Between 1200 and 1150 BC , the cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms , the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria , and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Canaan , interrupted trade routes and extinguished literacy . Between 1206 and 1150 BCE , the cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms , the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria , and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Canaan interrupted trade routes and extinguished literacy .