Dust can also cause a mighty empire to collapse

An empire can be collapsed for various reasons such as aggression, too large territory, civil war, economic problems or climate change. A new study shows that there is one more reason that can cause an empire to collapse, namely the Akkadian Empire collapsed by a dust storm.

Akkadian was a flourishing empire at the end of the Bronze Age (from the 24th to the 22nd century BC), the capital was Akkad in ancient Mesopotamia, this empire of many cities united under the rule. because of a king.The Akkadian Empire ruled the land for hundreds of years until it collapsed.

So far, based on geological studies from six 4,100-year-old Porites fossil samples, scientists have discovered a few more surprises. These fossils have documented the devastating potential of climate change, possibly even landing and erasing an entire civilization.

One of the six fossil samples.

" Although the main reason for the fall of the Akkadian Empire was the external invasion of Mesopotamia, our fossil samples are a window of time to show that climatic factors also contributed to the collapse." this empire, "said environmental researcher Tsuyoshi Watanabe at Hokkaido University.

"Further professional research will help broaden our understanding of the links between climate change and human society in the past."

The study of the fossil was conducted at Tell Leilan, in northeastern Syria, also the center of the former Akkadian Empire. Studies show that a sudden and prolonged drought occurred around the time the empire collapsed, as well as evidence of strong northeast monsoon winds that brought dust to the Persian Gulf.

The fossils also indicate that there was a long winter with the northeast wind at the time of the Akkadian collapse about 4,200 years ago. And the above-mentioned meteorology conditions combined created a harsh environment, making it difficult for food crops to grow. This has led to instability for the people of this empire.

Drought and social instability have been recognized as the causes of the fall of the Akkadian Empire, as well as external aggression. Research has provided us with more details about the situation during that time period.

We may never know what really happened at the end of the Akkadian Empire. But these fossils provided important clues, and scientists were able to accurately predict climatic conditions thousands of years ago. In addition to fossils, scientists can also get information from ice cores or tree rings.

The best thing is not that we can learn more about the past, but this information will help us to cope with the current climate change situation. Like the Akkadian Empire, we are experiencing more extreme weather patterns with more frequent densities that make many lands uninhabitable.

In this case, it took people hundreds of years to relocate to Mesopotamia, a warning from the past sent to us today.

"The strong winds caused Mesopotamia to become arid in the winter, so far the agriculture in this region still suffers heavy damage in the winter," the study concluded.