3200 years ago, powerful civilizations suddenly collapsed - scientists have several theories as to why this happened

3200 years ago, humanity was at its peak. Throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and the Near East, a collection of complex and highly organized civilizations were linked together by diplomacy, trade, and exchange, but then everything collapsed.

Some of the major societies that were affected by what is known as the "collapse of the Bronze Age" were the Mesopotamian Empire of Central Assyria, the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Babylonians, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the Trojans, the Mycenaeans in mainland Greece, and the Minyus in Crete.

For most of these societies, what followed was a somewhat "dark" period with few technological or cultural advances and social stagnation.

Societies became popular during the Bronze Age, a period that began around 3300 BC and was marked by the use of bronze tools, which were produced by melting copper and mixing it with wheat, arsenic or other metals.

This technological advance created a stronger and more durable material than earlier metals, giving these societies a great advantage in weapons, tool making, engineering, and art.

This revolution laid the foundations for the development of large urban centers, the creation of complex social hierarchies, and the invention of various writing systems, such as sign writing.

For reasons that are not clear, this successful network collapsed around the 12th century BC.

In his 2014 book on the collapse of the Late Bronze Age, American archaeologist Eric Cline points to 1177 BC as the decisive moment when things took a sharp turn for the worse.

However, as he notes, complex systems take time to develop. Over several decades, uprisings, wars broke out, cities were destroyed, writings disappeared and cultures seemed to be wiped from the planet.

Historians have offered various explanations for the collapse of societies.

A long explanation is the arrival of a new dominating force "Sea Peoples". This supposed group of predatory invaders left no monuments or writings, so their identity is very unclear and their existence continues to be widely debated. They were not a single culture, but a diverse group of groups from different parts of the Mediterranean.

Regardless of their identity, their arrival may explain the widespread abandonment of cities across Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan, Cyprus and Egypt between the 13th and 12th centuries BC. IFLScience.

There is also the possibility that some civilizations have collapsed from within through a general systems collapse. Scholars have noted that many Bronze Age societies had "centralized, complex, and burdensome" political structures that made them vulnerable to inequality and exploitation, which led to social insecurity.

Another explanation is that there was an ecological catastrophe. A 2013 study examined pollen grains from ancient lake sediments in the region and found evidence of climate change at the time.

This ecological change, according to the study's authors, caused widespread droughts, food shortages and famine.

The consequences were mass migration, social encirclement, and these once powerful civilizations became vulnerable to invaders, perhaps the Sea Peoples.

Studies have also highlighted the culinary explosion in Crete at the end of the 3rd millennium BC, although there is limited evidence that this had an impact on other societies.

As Cline points out in his book, the collapse of the Bronze Age probably cannot be explained by a single factor.

Instead, he suggests it was a "perfect storm of disasters", including many of the themes mentioned here.

This is a stark reminder to history that no civilization, no matter how powerful or advanced, is immune to collapse.

When the great civilizations of the Bronze Age were on the rise, few could have predicted that their grand cities and even grander ideas would fade into obscurity.

However, with the right combination of climate change, internal conflict, and technological change, even the most powerful societies can easily decline and collapse. /Telegraph/