Late Bronze Age Collapse swept the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East from 1220 BC to 1170 BC, erasing palace centers in Greece and destabilising the Hittite, Assyrian, Kassite, and New Kingdom realms.

Archaeologists rely on destruction layers, thin ash or rubble deposits that mark sudden burning or demolition, to map the collapse’s timing. Epigraphic evidence from clay tablets offers limited dates, while the absence of precise stratigraphy keeps precise chronology elusive.

The devastation moved as a wave: first the Aegean palaces, then Anatolia, the Levant, and finally Egypt. Some sites slipped into decline slowly or avoided destruction altogether, revealing uneven regional impacts.

Long‑distance trade in tin and copper underpinned these empires; disruptions in metallurgy and tribute routes amplified instability. The collapse demonstrates how intertwined trade, military logistics, and political reach can drive systemic failure.