ABSTRACT
For some historians, the story of the Sea Peoples is a dramatic one. In this version of their story, the Sea Peoples came sweeping across the Mediterranean ca. 1200 BC, wreaking havoc and creating chaos, leaving smoking ruins and destroyed cities in their wake. To them is attributed the collapse of the Hittite empire, the downfall of Cyprus, the destruction of Syro-Palestinian and Canaanite petty kingdoms, and perhaps even the demise of the Mycenaeans and the Minoans (Figure 7:1). In this version, in effect, the Sea Peoples are held responsible for the very collapse of Bronze Age civilization in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean and for bringing on a centuries-long Dark Ages that followed.
