According to researchers, some 3,000 years ago, the mysterious ‘flourishing’ Bronze Age civilization from the Eastern Mediterranean called the ‘Sea Peoples’ suddenly vanished from history.
According to a new study, based on ancient Egyptian Texts, the enigmatic ‘Sea People’ could, in fact, be connected to the Luwians.
The ancient Luwians were eventually destroyed in a fierce battle with Mycenaean kings at Troy.
According to mainstream historians, the Trojan War was one of the final events that culminated an era of chaos which has been called ‘World War Zero,’ sending the entire region into a Dark Age after.
The story, however, goes back to a mysterious and advanced culture which became known in history as the ‘Sea Peoples.’
According to new theories proposed by Luwian Studies, a new scenario has been presented which could shed light onto the fall of the Bronze Age approximately around 1200 BC and later events that can be traced back to the Trojan War.
According to the newly proposed scenario, many Luwian-speaking empires and people from Anatolia joined forces in order to attack the neighbouring Hittites kingdom.
Researchers stress that since the Luwian kingdoms spoke a common language, they should all be considered as a single civilization, suggests Eberhard Zangger.
In an interview, Luwian studies explain: During the second millennium BCE, people speaking a Luwian language lived throughout Asia Minor’ Luwian Studies explains. They were contemporaries, trading partners, and at times opponents of the well-known Minoan, Mycenaean, and Hittite cultures of Greece and Asia Minor.
Experts concluded that when the Bronze Age came to a halt, the Ancient Greeks lost their writings skills for centuries to come, however, the ancient Luwians maintained it for nearly half a millennium. Evidence of this are the numerous ancient texts discovered in the nineteenth century, before the Mycenaean, Minoan, and Hittite texts.
The ancient documents explain that the Luwian Empire grew in power from time to time enough to attack the empire. However, new research suggests the ancient Luwians were powerful, and approximately 3,200 years ago, they attacked Hattusa from both sea and land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz5uFA9IWJ8
This theory is believed to be backed up by ancient Egyptian texts which describe attacks on Cyprus and Syria by the mysterious ‘Sea Peoples’. Researchers conclude that this enigmatic civilization is in fact the ancient Luwian.
Raiders set fires to temples and buildings, driving the ruling class out until the Hittite civilization ‘vanished into oblivion for three thousand years,’ according to the new theory.
The elaborate strategies allowed the gigantic ancient Luwian civilization to rule an area from Northern Greece to Lebannon, suggest researchers.
Eventually, the Mycenaean kings joined arms and destroyed the Luwians who were left unprotected due to their extensive territory. The Mycenaean kings acheived victory after construction a huge fleet and raiding port cities located in Asia Minor. Eventually, the two armies joined forces before Troy.
The following battle, known as the Trojan War, caused the complete destruction of the Kuwain empire and the eventual destruction of Troy.
However, not all experts agree with researchers from Luwian studies. Many archaeologists oppose the idea that a ‘los’ Luwian civilization existed, explains New Scientists.
‘Archaeologists will need to discover similar examples of monumental art and architecture across western Anatolia and ideally texts from the same sites to support Zangger’s claim of civilization,’ Christoph Bachhuber, of the University of Oxford, told New Scientist.
Journal Reference:
World War Zero brought down mystery civilisation of ‘sea people’