1200s BC (decade)
decade from 1200BCE to 1210BCE
The 1200s BC is a decade that lasted from 1209 BC to 1200 BC.
Events and trends
1207 BC
Pharaoh Merneptah claims a victory over Libyans and Sea Peoples at the Battle of Perire.
October 30 – Earliest known dateable solar eclipse.
1206 BC: Approximate starting date of Late Bronze Age collapse, a period of migration, unrest and destruction in the eastern Mediterranean and Ancient Near East, and beginning of the Iron Age in the Near East.
1204 BC: Theseus, legendary King of Athens, is deposed after a reign of 30 years and succeeded by Menestheus, great-grandson of Erichthonius II of Athens and second cousin of Theseus' father Aegeus. Menestheus is reportedly assisted by Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who want to reclaim their sister Helen from her first husband Theseus. Theseus seeks refuge in Skyros, whose King Lycomedes is an old friend and ally. Lycomedes, however, considers his visitor a threat to the throne and proceeds to assassinate him. (Other accounts place these events a decade earlier. See 1210s BC.)
c. 1200 BC: Start of Pan-Illyrians
c.
The public source identifies “1200s BC (decade)” as decade from 1200BCE to 1210BCE. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around 1200s, decade and 1200BCE.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “1200s BC (decade)”, the useful work is to connect “decade from 1200BCE to 1210BCE” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1994008. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1209, 1200, 1207 and 1206.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “1200s BC (decade)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 1200s BC (decade) primary sources, 1200s BC (decade) archive and 1200s research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “1200s BC (decade)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “1200s BC (decade)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.