# 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.

## Key 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.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1705.04013