The Phoenicians use a consonantal alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Arabic scripts.
Approximate date.
Ancient Greek tradition placed the war between the Greeks and Troy around the 12th century BCE; its historicity remains debated.
Many Eastern Mediterranean states, including the Hittite Empire, collapse or decline sharply during a prolonged period of upheaval.
Ramesses II and the Hittite king Hattusili III conclude one of the earliest peace treaties whose text survives.
Ramesses II's Egyptian army fights the Hittites near Kadesh in Syria, one of the largest chariot battles of antiquity.
The Neo-Assyrian Empire captures Samaria, ending the northern Kingdom of Israel and deporting part of its population.
A Babylonian and Median coalition sacks Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, marking the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.