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An Account of Diseases in the Near East During the Bronze Age – an Historical View

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An Account of Diseases in the Near East During the Bronze Age – an Historical View AN ACCOUNT OF DISEASES IN THE NEAR EAST DURING THE BRONZE AGE – AN HISTORICAL VIEW BY PHILIP NORRIE MBBS (NSW), MA (SYD), MSc (SYD), MSocSc (HONS) (CSU),PhD (UWS) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MEDICINE School of Public Health and Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine University of NSW 2014 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the millions of people, forgotten by history, who died from the epidemics that helped end the Bronze Age in the Near East. Map 1 : The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age (from Dickinson 2006) i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people for helping me research and write this thesis. Prof.Mark Ferson and Dr.Susan Hardy, my supervisors, for their guidance, patience and support throughout the whole process – it was much appreciated. Mrs Jan Willoughby, my secretary, for all her typing and clerical assistance but especially for being able to read my handwriting and notes. Dr.Julian Henwood PhD, a good friend, for his editorial skill morphing this thesis into its final form. Mrs Ann Sylvestre, a retired lawyer and friend who helped do my research in the Fisher Library at the University of Sydney mainly, as well as at other libraries around Sydney. Ms Julie Nolan, librarian at the University of New South Wales Library for her assistance with internet search engines and their access. Many expert people with whom I corresponded, they are listed at the end of the Bibliography. ii ORIGINALITY STATEMENT 'I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is :~:::~~~·.d : · .... ....... h ...... ......................... 1 Date ........................ ...... ~l~/ !,;. .... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. ii ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ............................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ 7 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 8 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 13 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................. 27 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 27 2.2 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 27 2.2.1 Historical Method ............................................................................................ 28 2.2.2 Case Study Method ......................................................................................... 28 2.2.3 Biographical Method ....................................................................................... 29 2.2.4 Experts Consulted ........................................................................................... 29 3. FINDINGS .............................................................................................. 31 3.1 THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST 1700–1150 BCE: A GEOPOLITICAL BACKGROUND .............................................................................................. 31 3.2 THE BRONZE AGE AND IRON AGE: A SUMMARY ..................................... 34 3.3 THE HITTITE EMPIRE: A BACKGROUND .................................................... 37 3.4 CURRENTLY ACCEPTED CAUSES FOR THE END OF THE BRONZE AGE ........................................................................................................................ 41 3.4.1 Volcanoes ....................................................................................................... 42 3.4.2 Comets ........................................................................................................... 42 3.4.3 Earthquakes .................................................................................................... 43 3.4.4 Tsunamis ........................................................................................................ 46 3.4.5 Mass Migrations of Populations ....................................................................... 46 3.4.6 Raids and Invasion by the “Sea Peoples” ........................................................ 46 3.4.7 Ironworking ..................................................................................................... 49 3.4.8 Lack of Tin ...................................................................................................... 49 3.4.9 Drought ........................................................................................................... 50 3.4.10 Famine ............................................................................................................ 51 3.4.11 Changes in Warfare ........................................................................................ 51 3.4.12 General Systems Collapse .............................................................................. 52 3.4.13 Cost of Maintaining an Empire ........................................................................ 53 3.4.14 Economic Factors ........................................................................................... 53 3.4.15 Internal Fighting within Ruling Royal Families ................................................. 53 4 3.4.16 Disease ........................................................................................................... 54 3.5 DISEASE AS A MAJOR CAUSE FOR THE END OF THE BRONZE AGE .... 60 3.5.1 Rationale ......................................................................................................... 60 3.5.2 Which Diseases? ............................................................................................ 61 3.6 DID THE HITTITE EMPIRE END WITH THE 1322 BCE EPIDEMIC? ............. 66 3.6.1 The Epidemic of 1322 BCE in the Hittite Empire ............................................. 69 3.6.2 The Plague Prayers of Mursili ......................................................................... 76 3.6.3 The Egyptian Connection ................................................................................ 83 3.7 DISEASES WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED THE END OF THE BRONZE AGE AND THE HITTITE EMPIRE ......................................................................... 100 3.7.1 Bubonic Plague ............................................................................................. 100 3.7.2 Dysentery ...................................................................................................... 104 3.7.3 Tularemia ...................................................................................................... 106 3.7.4. Smallpox ....................................................................................................... 111 3.7.5 Tuberculosis .................................................................................................. 113 3.7.6 Influenza ....................................................................................................... 113 3.7.7 Poliomyelitis .................................................................................................. 113 3.7.8 Anthrax ......................................................................................................... 113 3.7.9 Measles......................................................................................................... 114 3.7.10 Malaria .......................................................................................................... 114 3.7.11 Typhus .......................................................................................................... 114 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 118 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 121 APPENDIX KING MURSILI’S PLAGUE PRAYERS ...................................... 144 No.8 Mursili’s Hymn and Prayer to the Sun-goddess of Arinna (CTH 376.A) ........ 144 No.9 Mursili’s Hymn and Prayer to the God Telipinu (CTH 377) ............................ 148 No.10 Mursili’s “Third” plague Prayer to the Sun-goddess of Arinna (CTH 378.111) ...................................................................................................................... 150 No.11 Mursili’s “Second” Plague Prayer to the Storm-god of Hatti (CTH 378.11) .... 151 No.12 Mursili’s “First” Plague Prayer to the Assembly of Gods and Goddesses (CTH 378.1) ............................................................................................................ 155 No.13 Mursili’s “Fourth”
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