14th century BC explained

The 14th century BC was the century that lasted from the year 1400 BC until 1301 BC.

Events

• 1350 – 1250 BC: the Bajío phase of the San Lorenzo site in Mexico; large public buildings are constructed.^[1]
• Pastoral nomadism develops in the steppes of Central Asia; cattle are watched on horseback.^[2]

Middle East and Africa

• 1400 – 1250 BC: the heyday of the Phoenician city of Ugarit.^[3] A written alphabet is attested by Ugaritic texts.^[4]
• c. 1380 – 1336 BC: the reign of Šuppiluliuma I, who leads the Hittite Empire to its peak.^[5] Šuppiluliuma I conquers the weakened Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni in the second half of the century. Assyria is emancipated under Ashur-uballit I.^[6]
• 1372 – 1350 BC: Akhetaton (Amarna) is constructed as the ephemeral capital of the pharaoh Akhenaten and dedicated to the sun god Aten. It is abandoned a few years after Akhenaten's death.^[7]
• c. 1325 BC: Pharaoh Tutankhamun dies and is buried in a richly furnished tomb in the Valley of the Kings.^[5]
• c. 1320 – 1295 BC: the sinking of the Uluburun shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea south of modern-day Kaş.^[8]
• Lycian pirates from southwest Anatolia raid the kingdom of Alashiya in Cyprus. They are employed as mercenaries by the Hittites and take part in the Battle of Kadesh.^[9]
• An Ugaritic patera, with its embossed decoration in concentric zones and hunting scenes, reveals an exceptional level in goldsmithing.^[10]

Europe

• c. 1400 – 1300 BC:
  • A glacial rise is attested by the peat bog of the glacier of Tyrol.^[11]
  • Phase III A of the Greek Bronze Age.^[12] Contacts with the Mycenaean civilization are established at Thapsos, Syracuse, Scoglio del Tonno in the Gulf of Taranto, and Ischia on the Tyrrhenian coast.^{[13] [14]}
• 1400 – 1370 BC: phase III A1 of the Late Helladic period in Greece.^[15] Palaces are constructed in Tiryns and Pylos.^[16] Linear B, which transcribes an archaic form of Greek, appears in the palace of Knossos at the end of Phase III A1 of the Late Minoan period.^[17]
• 1370 – 1340 BC: phase III A2 of the Late Helladic period in Greece.^[15]
• 1340 – 1190 BC: phase III B of the Late Helladic period in Greece.^[15] Beehive tombs are constructed in Epirus and Thessaly,^[18] and a palace is constructed in Athens.^[19]
• 1380 – 1120 BC: a Mycenaean sanctuary is built in Phylakopi.^[16]
• c. 1370 BC: the Hagia Triada Sarcophagus is created in Crete.^[20]
• c. 1350 – 1330 BC: the reconstruction of the palace and Cyclopean enclosure at Mycenae, then at its peak under the reign of the legendary king and queen Perseus and Andromeda.^[21]

Notes and References

1. Book: Victoria . Bricker . Jeremy A. . Sabloff . Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians . 1 . University of Texas Press . 2012 . 978-0-292-74441-7 . 376.
2. Book: fr . Hervé . Beaumont . Asie centrale . Editions Marcus . 2008 . 978-2-7131-0228-8 . 101.
3. Book: Papin, Yves Denis . Chronologie de l'histoire ancienne . fr . Éditions Jean-paul Gisserot . 1998 . 978-2-87747-346-0 . 12.
4. Book: Lalou, Frank . Les 22 clés de l'alphabet hébraïque . fr . Desclée De Brouwer . 2016 . 978-2-220-02025-9 . 38.
5. Book: Roux, Georges . La Mésopotamie . fr . Seuil . 1995 . 978-2-02-008632-5 . 559.
6. Book: fr . Jacques . Freu . Michel . Mazoyer . L'apogée du nouvel empire hittite . L'Harmattan . 2008 . 978-2-296-21119-3 . 13.
7. Book: Simpson, William Kelly . William Kelly Simpson . The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt . . 1998 . 978-0-300-07747-6 . 181.
8. Book: Harry . Fokkens . Anthony . Harding . The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age . OUP Oxford . 2013 . 978-0-19-957286-1 . 383.
9. Book: Demand, Nancy H. . The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History . . 2011 . 978-1-4443-4234-5 . 206.
10. Book: Ottinger, Bénédicte . L'art et la chasse . fr . Renaissance Du Livre . 2002 . 978-2-8046-0679-4 . 12.
11. Book: Vivian, Robert . Les glaciers du Mont-Blanc . fr . La Fontaine de Siloë . 2005 . 978-2-84206-285-9 . 20.
12. Book: Baurain, Claude . Les Grecs et la Méditerranée orientale : des siècles "obscurs" à la fin de l'époque archaïque . fr . Presses universitaires de France . 1997 . 60.
13. Book: Claude . Mossé . Annie . Schnapp-Gourbeillon . Précis d'histoire grecque . fr . Armand Colin . 2009 . 978-2-200-28392-6 . 69.
14. Book: Turfa, Jean MacIntosh . The Etruscan World . . 2014 . 978-1-134-05523-4 . 198.
15. Book: Feuer, Bryan . Mycenaean Civilization . . 2004 . 978-0-7864-2698-0 . 6.
16. Book: Poursat, Jean-Claude . La Grèce préclassique . fr . Points . 2014 . 978-2-7578-4500-4 . 49.
17. Book: Viers, Rina . Des signes pictographiques à l'alphabet : la communication écrite en Méditerranée : actes du colloque, 14 et 15 mai 1996, Villa grecque Kérylos, Fondation Théodore Reinach (Beaulieu-sur-mer) . fr . Karthala . 2000 . 978-2-86537-996-5 . 219.
18. Book: Nicolas . Platon . Béatrice . de Tournay . La Civilisation égéenne : Le Bronze récent et la civilisation mycénienne . 2 . fr . Albin Michel . 1981 . 978-2-226-22522-1 . 382.
19. Book: Étienne, Roland . Athènes, espaces urbains et histoire . fr . Hachette Éducation . 2004 . 978-2-01-181444-9 . PT22.
20. Book: Suter, Ann . Lament . . 2008 . 978-0-19-971427-8 . 77.
21. Book: Faure, Paul . Paul Faure (archaeologist) . Marie-Jeanne . Gaignerot . Guide grec antique . Hachette Éducation Technique . 1991 . 978-2-01-181766-2 . PT65.