The Late Bronze Age (1550-1185 BC) follows the Middle Bronze Age and precedes the Iron Age I. During this period, the southern Levant came under imperial subjugation for the first time in history, as it was taken over and ruled by the New Kingdom of Egypt. This development was part of wider political processes happening in the era, pivotal for human history: empires, such as Hatti, Mitanni, Egypt and Asur began to emerge across the Ancient Near East, taking over large territories and populations, combating each other over them, and developing a complex diplomatic and commercial network. Between the emperors and empresses, and between them and the governors of the cities under their rule a correspondence system developed, remnants of which survived in royal archives found in archaeological excavations. Many of the letters refer to cities in the southern Levant, and this period saw the beginning of the use of writing in that region.
Nevertheless, archaeological research indicates that in Canaan during the period, the size of the cities, the rural area they controlled, and the sedentary population significantly diminished. Egyptian written sources tell of nomad populations living in the area and destabilising the regional urban system. Even though, an increase in material affluence and variety is evident in the material culture of the era: there was increased commerce in merchandise, raw materials, and luxury goods across the Ancient Near East, and in Canaan, the period is characterized by ostentatiousness.
The period is divided into sub-intervals:
The Late Bronze Age Ia (1550-1450 BC) – begins with the defeat of the Hyksos Dynasty in Egypt by the 18th dynasty. As part of it, the 18th Dynasty entered Canaan and conquered the city of Sharuhen (presumably Tell el-Ajjul). Destruction layers have been identified in many cities in the southern Levant of the era, dated across several dozens of years, and some scholars attribute them to the Egyptian conquest of the region (while others attribute them to internal or external crises). The period is characterized by a decrease in the number of settlements in Canaan.
In the Late Bronze Age Ib (1450-1400 BC) – Egypt began to establish its sovereignty over the Levant in a series of war campaigns, and the founding of imperial centres in Canaan, such as Gaza, Jaffa and Beit-Shean. Its dominion over the region was based on treaties with its cities’ governors.
The Late Bronze Age IIa (1400-1300 BC) – is dated to the same period as the Amarna archives in Egypt, which contain many correspondences between the Egyptian Pharaohs and the governors of the Canaanite cities under their rule (such as Megiddo, Lachish, and Jerusalem). These paint the disquieted political situation in Canaan during the period, which entailed territorial disputes between cities, conflicts with nomadic populations, and the Pharaoh’s commands and demands from the cities.
In the Late Bronze Age IIb (1300-1185 BC) – the 19th Dynasty which came to power in Egypt, intensified the Egyptian hold in Canaan: new imperial centres were built, like Tell el-Hesi, Gezer and Tel Afek, royal epigraph-bearing structures were erected, and the material culture hints of larger numbers of Egyptians in the region. Some scholars connect to this the rising numbers of settlements in the area during this period.
In the second half of the 13th and the 12th centuries BC undetermined processes brought the disintegration of the imperial structure of the Ancient Near East: empires dissolved and with them the international diplomatic and commercial networks. The region suffered from crises, hunger, and population movement. In Canaan many cities were destroyed, some recovered, and some were abandoned.
Late Bronze Age III (1185-1140) – the first half of the 12th century BC is named both Late Bronze III – due to the urban formation and the Egyptian presence in Canaan, and Iron Age Ia – due to the identification of new material culture characteristics suggesting the appearance of new populations/cultures in the area: the “Sea Peoples”, and the “Proto-Israelites”. Therefore, some call this period “Late Bronze-Iron I overlap”. From the second half of the 12th century BC the amount of Egyptian material culture in Canaan diminished, the Egyptian rule ended, and with it the Bronze Age in the southern Levant.
Sources
Shai, I. (Accessed on 23 September 2023). The Bronze Age 3,700-1,150 BCE. Israeli Institute of Archaeology. https://www.israeliarchaeology.org/%D7%AA%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%AA/%d7%aa%d7%a7%d7%95%d7%a4%d7%aa-%d7%94%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%a0%d7%96%d7%94/
Bunimovitz, S. (2019). The Late Bronze Age. In Faust, A., & Katz H. (Eds.). Archaeology of the land of Israel: From the Neolithic to Alexander the Great (vol. 2) (pp. 12-107). Lamda – The Open University.