Introduction
Mycenaean period is a period in Greece that took place during Bronze Age. The Mycenaean period obtained its name from Mycenae which is an archaeological site located in northern Argolis, which is situated in the southern part of Greece. The other significant Mycenaean sites include Thebes, Pylos, Athens, and Tiryns. These sites among other things made Mycenae very famous between 1100 BC and 1600 BC. Mycenaean community was separated into two groups of men. Firstly, there existed King`s entourage. This group of men performed administrative tasks in the palace. These tasks included being sent from one place to the other, ushering in guests, and maintaining records. Secondly, there existed the people. The people were also referred to as da-mo in singular and demos in plural form. The demos were tasked with paying taxes and performing duties to the palace. The Mycenaean survived on various economic activities. Most of them were either self-employed or worked at the palace. Nevertheless, even people who worked at the palace owned various businesses. Economic activities that existed in Mycenaean kingdom include mixed agriculture, textile industry, perfumery industry, and metallurgical industry. They were also good in art and craft and made artefacts out of imported materials. In fact, Mycenaeans were more famous in bronze work. The Mycenaean grew stronger in terms of culture and economic activities. This happened when the Minoans, from whom Mycenaean learnt the art of trading, were becoming weak. In addition to trading, Mycenaean also adopted Minoans style of writing and architecture. This paper seeks to discuss the destruction of Mycenae. Further, it seeks not only to find out theories that account for the collapse of Mycenae but also the most compelling theory.
Mycenaean Civilization
Mycenaean Civilization commenced during the arrival of numerous tribes to Greece around 2000 BCE. The tribes began to distinguish themselves as social, political and economic units. Mycenaeans were among the many tribes that migrated to Greece mainland. They were ruled over by Minoans until they conquered Crete. As such, Mycenaeans are always considered as one of the factors that led to Minoans civilization. Initially, Mycenaeans inhabited hilly areas. These areas were not adequately endowed with resources like the Minoans land. This made Mycenaeans survive mainly in trade as they could not practise farming like the Minoans. However, Mycenaeans flourished in trade due to their advantageous location. They were located in hilly areas which enabled them to act as middle men. They facilitated trade among different countries. This is because they were able to distribute products from one country to another. Mycenaeans were warlike since they wanted to acquire resources from other countries. As such, Mycenaean civilization otherwise referred to as Bronze Age, can be described as a period through which Mycenaeans significantly acquired a lot of wealth and skills. In addition, their population grew at a rapid rate during that period. Mycenaean civilization saw the fall of Minoans civilization. This was after Mycenaeans forcefully acquired Crete, which was inhabited by Minoans. Mycenaeans occupied Crete after the collapse of Minoans. They also took over foreign trade which was being driven by Minoans. Mycenaeans established trading centres on Asian coast. These trading posts were in places such as Miletus. Foreign trade was extremely beneficial to Mycenaeans due to various factors. Firstly, they earned a lot of foreign exchange from trading. This made traders rich as they made huge profits from trading activities. Secondly, Mycenaeans benefitted from foreign trade since they were able to access a larger market for their products. Mycenaeans were famous for crafting objects from bronze. They also made glass ornaments, luxury items, gems, and vases from precious metals. Therefore, access to foreign country enabled them to sell their products to larger markets. Mycenaeans were also good engineers. This not only made them famous, but also made the extremely rich. Mycenaean engineers constructed wonderful buildings, palaces, tombs, and residential houses.
Mycenaeans had unique cultural practises. Firstly, whenever someone passed on, he or she was buried in a tomb which had a high roof and circular in shape. Dead people were buried in a sitting position with possessions such as armour and arms. Affluent individuals were at times mummified and buried with jewellery and gold. Secondly, Mycenaeans were into ruling, strong, and lower classes. The top most group consisted of the king who was known as The Wanax. The king was the religious and political leader. The local chiefs came right below the king. They were in charge of administrative duties. Thirdly, Mycenaeans had a unique culture in terms of their habitation. There existed buildings known as citadels. Citadels were occupied by rulers who used them as administrative blocks. The commoners lived down the citadels situated in country sides. On the other hand, kings had their palaces built at the peak of citadels. Kings palaces had different rooms which were used for different functions. Generally, Mycenaeans built their buildings around central megarons. Fourthly, Mycenaeans had a unique language known as Linear B. This was an improved version of Linear A language which was used by Minoans. Linear B consisted of logograms and syllabic signs. Linear B language was commonly used in Pylos and Knossos.
