13th century BC

One hundred years, from 1300 BC to 1201 BC

Millennium
2nd millennium BC
Centuries
14th century BC 13th century BC 12th century BC
Timelines
14th century BC 13th century BC 12th century BC
State leaders
14th century BC 13th century BC 12th century BC
Decades
1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC 1260s BC 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC 1200s BC
Categories:
Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments
v t e

The 13th century BC was the period from 1300 to 1201 BC.

The world in the 13th century BC

Events

Asia

c. 1300–1046 BC: in China, the Shang dynasty flourishes as it settles its capital, Yin, near Anyang.^[1] Chinese settlers swarm in compact groups to create new clearing areas towards the Yangtze basin in the south, the Shanxi terraces in the northwest and the Wei River valley. The Shang then seem to frequently wage war with the still non-Sinicized populations who inhabit the Huai River valley. Graves in the form of cruciform pits have been discovered in Anyang containing chariots with their yokes, numerous bronze vases and the remains of human sacrifices, as well as the first Chinese inscriptions on oracle bones (Jiaguwen) or bronze vases.^[2] China's Shang armies are organized into infantry and archers in companies of one hundred men, supporting sections of five chariots.^[3]
c. 1300 BC: the Aryans dominate northwest India as far as the Sarasvati River.^[4] The Vedas mention the Dasas (slaves) as their enemies. Dasas are interpreted as being a North Iranian tribe, Dahae. The Aryans are organized in tribal monarchies headed by a raja (king), who shares power with two councils or assemblies that will differentiate over time, the sabhā (court of justice) and the samiti (council of war).^[5] Only one raja is named in the Rigveda: Sudas of the Bharatas, a tribe established on the upper reaches of the Sarasvatî. He is described as the victor of the coalition of ten kings, the most powerful of which was Pûru. Subsequently, the Kurus take control of the Bharatas.^[6]
c. 1260 BC: Lapita pottery discovered at the Bourewa site southwest of Viti Levu dates back to this period.^[7]

Middle East

c. 1350–1210 BC: the Igihalkid dynasty in Elam. They resume the title of "Kings of Anshan and Susa".^[8]
c. 1306–1186 BC: the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Memphis, then Pi-Ramesses, are the capitals of the New Kingdom of Egypt.^[9] It is a period of relative prosperity. During the reign of Ramesses II, the construction of the Great Hypostyle Hall of the temples of Karnak, the Luxor Temple and the temples of Abu Simbel are completed.^[10]
1307–1275 BC: the first Assyrian mention of the Ahlamu, proto-Aramaic people, during the reign of Adad-nirari I, in the region of the north of the Euphrates. The Aramaeans, a Semitic people reported from the 14th century BC by the archives of Amarna and then Ugarit, settled in North Mesopotamia, then in Aram (now Syria) and Lebanon where they formed kingdoms in the 11th century BC.^[11] The biblical tradition of the sons of Jacob, apparently originating from the Aram Naharayim or "Aram of the two rivers", in the loop of the Euphrates, around the towns of Harran and Nahur, seems to confirm that this region was populated by Proto-Aramaic pastors around the 13th century BC.^[12]
1274 BCE: the Egyptian and Hittite Empires clash in the Battle of Kadesh, with heavy losses to each side but no decisive outcome.
1207 BC: Merneptah repels attacks by northern invaders (the "Sea-Peoples") in the 8th year of his reign, according to the Great Karnak Inscription. Eric Cline closely links this event with the beginning of the Late Bronze Age collapse.^[13]

Europe

c. 1300–1200 BC: Bronze IIIB in Greece.^[14] The Lion Gate and the Treasury of Atreus are built in Mycenae. It is a time of peace and prosperity in the Aegean. Mycenaean imports to the Levant peak. A wreck found on the southern coast of Anatolia contained ingots of copper, tin, ivory, Syrian, Cypriot and Mycenaean vases, and pieces of elephant and hippo ivory. The Acropolis of Athens is developed: towards the end of the century, a Cyclopean wall four to six meters thick, known as the “pelasgic wall” (Pelargikon), is constructed, as well as a well to supply the citadel with water.^[15] Linear B tablets are created in Pylos.^[16]
c. 1300–1200 BC: approximately 4,000 men fight a battle at a causeway over the Tollense valley in Northern Germany, the largest known prehistoric battle north of the Alps.^[17]
c. 1300–500 BC: the Lusatian culture in Poland, parts of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, eastern Germany and northern Ukraine.^[18]
c. 1250–850 BC: the Urnfield culture, characterized by vast cemeteries housing urns with the ashes of the deceased and offerings, marks the Late Bronze Age in Western Europe.^[19]
c. 1250–1000 BC: the culture of Pantalica develops inland in Sicily.^[20]
1225–1190 BC: Late Helladic IIIB2 in mainland Greece.^[21] The perimeters of the defense systems of the Mycenaean palaces (Mycenae, Tiryns, Midea) are widely extended, a sign that insecurity is increasing. The end of the period was marked by widespread destruction on most sites: Mycenae, Tyrinth, Midéa, Thebes, Orchomenus, Dimini, and Pylos, whose unfortified palaces have not been rebuilt.^[22]

Sovereign states

List of sovereign states in the 13th century BC.

