Dark centuries (ancient)

This article deals with the so-called dark centuries from the 12th to the 8th centuries BC. Further meanings can be found under Dark centuries (disambiguation) .

Mycenaean jug from the 11th century BC

Dark centuries refers to a period between the 12th and 8th centuries BC in ancient Greece and Anatolia . During this period, among other things, the transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age took place.

Greece

The time from around 1200 BC is traditionally referred to as the Dark Age of Greece or Dark Ages of Greece . BC, the end of the so-called Mycenaean palace period , to the boom at the beginning of the orientalizing phase of Greek art around 750 BC. Chr. Designated. The dark centuries thus correspond to the archaeological time stages SH III C, Sub-Mycenaean , Protogeometric and Early and Middle Geometric . Because no written sources and comparatively few archaeological finds are known from this period, the period is considered a "dark" age. In the last few decades a number of archaeological discoveries have been made that have shed much more light on the "Dark Ages". Especially the 12th century BC. And the early 8th century BC BC are now better researched, so that now often only the period between 1050 BC. BC and 800 BC Is considered really dark in terms of the state of research. The term "Dark Age" for the period from approx. 1200 to 750 BC. Chr. Can still be justified with the lack of writing of this period.

12th and early 11th centuries BC BC (Late Helladic III C)

View of the archaeological site "Palace in Nestor" in Messenia , Greece

One of the most important recent discoveries was that the Mycenaean culture affected the upheavals of 1200 BC. Chr. Survived about 150 years. Around 1200 BC Most of the known Mycenaean centers were destroyed (e.g. Pylos , Mycenae , Thebes , Tiryns ). Many smaller settlements were abandoned. This was accompanied by the decline of the economic system of that time, which was centrally controlled by the powerful rulers ( Wanax ) (see palace economy ). Although the upheavals were serious, they did not mean the end of the Mycenaean culture. Many centers were repopulated and the Mycenaean ceramics of the 12th and 11th centuries continued with that of the palace period. Long-distance trading was also carried out in the Late Mycenaean C (or Late Helladic III C) phase , albeit to a lesser extent. In Tiryns the upper town was partially rebuilt and a new building was erected within the ruins of the old palace, the walls of which were decorated with frescoes and which was inhabited by a new aristocratic class. Some centers, such as the palace of Nestor near Pylos , were destroyed after the destruction around 1200 BC. BC but never populated again, in some regions, e.g. B. Messenia , the population fell very sharply.

The 12th century BC In the economic, artistic, and demographic areas, the first major economic, artistic and demographic recession before it began in the mid-12th century BC. Came to a recovery. However, local damage repeatedly occurred in the course of the Late Mycenaean C phase. Since there are no written finds from this phase, it is assumed that with the collapse of the palace economy, knowledge of the writing, which existed limited to the upper class or the officials of the palace administration, was also lost. Vases depicting ships, however, suggest that shipping still played a role.

During the 11th century BC Not only did ceramics change (the appearance of Sub-Mycenaean ceramics in many regions and then the transition to protogeometric ceramics ), changes also occurred in the burial rites . In particular, that came in this time more and more cremations on. The Doric migration probably took place during this transition phase.

Late 11th to 9th centuries BC Chr.

The next phase of ancient Greece is the least known period. Most of the finds are clay vessels, after their decoration the time up to approx. 900 BC. BC as a protogeometric period , the period between approx. 900 and 700 BC. Chr. Is called geometric time . Most of the well-known pottery comes from graves; only a few settlements have been explored so far. Nichoria in Messinia , a small settlement typical of the period, consisted mainly of small, one-story, rectangular buildings. Oval or apsidal buildings are said to have been the cult buildings of this time. The management family lived in a somewhat larger but plain building. Meetings and celebrations were apparently also held here. The material legacy does not show greater wealth. Artifacts that suggest intensive long-distance trading are missing. It was evidently stronger than in Mycenaean times, when the focus was more clearly on agriculture, livestock farming and hunting. Iron was first used to a significant extent as a material, but it was very valuable.