End of Civilization
Mycenaean civilization came to an end due to several factors. Destruction of Mycenae led to the collapse of foreign trade and disappearance of Mycenaean writing skills. Inhabitants of Mycenaeans who initially lived in cities were also forced to move to rural areas. Some people believe that Mycenaean civilization ended as a result of climatic changes. Harsh climate made Mycenae less productive. This made the region less desirable. As such, people began to move from Mycenae to other places in search of food. Nevertheless, there are various theories that attempt to explain the reasons that led to the destruction and final collapse of Mycenaean civilization. Firstly, the collapse of Mycenaean civilization is explained through the population movement theory. Population movement theory asserts that Mycenaean civilization collapsed as a result of invasion from the Dorians and the sea people. The sea people are believed to have moved to Middle East from Balkans. They are blamed for destroying Levant and Anatolia. The emergence of the Iron Age made weapons extremely cheap. Therefore, sea people easily accessed weapons which they used to invade Mycenae. As such, people argue that the economy favoured the sea people who could now access weapons made from iron. Population movement theory also explains Mycenaean destruction through Dorian invasion. Dorians arrived in Greece 100 years after the arrival of Mycenaean. Some people claim they invaded Mycenae and took over their lands. This led to the destruction of Mycenaean civilization. This is because the Dorians, unlike Mycenaeans did not have a written language. Dorians also practised farming instead of trading. As such, foreign trade that was initiated and developed by the Mycenaeans came to a standstill. In general, Dorians led to the erosion of Mycenaean socio-economic practises. Nevertheless, there are doubts as to whether Dorian invasion really contributed to the collapse of Mycenaean civilization. This is because Dorians were part and parcel of Mycenaeans. Therefore, there is no way they could invade people whom they were part of. In addition, Mycenaean civilization did not fall immediately after the Dorian invasion. Mycenaean civilization collapsed some years after the destruction. As such, there is less material evidence about Mycenaean destruction as a result of Dorian invasion. However, Dorian invasion could have led to the destruction of Mycenaean since Mycenaean kings believed in fighting back. They constantly engaged in Trojan wars which weakened their soldiers.
Secondly, the collapse of Mycenaean civilization is explained by internal conflict theory. Internal conflicts arose as a result from negative reaction by the underprivileged persons in the society. The underprivileged persons became poor during the late Helladic. This made them defiant to the existing system since they did not like the manner in which they were governed.
I believe the most compelling theory that accounts for the collapse of Mycenaean civilization is population movement theory. This is because Mycenaeans did not know the meaning of peaceful existence after they killed the King of Troy. Their constant engagement in the Trojan wars weakened the Mycenaean soldiers. This made them more vulnerable to invasion. Dorians invaded them and drove them away from Greece. In addition, Dorian invasion heavily contributed to the collapse of Mycenaean since they did not have trading and writing skills like the Mycenaean. This led to the severs decline of the trading activities initiated by the Mycenaeans. As such, Mycenaeans economic power drastically reduced. This forced them to live the city centres for rural areas. They did this since they could no longer afford life in the city. Further, lack of writing skill led to the disappearance of Mycenaean Linear B language. Moreover, I believe Population Movement Theory is the most compelling theory that explains the destruction of Mycenaean civilization since it also offers highlight on Sea people invasion. Sea people are known for invading different places in the Middle East. They also invaded Mycenaeans during the emergence of Iron Age. This favoured them a lot since they could easily access weapons and other fighting material. I believe that the economic situation provided a good environment for invasion. The population movement theory unlike internal conflict theory explains the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization. The internal conflict theory only states that the impoverished were not happy with the current governance system.
Conclusion
In summary, Mycenaean civilization is a period characterized by the emergence of rich and skilled people who inhabited the Mycenae. Mycenaeans are known for unique cultural practises such as burring the dead while seated with armours and arms. They also preferred living on top of hills as they believed that is the only place they could access safe drinking water. They were good at crafting and made art crafts out of Bronze. However, Mycenaean civilization was destroyed as result of different factors. Some people attribute Mycenaean collapse to natural factors. However, population movement and internal conflict theories have been developed to explain the collapse of Mycenaean civilization.
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