Around 1200 BCE, the eastern Mediterranean was home to a vibrant, hyper-connected network of sophisticated superpowers. The Mycenaean Greeks dominated the Aegean, the Hittite Empire ruled Anatolia, New Kingdom Egypt controlled the Nile, and powerful kingdoms flourished in the Levant and Mesopotamia. These societies were bound together by intense trade, diplomatic marriages, and complex command economies. Then, within the span of a few violent decades, this globalized world shattered. The Late Br