At the end of the acclaimed history 1177 B.C., many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost and the so-called First Dark Age had begun. Now, in After 1177 B.C., Eric Cline tells the compelling story of what happened next, over four centuries, across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean world. It is a story of resilience, transformation, and success, as well as failures, in an age of chaos and reconfiguration.
After 1177 B.C. tells how the collapse of powerful Late Bronze Age civilizations created new circumstances to which people and societies had to adapt. Those that failed to adjust disappeared from the world stage, while others transformed themselves, resulting in a new world order that included Phoenicians, Philistines, Israelites, Neo-Hittites, Neo-Assyrians, and Neo-Babylonians. Taking the story up to the resurgence of Greece marked by the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C., the book also describes how world-changing innovations such as the use of iron and the alphabet emerged amid the chaos.
Filled with lessons for today’s world about why some societies survive massive shocks while others do not, After 1177 B.C. reveals why this period, far from being the First Dark Age, was a new age with new inventions and new opportunities.
Awards and Recognition
- A Financial Times Best Book of the Year
- A Science News Favorite Book of the Year
- A Federalist Notable Book of the Year
"Expert, ingenious and endlessly fascinating. . . . First in 1177 B.C. and now in After 1177 B.C., Mr. Cline has rewritten our understanding of a distant but resonant age."鈥擠ominic Green, Wall Street Journal
"Brilliant. . . . A superb work to interest history buffs for every period."鈥擪irkus, starred review
"Cline distills an immense amount of material into a highly readable narrative that in its conclusion draws startling parallels with contemporary climate change. It’s a dizzying feat of scholarship."鈥擯ublishers Weekly, starred review
"Cline is one of those rare scholars with the gift of communicating scientific and historical data to the public, joining the ranks of Jared Diamond, Ian Morris, Niall Ferguson, and others."鈥擳homas E. Levy, Science
"Where [1177 B.C.] offered an almost relentlessly grim depiction of decline and fall, [After 1177 B.C.] gives us a more granular, detailed look at how different societies coped with the transformations of the Late Bronze Age collapse in contrasting ways. . . . Curiously reassuring."鈥擱ichard Kreitner, Slate
"Sequels aren't just for Hollywood blockbusters. Historian Eric H. Cline enjoyed a huge hit with his book about the end of the Bronze Age. In 1177 B.C.:The Year Civilization Collapsed he showed how remarkably interconnected the ancient world was some 3000 years ago and how that and a convergence of events led to its downfall and the First Dark Ages. Now what? That's the question he answers in After 1177 B.C., showing which nations rebuilt themselves, which new ones emerged and why? And keep an eye out for the "Sea Peoples;" they are a wily bunch."鈥擬ichael Giltz, Parade
"Cline mixes archaeology, history, climate science, and social theory in this insightful work that never pushes evidence beyond its weight. . . . [A] compelling, original, and fruitful story. This title has significant meaning in an overstressed world. For more than just history buffs."鈥�Library Journal, starred review
"[Cline] considers potential lessons for our future by using modern 鈥榬esilience theory鈥� to help us better understand the past. Can we be better prepared to avoid societal collapse than they were? For me, it's all unfamiliar territory, as I knew so little about these ancient people, but I enjoyed learning from Cline. His work is vital, and I intend to read him again."鈥擳im McCarthy, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI
"A remarkable and vital book . . . a masterly overview. . . . After 1177 B.C.—well written in a clear, engaging, even witty style, using archaeology with sensitivity and lightness of touch—is a tour de force, heartily to be recommended to anyone interested not only in antiquity but in the present and potential future."鈥擠avid Stuttard, Classics for All
"1177 B.C. traced the scope of the Bronze Age collapse and inquired into its causes. Now, Cline has written a sequel, After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations, which examines the aftermath. . . . [he] points out that not everything went dark all at once, and that there were green shoots among the ruins."鈥擩acob Mikanowski, Chonicle of Higher Education
"Anyone concerned with avoiding the end of the world as we know it might be especially interested in the societies that flourished in the wake of the Late Bronze Age collapse. . . . [T]hought provoking."鈥擝ruce Bower, Science News
"Cline takes us through the. . . rise of the west in a lively and engaged manner; his range of knowledge is most impressive, as is his love of the subject."鈥擟hris Gosden, Times Literary Supplement
"Superb."鈥擠r. Cliff Cunningham, Sun News Austin
"After 1177 B.C. is a must-read for anyone interested in ancient history, but it’s also much more than that. It’s a book about resilience in the face of adversity, about how societies can rebuild and reinvent themselves after seemingly insurmountable challenges. With that in mind, Eric Cline offers not just a history of the past but a blueprint for the future, making this a timely and important work."鈥擳ibi Puiu, ZME Science
"A fascinating and vividly written book with lessons for today."鈥擩eff Popple, Canberra Daily
“In this worthy sequel to his masterpiece 1177 B.C., Eric Cline takes us into the chaos and confusion of the ancient Mediterranean in an era of social breakdown. We see the fall and sometimes rise of great empires, the persistence through troubled times of fabled cities, and the loss and ultimate revival of writing, long-distance trade, and elevated arts. Above all, Cline insightfully reveals that even in times of the direst crisis, some people find ways to control their fates—while some do not.”—Ian Morris, author of Geography Is Destiny: Britain and the World: A 10,000-Year History
“Cline uses his encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world to give you a front-row seat to a fascinating and controversial time in human history—a period that faced the same question we face today: What happens to civilizations after climate change, war, and disease? After 1177 B.C. is a tour de force that will open your eyes—and give you much-needed hope for today and our future.”—Sarah Parcak, author of Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past
“Eric Cline wrote the landmark book on the Late Bronze Age Collapse, and now he gives us the sequel: what happened after and what came out of it? This too is a landmark book: lucid, deep, and insightful. I’ve learned more about the mechanisms of collapse from Cline than from any other contemporary historian. You cannot understand human civilization and self-organization without studying what happened on, before, and after 1177 B.C.”—Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
“Eric Cline is the modern prophet of antiquity, finding the real and often uncomfortable lessons for today in an ancient world much larger than most scholars dare to tread. In this compelling book, an era once known only for decline and failure emerges in all its color and noise. At once an enthralling read and an up-to-the-minute guide to the latest ideas and discoveries, this is the ancient history we need now.”—Josephine Quinn, author of How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History
“To say that this is an important book doesn’t do it justice. It is wonderful. Covering a broad timespan, Eric Cline deals cogently and evenhandedly with the Mediterranean, the Aegean, Egypt, and the Near East, and is fully at home with his sources, whether Greek, Egyptian, Levantine, Mesopotamian, or central and western Mediterranean. Lucidly and elegantly written, this a seminal work that is both exciting and fun to read.”—John K. Papadopoulos, University of California, Los Angeles
