to have led expeditions into the Sinai Desert (Ramesses VI may have been to Megiddo but the evidence is unclear). Beyond the Sinai Egyptian power was minimal. Monuments were built on an epic scale but the priesthood of Amun (the god of Thebes who was given prominence during the New Kingdom, when many of the dynasties were based in Thebes) was becoming a force that would rival the monarchy. The priesthood controlled large tracts of land and had considerable incomes. When the monarchy was focused on the north, on Lower Egypt, then the priesthood could act autonomously in the south. During the reign of Ramesses V there were attacks by Libyan raiders and increasing fortifications were made for the temples of Thebes, showing that the state was becoming increasingly unstable. Ramesses V may have been overthrown by his brother, who reigned as Ramesses VI. Ramesses VII and Ramesses VIII are not well known but grain prices increased during their reigns.

Ramesses IV

These are the tombs and sepulchres in which the nobles, the […], the Theban women, and the people of the land rest, on the west of the city; it was found that the thieves had broken into them all, that they had pulled out their occupants from their coverings and coffins, they (the occupants) being thrown upon the ground; and that they had stolen their articles of house-furniture, which had been given them, together with the gold, the silver, and the ornaments which were in their coverings.
The Abbot Papyrus giving an investigation into the tomb robberies in the time of Ramesses IX

During the reign of Ramesses IX it was found that there had been a spate of tomb robberies in the Valley of the Kings, with many of even the royal tombs opened and plundered. The mayor of Thebes was implicated but not convicted. It was a sign that royal authority and the rule of law itself was becoming weak. The graves were supposedly protected by curses and spells and the desperation that would lead the thieves to risk disturbing the royal dead cannot have augured well for the dynasty.

Then the High Priest of Amun, Menkheperre, triumphant, went to the great god, saying: "As for any person, of whom they shall report before thee, saying, `A slayer of living people … (is he); thou shalt destroy him, thou shalt slay him." Then the great god nodded exceedingly, exceedingly.
The Banishment Stele, telling of the High Priest of Thebes punishing rebels who had attacked the temple. In ancient Egypt statues were sometimes moved by priests to show the god assenting to the verdict.

The threat of Libyan raiders was still present during the reign of Ramesses X, with workers on the royal tombs neglecting their work for fear of attack. During the reign of Ramesses XI, the last king of the Twentieth Dynasty, the effective power seems to have been in the hands of Piankh, the High Priest of Amun. The Pharaoh died leaving no successor and was buried by Smendes, who claimed the title of Pharaoh. Smendes only really ruled Lower Egypt, with his capital being based at Tanis. However, the Pharaoh made no attempt to try and wrest back control of Upper Egypt from the priests, probably recognising that his own power base was weak.

Magnificent death mask of Psusennes I

Smendes was succeeded by Amenenmisu, who is almost invisible to history before being succeeded by Psusennes I. Psusennes reigned for over thirty years and married the daughter of the High Priest of Thebes, uniting the two ruling families of Egypt. His burial goods have been discovered and are truly spectacular despite the weak state of Egypt at the time. It has been discovered how the Pharaohs of the Twenty-First Dynasty were able to bury themselves in such splendour. Previously the robbery of tombs had been done by corrupt officials and desperate guards and workmen; now it was being carried out by kings; papering over the poverty of their state by stealing from those who had reigned before them.

This blog post is rather long so I will split the narrative here and speak of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Elamite civilisations in a following post.

Related Blog Posts:
The Bronze Age Collapse: I (c. 1200BC)
The Bronze Age Collapse: II (c. 1200BC)
The Bronze Age Collapse: III (c. 1200BC)
The Early Iron Age and the Death of Kings: I (c.1200-1000BC)
The Early Iron Age and the Death of Kings: II (c.1200-1000BC)
The 10th Century BC (c.1000-900BC)