Suchergebnisse

Examines the extent to which environmental & climatological factors contributed to hegemonic decline during both the "dark age" that started around 2200-1700 B.C., affecting northwestern India, the Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia, Egypt, West Asia, & the Eastern Mediterranean, & another systemic crisis that began around 1200-700 B.C., affecting West Asia, Egypt, eastern Mediterranean, & central Europe. These periods were marked by socioeconomic problems, regime transitions, center-hinterland conflicts, population losses, resource depletion, environmental degradation, & climatological changes. Although documentary evidence indicates that a partial recovery from the systemic political, economic, & ecological crisis that began around 2200 B.C. was realized around 1750 B.C., those regions that experienced severe ecological degradation did not experience recovery until 2200 B.C. or later, resulting in a shift of trade volume away from the southeastern portion of the Bronze Age system to the west & northwestern sectors. It is concluded that ecological problems increase the duration of systemic crises & analyses of hegemonic decline must consider environmental & climatological influences alongside social, political, & economic factors. Tables, References. J. Lindroth