1177 BC: The vanishing of the first globalized world | Eric Cline: Full Interview
March 20, 2026
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1:43:42Now Playing1177 BC: The vanishing of the first globalized world | Eric Cline: Full Interview
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Hollywood lied to you about Ancient Rome. Here’s the truth | Mary BeardFull Interview ►
Around 1200 BC, the most sophisticated network of civilizations the ancient world had ever produced, spanning Egypt, Greece, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and beyond, came apart within a single generation.
Historian Eric Cline argues this collapse wasn't the work of one invading force or one bad harvest, but something far harder to stop: An overly interdependent system that had no way to absorb multiple shocks at once.
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About Eric Cline:
Dr. Eric H. Cline is Professor of Classics and Anthropology, the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and the current Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University, in Washington DC. He is a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright scholar, a Getty scholar, an NEH Public Scholar, and an award-winning teacher and author. He has degrees in archaeology and ancient history from Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania; in May 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree (honoris causa) from Muhlenberg College.
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