THE ACHEAN APOCALYPSE

The period of the Bronze Age ended, in the Mediterranean, around 1200 BC. And the collapse took about 50 years. The result was the crumbling of empires, the destruction of temples, palaces and the migration of survivors. Before this period of natural and human disasters, the area was relatively peaceful. The “super powers” held each other in balance and trade flourished. Transport and trade were in the hands of the Kanaanites, who lived in the “Holy Land”. In Greece, Italy, Northern Africa and Crete the Minoans developed a warrior-culture, that culminated in the Siege of Troje and is immortalized by Homer. Egypt was at its peak, and was ruled by pharaohs of the Ramses-dynasty. In Turkey the Hittites ruled the planes.

But a chain of events led to the destruction of all 5 civilizations.

Like many things, even in modern life, it all culminated in a giant explosion. This was the moment, that the island of Thera exploded and an enormous amout of ashes covered the land and the dark cloudes reached into Egypt and Italy. The eruption of this “super-volcano” was followed by a colossal tsunami. Especially the island of Crete was hit and many sites show the remains of sea-organisms at a height of more than 100 meters. The number of casualties must have been immense. Archeologists have unearthed an Minoan city on Santorine (the remnants of Thera), that was completely covered in ash (and well preserved). The infrastructure collapsed as well. In the aftermath of the volcano, the area was struck by earth-quakes. Almost all the major centres (Troj!) were hit by one or several quakes. Egypt was hit as well, though it was the only civilization, that survived. But it never regained the splendour of past dynasties. Egypt was a wealthy state. In a period of bad crops, followed by starvation, the Isrealits migrated to Northern Egypt and were welcomed there. They found a place to survive. This changed when “Pharaoh” turned them into slaves. Moses led them out of Egypt, helped by the 10 plagues, that hit the pharaoh and all of his people. Each one of the plagues can be caused by a volcanic eruption, the magnitude of Thera. Another loss for Egypt was the result of the “Exodus”; Pharaoh's charrioteers drowned pursuing the Jews. They were the backbone of the Egyptian army, the Elite. Why is this important. The natural disasters were followed by another disaster: invasion and war.

Suddenly the Seapeople appear. They attack Egypt and beat the Pharaoh and raid towns and areas all over the place. The Seapeople (7 tribes) don't go for the loot and the plunder. They are searching for a new place to settle. There is some archeological proof, that one of the tribes built their new cities in Palestine (the Philistines, the arch-enemies of the Israelites).

On Crete, the survivors left the coast and constructed large walls, to defend what they had left. Especially food would be scarce, because the fields were covered in ashes.

It is in these dramatic years, that the Jews escape from Egypt and wander through the desert, to find the “Promised Land”. The problem they face, is the fact that future Israel is already taken. The Kanaanites live there, as do the newcomers “the Philistines”.

The Isrealites claim their god-given right by conquering the land of the Kanaanites and finally the Philistines, symbolized in David, slaying the giant Goliath and beheading him.

When the dust settles down, the Hittites, the Minoans and the Kanaanites have disappeared. Greece is conquered by Aryan tribes and the Isrealites rule the Holy Land. At the same time, Egypt is clinging to the past and will fall into a slow decline, ending in the person of Cleopatra. The Seapeople disappeared too. In my opinion, they consisted of remnants of the Minoan culture. The tsunami, that followed the Thera-eruption, must have been felt all around the Mediterranean. It may even have opened a gateway to the Black Sea. It most certainly have led to groups of desperate people searching and fighting for a new place live.

There are several “super-volcano's” all over the world. An eruption at Lake Toba is dated, 60.000 years ago. The super-volcano at Yellowstone Park is considered to be the prime candidate for an eruption in the “nearby future”. This one will even be bigger, than the one in the Mediterranean. The results will be devastating, as was the one around 1200 BC. The core of the USA will be hit. The effects will be equally dramatic. A possible scenario we find in the collapse of the “Mediterranean Bronze Age”.