A History of Western Society: Printed Page 36

A History of Western Society, Value Edition: Printed Page 34

A History of Western Society, Concise Edition: Printed Page 36

Iron and the Emergence of New States FOCUS QUESTION How did iron technology shape new states after 1200 B.C.E., including Kush and Phoenicia?

Page 36

If the Bronze Age Collapse was a time of massive political and economic disruption, it was also a period of the spread of new technologies, especially iron. Even though empires shrank, many small kingdoms survived, each with cultures that combined elements shared across a wide area with local traditions. These states included several that developed on the borders of the shrinking Egyptian empire, including Kush and Phoenicia.