HISTORICAL ESSAY

RELIGION AND THEOLOGY

First and Last Name

Class

Date

2

Historical Essay

Introduction

The Late Bronze Age collapse has been resulted out of the transitional phase that had

changed the whole cultural and historical tradition of some regions. The regions of Aegean,

Southwestern Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, Egypt and the Mesopotamia shown

great symbols of change, in fact revolutionary change, from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

The historians define the great collapse of Mycenaean kingdoms in Anatolia and the

dynamics of Syria and Canaan that interrupted the routes of trade that brought severe changes

in the peace management of the regions that resultantly defined as the Dark Age for these

regions and ended by creating an Iron Age of civilization1. For the Canaanites, the late

Bronze Age had not ended with the collapse of Egyptian kingdom as only the rules of

different kings had been placed but nothing devoted to bring a change in Canaan. The biblical

literature explains the historical evidences of the late Bronze Age that ranges from 1500 to

1200 BC when the Egyptian culture has deteriorated in the eighteenth dynasty. It can be

stated that the Late Bronze Age has not actually ended but the influence in the Palestine and

Gaza regions has witnessed for a reasonable time.

The historical background of the Late Bronze Age defined the struggle of different

great empires which had been witnessed to rule the region for a very long period of time and

the constantly diverging power from one to the other place. The Egyptians and the narration

of the Nile River have come at several important places in the biblical literature that

illustrates the political and trade importance of the valley. The literature also shows the

occupancy of the Israelites in the hills’ area and their powerful kings in the ancient history.

The area near by the hills had been witnessed as the Israelites’ territory that was although

1 BILL T. ARNOLD and RICHARD H. HESS, Ancient Israel's History An Introduction To Issues And Sources (Baker Publishing Group, 2014, 2014).

3

away from the major trade routes but had an influential role in the region. The biblical

literature describes the late Bronze Age accompanied with the narration of the prophet Moses

who is also a well-known figure in the history2. The Bible narrates the story of Moses’

Bronze snake and how he put that on a pole. The very common truths about that bronze snake

come in different literatures that are compiled by the historians belong to different religions

and diverse schools of thoughts. The Islamic, Judaist and Christianity support the story in

either way3.

The Syro-Palestine corridor is the outcome of the Late Bronze Age that had

significant importance in the later on history of the late Bronze Age and the demographics of

the region. History reveals that time as an important beginning of the world trade that was the

main reason for the political and other sources of influence to capture the trade routes etc. the

history also reveals the great battles that are fought to get the influential role in the region

while the role of Egyptians still remained after the great war with the sea people. The

evidences thus reveal the picture of the late Bronze Age as a period of shifting power from

one great political ancient to more than one small powers who captured different regions of

the area and ruled with a little extent4.

The biblical literature emphasizes the truths of the ancient bronze history and reveals

how the powers of different nations collaterally influence their ordinates. The Palestinians

and the Israeli struggle and the dark age of the end of Bronze Age define the history of

Egyptian age and show the influential decay of Egyptian rulers. The biblical literature also

describes how different rulers betray the central power of the great Egyptian kingdom and

2 BILL T. ARNOLD and RICHARD H. HESS, Ancient Israel's History An Introduction To Issues And Sources (Baker Publishing Group, 2014, 2014).3 Andrew E. , Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey Of The Old Testament, 2nd ed. (Zondervan Publishing House, 2009, 2009).4 Andrew E. , Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey Of The Old Testament, 2nd ed. (Zondervan Publishing House, 2009, 2009).

4

how did the small Palestinian rulers keep on influencing the Palestinians like the Late bronze

age.

References

ARNOLD, BILL T., and RICHARD H. HESS. Ancient Israel's History An Introduction To

Issues And Sources. Baker Publishing Group, 2014, 2014.

Hill, Andrew E. , and John H. Walton. A Survey Of The Old Testament. 2nd ed. Zondervan

Publishing House, 2009, 2009.