Southern and Southeastern Anatolia in the late bronze age

Abstract

This article presents data on the Late Bronze Age of southern and southeastern Anatolia. Southern and southeastern Anatolia present three contrasting zones, differentiated by topography, elevation, climate, soils, and connectivity to neighboring regions. In the Late Bronze Age, as at other times, they offered varied options for human exploitation and settlement, and reflected different cultural and political inclinations. The Late Bronze Age cities, towns, and forts in southern and southeastern Anatolia endured various fortunes in the twelfth century BCE, but all experienced the eventual termination of this cultural, political, and economic phase. Most were destroyed and lay deserted for centuries, or their ruins were reoccupied by squatters and migrants, then abandoned.