Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Signs of ancient climate crisis as the Hittite empire unravelled

An assessment of juniper tree-ring samples from central Turkey, together with other types of dating analysis, demonstrate that a devastating drought in 1198–1196 bc contributed to the end of the Hittite empire.
  1. Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver

    1. Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver is in the Department of Art History, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

In around 1300 bc, the eastern Mediterranean region was dominated by the strong empires and kingdoms of the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians and Mycenaeans, whose written records give the impression of a thriving and interconnected world. Fast forward, and the same states were in serious trouble by 1170 bc. Writing in Nature, Manning et al.1 present evidence that a severe drought occurred in central Turkey during this period, and suggest that a climate crisis was a key player in the Hittite empire’s demise.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 614, 625-626 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00271-2

References

  1. Manning, S. W., Kocik, C., Lorentzen, B. & Sparks, J. P. Nature 614, 719–724 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Cline, E. H. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Princeton Univ. Press, 2021).

    Google Scholar 

  3. de Martino, S. in The End of Empires (eds Gehler, M., Rollinger, R. & Strobl, P.) 82 (Springer, 2022).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Schachner, A. in Handbook Hittite Empire: Power Structures (ed. de Martino, S.) 167 (De Gruyter, 2022).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links