The First Real World War Occurred in 1250 BC, Not 1914

History books state that the First World War began in 1914 and lasted until 1918, but what if it wasn’t the first large-scale war on Earth? A study suggests that the earliest war of such magnitude occurred around 3,200 years ago.

The Epic Conflict That Spanned Continents

This war consisted of a series of conflicts spanning much of Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East. Two powerful armies from different parts of Europe clashed in battle just south of the Baltic Sea. Their homes were separated by at least 400 miles—one army originating from Bavaria (modern-day Czech Republic) and the other from what is now northeast Germany.

More than 2,000 soldiers fought in this epic war, which was sparked by a series of conflicts and crises. Chaos spread across many regions, impacting areas from Scandinavia to the Sahara and from Western Europe to modern-day Iraq.

The new findings have been published in the UK-based academic journal Antiquity. The war occurred in the valley of the River Tollense around 1250 BC, during a time marked by political turmoil and the decline of several major empires.

This period included the fall of the first great Greek civilization, the Mycenaeans, around 1230 BC, the collapse of the Hittite Empire in the Middle East in the 1190s BC, the weakening of ancient Egypt around 1180 BC, and the decline of Babylon by 1155 BC.

Evidence Of A Massive Ancient Conflict

This was also the time of the final collapse of the Indus Valley civilization in the 13th century BC. 

So far, the remains of 160 warriors have been found, despite only a small portion of the battlefield being excavated.

Approximately 54 bronze arrowheads have also been discovered, correlating with the injuries on the soldiers’ bodies, as most are believed to have been killed by these weapons. Additionally, evidence of the war includes two distinct types of arrows found—one originating from northeast Germany and the other from southern Germany or the regions of Bohemia or Moravia, now part of the Czech Republic.

“Our study of this battlefield completely changes our understanding of Bronze Age society,” prehistorian Professor Thomas Terberger of the University of Göttingen, a co-author of today’s Antiquity paper, said.

“Our investigations have been revealing the unexpected scale and level of military and political organization in that period,” he added.

Follow Wat-Not on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram