OK, so I think the parallels to today (made in the video below) are a definite stretch, but I can't fault the guy for trying to make 3000 year old history interesting to the modern viewer.
Apparently mankind's first recorded Dark Age occurred at the end of the Bronze Age.
In the Bronze Age, there were many different civilizations heavily trading with each other from Minoans and Mycenaeans (Greece), Hittites (Turkey), Egyptians, Assyrians & Babylonians (Syria & Iraq), Cypriots, Creten Philistines and other "Sea Peoples"...all existing at the same time during a period of localized "globalization" or interdependent trade. They were also trading with Europe and Iran & Afghanistan and Punt (Ethiopia) and other parts of Africa. The tales (e.g., Homer) written in Greece hundreds of years later told stories that took place during this pre-dark ages time period.
Then came the collapse. This is the time of the Trojan War and the Exodus (if you think there was an historical basis for those events). A number of disasters, from climate change to migration and invasions, led to the collapse of almost all of these civilizations in a very short period of time, relatively speaking...the Late Bronze Age Collapse.
There was a large archive of written records (clay tablets) in Ugarit (Syria) which document the Bronze Age "globalization" followed by the early stages of the collapse (before written records ceased for a period of time). They actually have letters on clay tablets written from one king to another discussing the events of the day...amazing that they can find that kind of information. (Aside: The earliest musical notation was found in Ugarit. Bronze Age music...kind of cool.) In addition to Ugarit, the Egyption written records document some of this stuff.
Upon the collapse of this "globalized" world, literacy halted in most of these civilizations. Historians have been trying to explain this mysterious collapse, during which written records largely cease in most countries for about 200 years during the dark ages, Egypt being an exception. Figurative art reverted to mere geometric art in Mycenae/Greece for a couple hundred years, during the Greek Dark Ages.
Kind of interesting...if you like history. I didn't realize that the Bronze Age was as developed as it was, before the fall.
So, here is a basic one on Wikipedia.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse
I'd probably blame the invaders with superior technology (iron).
There were multiple dark ages in early history in various cultures. They seem to have often been triggered by disruptive technology. If this stuff is of interest, here is a pretty good book which describes many of these episodes: The Sea And Civilization by Lincoln Paine.
...which led to unrest and then migratory invasions (not mere armies, but actual migrations of entire populations with the armies). Only the Egyptian civilization survived, but they were greatly weakened thereafter.
Hell, we do not even know exactly who the "Sea Peoples" are - that is just the name the Egyptians gave them.
The whole thing is a mystery. Greece was undoubtedly invaded by the Dorians, but there is some speculation that they came after the Mycenaean civilization was brought to ruins .
One of the most interesting theories is that sudden climate change caused widespread crop and livestock failures.
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