The impression that the period had a low level of culture and that European Greece was isolated is reinforced by other settlement finds. Discoveries made on Euboea at the end of the 1970s paint a completely different picture : a settlement was excavated near Lefkandi , whose necropolises from the 10th and 9th centuries BC. BC the dead were often buried with precious objects that testify to prosperity and trade. The remains of a 45 m long apse-shaped building, in which the “Prince of Lefkandi” and his wife were buried, are impressive. In addition to four horses, the dead were given a knife, a sword made of iron, a material that was new at the time, as well as other objects and sometimes richly decorated jewelry made of gold, ivory and faience . Much of it came from Egypt and the Middle East . The finds from Lefkandi are in clear contrast to the other sites in Greece. Apparently in the 10th and 9th centuries BC there were Areas in which the population (also) came to prosperity through intensive trade.

Late 9th and 8th centuries BC Chr.

It is true that the inhabitants of Euboea already brought it in the 10th century BC. To prosperity, a general upswing for Greece was not until the middle of the 8th century BC. Can be understood when oriental influences reached Greece on a large scale. At the same time the Great Greek Colonization began . Larger temples were built. Homer and Hesiod wrote their works, which quickly spread through the now re-used script.

The formation of city-states ( poleis ) is completed and different constitutions are created . The seeds of rapid ascent in the second half of the 8th century BC BC was laid in the "dark centuries". There were Greek trading posts in Cyprus (especially Kition ) and in Syria ( Al Mina ). From there, intensive trade with Greece can be started from the early 8th century BC. Be proven. Contacts with the Phoenicians existed earlier. Probably as early as the 9th century BC The Greeks took over the alphabet from the Phoenicians. Through intensified contacts with states in the Eastern Mediterranean, not only material goods and artistic suggestions came to Greece, but also social and religious influences. All of this led to a higher standard of living, an increase in the number of settlements, and economic and political upswing.

Ancient Anatolia

This section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Possibly even outsource the section to a separate article and cover it there sensibly? - DerMaxdorfer ( discussion \ evaluation ) 14:19, 20 Apr. 2016 (CEST)

Anatolian dark centuries or dark ages refer to the same period of time (approx. 1200–750 BC) as in Greece. The term was coined by the Turkish archaeologist Ekrem Akurgal based on this. Apart from Eastern Anatolia and the Greek-populated coastal strip in the west and south-west, very little is known about the developments during this period . This is also due to the fact that there are no written sources from this period and so far only very few archaeological finds.

The dark centuries of Anatolia began with the collapse of the Hittite empire in the early 12th century BC. A. The course and the exact causes of the collapse are unclear, because the most recent written sources from the capital Ḫattuša date a few years before the fall of the empire and the gradual, almost complete abandonment of the capital. The causes were probably diverse: the ruler Šuppiluliuma II's authority and legitimacy problems , too many campaigns in too short a time and a famine that lasted around 1200 BC. Is proven in Asia Minor. The important trading center Ugarit in Syria was probably conquered by the so-called Sea Peoples , and Cyprus was also attacked. The Philistines settled in Palestine. Ultimately, however, it is unclear whether external or internal turmoil is responsible for the collapse in Anatolia. Then a power vacuum developed.

During the 12th century BC Before 1200 BC seem Chr. Kaškäer living in Northern Anatolia to have migrated to Eastern Anatolia or extended their area to there. In any case, they are in Assyrian sources from the late 12th century BC. Chr., Including in the annals of Tukulti-apil-Esarra I . (Tiglat-Pilesar I.), attested for Eastern Anatolia. Phrygian elements spread from the Troas and Thrace towards central Anatolia. Small Hittite states existed in eastern and south-eastern Anatolia until the 8th / 7th century BC. Chr. Further. They may also exist in other peripheral regions for a while. In southern Anatolia, steles of a ruler Hartapu were found who saw himself in the tradition of the Hittite empire. The dating of the reign of Hartapu is controversial in research and fluctuates between the 12th and 8th centuries BC. Chr.

