A timeline from 1,200 to 600 BCE — the aftermath of collapse, the rise of iron, and the emergence of new civilizations and empires.
Waves of migrants and raiders — the enigmatic Sea Peoples — attack civilizations across the Mediterranean, contributing to the Bronze Age Collapse.
The Hittite capital of Hattusa is burned and the empire disintegrates, ending one of the Bronze Age's great powers.
With bronze trade networks destroyed, iron smelting technology — previously a curiosity — spreads rapidly. Iron ore is abundant and locally available.
The Phoenicians develop a 22-letter consonant alphabet — radically simpler than cuneiform or hieroglyphs — that will become the ancestor of nearly all modern alphabets.
The Zhou conquer the Shang and introduce the Mandate of Heaven — a political philosophy that will shape Chinese governance for three millennia.
Assyria rebuilds as a military superpower, pioneering iron weapons, siege warfare, and professional standing armies.
Phoenician settlers from Tyre establish Carthage in North Africa, which will become the western Mediterranean's dominant commercial power.
Greek city-states adapt the Phoenician consonant alphabet by adding vowels, creating the ancestor of Latin, Cyrillic, and many modern scripts.
Babylon and the Medes sack the Assyrian capital Nineveh. The empire's collapse is so complete that within generations, its cities are lost to memory.