References

^ San, Tan Koon (2014). Dynastic China. The Other Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-983-9541-88-5.
^ Soutif, Michel (2012). L'Asie, source de sciences et de techniques. EDP Sciences. p. 33. ISBN 978-2-7598-0125-1.
^ Gabriel, Richard A. (2002). The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-275-97809-9.
^ Daniélou, Alain (1983). Histoire de l'Inde. Fayard. p. 223. ISBN 978-2-213-63953-6.
^ Masson-Oursel, Paul; Stern, Philippe; de Willman-Grabowska, H (2012). L'Inde antique et la civilisation indienne. Éditions Albin Michel. p. 88. ISBN 978-2-226-26086-4.
^ Boivin, Michel (2015). Histoire de l'Inde. Presses Universitaires de France. p. 8. ISBN 978-2-13-073032-3.
^ Gross, Jeffrey L. (2017). Waipi’O Valley. Vol. 1. Xlibris Corporation. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-5245-3905-4.
^ Berghe, Louis Vanden (1983). Reliefs rupestres de l'Irān ancien : Bruxelles, Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, 26 octobre 1983-29 janvier 1984. Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire. p. 25.
^ Margueron, Jean-Claude (2012). Le Proche-Orient et l'Égypte antiques. Hachette Éducation Technique. p. 384. ISBN 978-2-01-140096-3.
^ Barral I Altet, Xavier (2013). Histoire de l'art. Presses Universitaires de France. p. 19. ISBN 978-2-13-062338-0.
^ Clutton-Brock, Juliet (2014). The Walking Larder : Patterns of Domestication, Pastoralism, and Predation. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-317-59838-1.
^ Lemaire, André. "Les Araméens, un peuple, une langue, une écriture, au-delà des empires". www.clio.fr.
^ Cline, Eric. 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed [video], 2016, 1h10'17. See 5'41-6'19 for the invasion of the Sea People in the 5th yr of Merneptah's reign and the 8th year of Ramses III's, and 4'30 for the start of the Late Bronze Age collapse "on either side of 1200 BC".
^ Baurain, Claude (1997). Les Grecs et la Méditerranée orientale : des siècles "obscurs" à la fin de l'époque archaïque. Presses universitaires de France. p. 60.
^ Étienne, Roland (2004). Athènes, espaces urbains et histoire. Hachette. p. 23. ISBN 978-2-01-181444-9.
^ L’Europe au temps d’Ulysse. RMN - Grand Palais. 1999. p. 234. ISBN 978-2-7118-6293-1.
^ Curry, Andrew (24 March 2016). "Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle". Science. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
^ Price, T. Douglas (2015). Ancient Scandinavia. Oxford University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-19-023198-9.
^ Gimbutas, Marija (1965). Bronze Age cultures in Central and Eastern Europe. De Gruyter. p. 245. ISBN 978-3-11-166814-7.
^ Leighton, Robert (1999). Sicily Before History: An Archaeological Survey from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age. Cornell University Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-8014-8585-5.
^ Brunet, Olivier (2016). Les marqueurs archéologiques du pouvoir. Publications de la Sorbonne. p. 28. ISBN 979-10-351-0005-6.
^ Demoule, Jean-Paul; Garcia, Dominique; Schnapp, Alain (2018). Une histoire des civilisations (in French). La Découverte. p. 319. ISBN 978-2-7071-8878-6.

Decades and years

13th century BC
15th century BC ← 14th century BC ← ↔ → 12th century BC → 11th century BC

1300s BC	1309 BC	1308 BC	1307 BC	1306 BC	1305 BC	1304 BC	1303 BC	1302 BC	1301 BC	1300 BC
1290s BC	1299 BC	1298 BC	1297 BC	1296 BC	1295 BC	1294 BC	1293 BC	1292 BC	1291 BC	1290 BC
1280s BC	1289 BC	1288 BC	1287 BC	1286 BC	1285 BC	1284 BC	1283 BC	1282 BC	1281 BC	1280 BC
1270s BC	1279 BC	1278 BC	1277 BC	1276 BC	1275 BC	1274 BC	1273 BC	1272 BC	1271 BC	1270 BC
1260s BC	1269 BC	1268 BC	1267 BC	1266 BC	1265 BC	1264 BC	1263 BC	1262 BC	1261 BC	1260 BC
1250s BC	1259 BC	1258 BC	1257 BC	1256 BC	1255 BC	1254 BC	1253 BC	1252 BC	1251 BC	1250 BC
1240s BC	1249 BC	1248 BC	1247 BC	1246 BC	1245 BC	1244 BC	1243 BC	1242 BC	1241 BC	1240 BC
1230s BC	1239 BC	1238 BC	1237 BC	1236 BC	1235 BC	1234 BC	1233 BC	1232 BC	1231 BC	1230 BC
1220s BC	1229 BC	1228 BC	1227 BC	1226 BC	1225 BC	1224 BC	1223 BC	1222 BC	1221 BC	1220 BC
1210s BC	1219 BC	1218 BC	1217 BC	1216 BC	1215 BC	1214 BC	1213 BC	1212 BC	1211 BC	1210 BC
1200s BC	1209 BC	1208 BC	1207 BC	1206 BC	1205 BC	1204 BC	1203 BC	1202 BC	1201 BC	1200 BC
1190s BC	1199 BC	1198 BC	1197 BC	1196 BC	1195 BC	1194 BC	1193 BC	1192 BC	1191 BC	1190 BC

Centuries and millennia

Millennium	Century
BC (BCE)
4th	40th	39th	38th	37th	36th	35th	34th	33rd	32nd	31st
3rd	30th	29th	28th	27th	26th	25th	24th	23rd	22nd	21st
2nd	20th	19th	18th	17th	16th	15th	14th	13th	12th	11th
1st	10th	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
AD (CE)
1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
2nd	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
3rd	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th