A Collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean? New results and theories on the interplay between climate and societies in Byzantium and the Near East, ca. 1000-1200 AD

TL;DR

This paper challenges the climate-induced collapse theory of the Eastern Mediterranean in the 11th century, presenting data that refutes it and emphasizing the importance of climate factors in understanding medieval socio-economic changes.

Contribution

It provides new proxy data analysis showing that the collapse scenario is unsupported and highlights the significance of climate in medieval societal dynamics.

Findings

Collapse scenario cannot be supported by proxy data

Climatic changes influenced socio-economic conditions during the Komnenian period

Environmental factors should be integrated into historical analyses

Abstract

This paper discusses a recently proposed scenario of a climate-induced Collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean in the 11th century AD. It demonstrates that such a scenario cannot be maintained when confronted with proxy data from various regions. On the other hand, data on the interplay between environment and economy in the Komnenian period (1081-1185) and evidence for a change of climatic conditions in the period of the Angeloi (1185-1204) is presented, arguing that climatic parameters should be taken into consideration when comparing socio-economic dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean with those in Western Europe. The necessity of further research on the regional as well as over-regional level for many aspects of the interaction between human society and environment in the medieval Eastern Mediterranean is highlighted.