Trojan War (fall of Troy)
1180 BCE · Troy (Hisarlik, modern Turkey) · World · Ancient
According to Homer's epics, after a long and fruitless siege the Greek coalition used the ruse of the wooden horse to get inside the city and took it with an attack from inside and outside; archaeology shows that the Troy VIIa layer was indeed destroyed in war, and one view dates this to c. 1250 BCE.
Belligerents
Mycenaean Greek coalition
- Commanders
- Agamemnon
- Strength
- The epic records a coalition of many states; its actual size is unknown
Troy
- Commanders
- Priam
- Strength
- Troy and allied defenders
Background
Homer's epics attribute the cause to Paris carrying off Helen, but modern scholars mostly see it as a conflict between the Greek states and the coastal city-states of Anatolia over trade through the straits.
Course of the battle
- Ten-year siegeThe Greek coalition laid a long siege beneath the walls of Troy
- City taken by the Trojan Horse ruseThe coalition feigned retreat and left the wooden horse behind, and the city was taken from inside and outside
Outcome at a glance
| Date | 1180 BCE |
|---|---|
| Place | Troy (present-day Hisarlik, Turkey) |
| Result | According to Homer's epics, after a long and fruitless siege the Greek coalition used the ruse of the wooden horse to get inside the city and took it with an attack from inside and outside; archaeology shows that the Troy VIIa layer was indeed destroyed in war, and one view dates this to c. 1250 BCE. |
| Winner | Mycenaean Greek coalition |
| Casualties | No exact figures; the epic describes large-scale plunder after the city fell. |
| Territorial change | The city-state of Troy was destroyed, and control of the trade route through the Dardanelles changed hands. |
Impact
The earliest and most famous war narrative in Western literature; its historical core remains an important subject for archaeology and philology.
See the world in 1180 BCE on the map →