The cities of Central Anatolia were either abandoned or during the 12th century BC. Chr. (Ḫattuša, Gordion ) settled again, probably by Phrygians and Kaškaers. The architecture and ceramics of the new settlements are partly fundamentally different from the Hittite ones: the ceramics were handmade, the buildings were small and plain. In Gefattuša, however, vessels in the clearly Hittite tradition were also discovered. Around the middle of the 8th century BC A powerful Phrygian empire ruled large parts of Anatolia. How this empire came to be is unknown. From approx. 750 BC. BC there are again many archaeological finds and the history of Anatolia emerges from the dark.

literature

To the “dark age” of Greek history

• Peter Blome : The dark centuries - brightened up. In: Joachim Latacz (Ed.): Two hundred years of Homer research. Colloquium Rauricum. Vol. 2. Teubner, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-519-07412-5 (from the perspective of Homer research, but good summary).
• John Boardman : The Greeks overseas. Their early colonies and trade. 4th ed. Thames & Hudson, London 2000, ISBN 0-500-28109-2 .
• John Nicolas Coldstream : Geometric Greece. 2nd ed. Routledge, London 2003, ISBN 0-415-29899-7 .
• Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy (Ed.): Greece, the Aegean and the Levant during the "Dark Ages" from the 12th to the 9th century BC. Chr .: files of the symposium of Zwettl Abbey (Lower Austria), 11-14. October 1980. Vienna 1983, ISBN 978-3-7001-0596-1 .
• Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy: Dark centuries. In: The New Pauly (DNP) . Volume 3, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01473-8 , Sp. 838-843.
• Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy (Ed.): Ancient Greece. From the Mycenaean palaces to the age of Homer. The Third AG Leventis Conference "From Wanax to Basileus" was organized at the University of Edinburgh, January 22-25, 2003, Edinburgh Leventis studies 3. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2008, ISBN 0-7486-1889-9 .
• Vincent Robin d'Arba Desborough : The Greek Dark Ages. Benn, London 1972, ISBN 0-510-03261-3 .
• Oliver Dickinson: The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age. Continuity and change between the twelfth and eighth centuries BC. Routledge, London 2006, ISBN 0-415-13589-3 .
• Moses I. Finley : The World of Odysseus. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-593-34720-2 .
• J. Fündling: The World of Homer. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 978-3-534-19902-0 .
• Roland Hampe , Erika Simon : A Thousand Years of Early Greek Art (1600-600 BC). Hirmer, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7774-3130-3 .
• Hans-Joachim Gehrke , P. Funke (ed.): History of antiquity. A study book. 2., ext. Aufl. Metzler, Stuttgart 2006. pp. 35-106, ISBN 3-476-02074-6 .
• JM Hall: A history of the archaic Greek world. Approx. 1200-479 BCE. Blackwell, Malden 2007, ISBN 0-631-22667-2 .
• Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer : Early Greek art. Art and Settlement in Geometric Greece. Gbr. Mann, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-7861-1366-1 .
• SH Langdon (Ed.): From pasture to polis. Art in the age of Homer. Catalog of the exhibition Colombia, Berkele and Cambridge 1993/1994. University of Missouri Press, Columbia 1993, ISBN 0-8262-0928-9 .
• Joachim Latacz, Th. Greub, Peter Blome, A. Wieczorek (eds.): Homer. The Myth of Troy in Poetry and Art. Catalog for the exhibition of the Antikenmuseum Basel, the Art Center Basel and the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim 2008. Hirmer, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7774-3965-5 .
• A. Mazarakis Ainian: From rulers' dwellings to temples. Architecture, religion and society in early iron age Greece (1100-700 BC). Åström, Jonsered 1997, ISBN 91-7081-152-0 .
• CA Morgan: Early Greek states beyond the polis. Routledge, London 2003, ISBN 0-415-08996-4 .
• Ian Morris (Ed.): The "Dark Ages" of Greece . University Press, Edinburgh 2004, 2007, ISBN 0-7486-1572-5 .
• Robin Osborne : Greece in the making, 1200-479 BC, Routledge history of the ancient world Routledge, London 1996, ISBN 0-415-03582-1 .
• Barbara Patzek : Homer and his time. CH Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-48002-0 .
• Mervyn R. Popham (Ed.): Lefkandi. Vols. 1-4, The British school at Athens. Supplementary volume 11, 22, 23, 29, 39. Thames and Hudson, London 1980-2006.
• Karin Schlott: From the darkness to the light . In: Image of Science . No. 12/2014 . Konradin, Leinfelden-Echterdingen December 2014, p. 70-71 .
• H. Siebenmorgen (Ed.): Time of Heroes, the dark centuries of Greece (1200–700 BC) . Catalog for the exhibition of the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe 2008. Primus, Darmstadt 2008, ISBN 978-3-937345-31-4 .
• Anthony M. Snodgrass : The Dark Age of Greece. An archaeological survey of the eleventh to the eighth centuries BC. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2000, ISBN 0-7486-1403-6 .
• CG Thomas, C. Conant: Citadel to city-state. The transformation of Greece, 1200-700 BCE Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1999, ISBN 0-253-33496-9 .
• Karl-Wilhelm Welwei : The early Greek period. 2000 to 500 BC Chr. CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47985-5 .
• Karl-Wilhelm Welwei: The Greek Polis. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1983, F. Steiner, Stuttgart 1998 (2nd edition), ISBN 3-515-07174-1 , pp. 28 ff., 281 ff.
• J. Whitley: Style and Society in Dark Age Greece. The changing face of a pre-literate society 1100-700 BC. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991, ISBN 0-521-37383-2 .
• Michael Zick: What happened in the dark centuries? In: Image of Science . Konradin, 1998

