Fundamental societal changes leading to collapse of civilizations

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Fundamental societal changes leading to collapse of civilizations

The historical implications of climacteric change are not to be overlooked. For a period in history to be considered climacteric, there must be a multitude of wide ranging fundamental changes that have a long lasting effect upon civilization. The time period between 2000 and 1000 BCE was climacteric due to many factors, the most prominent being the radical changes in environment and government.

A stable environment is necessary for civilization to thrive. Without predictable ecological patterns, consistently providing enough food for a society is nearly impossible. In both Mesopotamia and Egypt, the agriculture was largely dependent on the flooding of their respective rivers. In Egypt, it was necessary for the Nile to flood on a consistent basis. If the Nile was late to flood, the soil would not be fertile enough to support agriculture; if the Nile flooded too soon, all of the crops would be destroyed. Although the Tigris and the Euphrates did not flood with the same consistency as the Nile, it is important to note that: without the fertile soil provided when the rivers of life and death overflowed, agriculture would be impossible. Between the years 2000 and 1000 BCE, the inconsistent food production that resulted from the volatile weather conditions greatly impacted the development of society.

In an effort to explain these unknown and volatile changing weather conditions, religion was built thousands of years ago to answer the unknown. The Mesopotamians, the Hittites, and the Egyptians were similar in a sense that they were polytheistic and depend on their rulers to have a connection with their gods. If famine or a drought occurred, the resulting deaths due t...

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The citizens of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Hittites believed that their government had a connection to the gods, a doomed enterprise in the climacteric period. When there was a lack of food supply for the people, they abandoned their home and the civilizations collapses.

The time period between 2000 and 1000 BCE can be considered climacteric due to many factors, the most prominent, being the growth and collapse of civilizations. During this time many civilizations collapsed such as the Hittites and, Mesopotamia and some prevailed such as the Egyptians. The Hittites fell due to constant invasion; economy was fragile and home land being poor in key resources. Similar to the Hittites, Mesopotamia collapsed due to overpopulation, war like tribes, and drought.

Bibliography

Fernedez-Armestro, Felipe. The World a History, Combined Volume (Prentice Hall 2007)

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