To the "Dark Ages" of Anatolia

• Ekrem Akurgal : The Dark Age of Asia Minor. In: Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy (ed.) Greece, the Aegean and the Levant during the "Dark Ages" from the 12th to the 9th century BC. Chr .: files of the symposium of Zwettl Abbey (Lower Austria), 11-14. October 1980. Vienna 1983, pp. 70ff.
• Hermann Genz: The Early Iron Age in Central Anatolia. In: Bettina Fischer , Hermann Genz, Éric Jean, Kemalettin Köroğlü (Eds.): Identifying Changes: The Transition from Bronze to Iron Ages in Anatolia and its Neighboring Regions. Proceedings of the International Workshop Istanbul, November 8–9, 2002. Türk Eskiçağ Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Istanbul 2003, pp. 179–191.

Remarks

1. ↑ Deger Jalkotzy 1997, col. 838.
2. ^ Penelope A. Mountjoy , Mycenaean Pottery - An Introduction , 2001, p. 22.
3. ↑ z. B. Ekrem Akurgal: The Dark Age of Asia Minor. In: Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy (ed.) Greece, the Aegean and the Levant during the "Dark Ages" from the 12th to the 9th century BC. Chr .: files of the symposium of Zwettl Abbey (Lower Austria), 11-14. October 1980. Vienna 1983, p. 70ff .; Ekrem Akurgal: Old Smyrna I. Living layers and Athena temple. TTK Ankara 1983, pp. 1-7.
4. ↑ on the task of Ḫattuša in at least two steps and a possible relocation of the residence s. Trevor Bryce : The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms. Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 9 ff .; Jürgen Seeher : The destruction of the city of Ḫattuša. In: Gernot Wilhelm (Ed.): Files of the IV. International Congress for Hittitology: Würzburg, 4.-8. October 1999. Studies on the Boğazköy texts, vol. 45 , pp. 623–633, according to which the traces of fire discovered partly concerned buildings that had long been abandoned and do not have to be at the same time. Traces of settlement from the immediately following period have so far only been discovered on the Büyükkaya, with around a third of the ceramics clearly being in the Hittite tradition, cf. also Hermann Genz 2003, p. 181; ders .: The Iron Age in Central Anatolia in the light of the ceramic finds from Büyükkaya in Boğazköy / Hattuša. , Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi Arkeoloji Dergise (TÜBA-AR) 3, 2000, p. 35 ff.