Sea Peoples and Philistines - Prehistoric Greeks in Middle East

The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of naval raiders who harried the coastal towns and cities of the Mediterranean region between approximately 1276-1178 BCE, concentrating their efforts especially on Egypt. The only records we have of their activities are mainly Egyptian sources who only describe them in terms of battle (such as the record from the Stele at Tanis which reads, in part, “They came from the sea in their war ships and none could stand against them”). Names of what may have been the tribes which comprised the Sea Peoples have been recorded as the Sherden, the Sheklesh, Lukka, Tursha and Akawasha. Outside Egypt, they also frequently assaulted the coastal regions of the Hittite Empire, the Levant and other areas around the Mediterranean coast. Their origin and identity has been suggested to be Etruscan/Trojan to Italian, Philistine, Mycenaen and Minoan. There origin from Asia Minor, Aegean Greece. The Sea Peoples are mentioned as allies of the Hittites by Ramesses II in his record of the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE and, in the second year of his reign, he defeated them in a naval battle off the coast of Egypt. Ramesses cleverly allowed the war ships and their supply and cargo vessels to approach the mouth of the Nile and attack what seemed to be a small defending Egyptian fleet, before launching his full attack upon them from their flanks and sinking their ships. This battle involved (it seems) only the Sherdan Sea Peoples and after the battle many were pressed into Ramesses’ army and some served as his elite body guard. Ramesses’ successor, Merneptah (1224-1214 BCE) continued to be troubled by the Sea Peoples who allied themselves with the Libyans to invade the Nile Delta. At this point in their history it seems the Sea Peoples were seeking to establish permanent settlements in Egypt as the invading force brought with them scores of household goods and building tools. Egyptian records tell us that Merneptah, after praying, fasting, and consulting the gods in the matter of strategy, met the Sea Peoples on the field at Pi-yer where the combined Egyptian force of infantry, cavalry and archers slew over 6,000 of their opponents and took captive members of the royal Libyan family. During the reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses III (1194-1163 BCE) the Sea Peoples attacked and destroyed the Egyptian trading center at Kadesh (in modern day Syria) and then again attempted an invasion of Egypt. They began their activities with quick raids along the coast (as they had done in the time of Ramesses II) before driving for the Delta. Ramesses III defeated them in 1180 BCE but they returned in force. Ramesses then set up ambushes along the coast and the Nile and made especially effective use of his archers, positioning them hidden along the shoreline to rain down arrows on the ships at his signal, once they were in range. Once the ships' complement was dead or drowning the ships were set afire with flaming arrows and the Sea Peoples were finally defeated off the city of Xois in 1178 BCE. Egyptian records, again, detail a glorious victory in which many of the Sea Peoples were slain and others taken captive and pressed into the Egyptian army and navy or sold as slaves. The Philistines were a people described in the Bible. The Hebrew term "pelistim" occurs 286 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible (of which 152 times in1 Samuel), whereas in the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, the equivalent term phylistiim occurs only 12 times, with the remaining 269 references instead using the term "allophylos" ("of another tribe"). According toJoshua 13:3 and 1 Samuel 6:17, the land of the Philistines (or Allophyloi), called Philistia, was a pentapolis in southwestern Levant comprising the five city-states of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with no fixed border to the east. The Bible portrays them at one period of time as among the Kingdom of Israel's most dangerous enemies. Biblical scholars have connected the Philistines to other biblical groups such as Caphtorim and theCherethites and Pelethites, which have both been identified with Crete, and leading to the tradition of an Aegean origin. Outside of the Bible, the evidence for and origins of the Philistines are not clear and is the subject of considerable research and speculation in biblical archaeology. Since 1822, scholars have connected the Biblical Philistines with the Egyptian "Peleset" inscriptions, all five of which appear from c.1150 BCE just as archaeological references to "Kinaḫḫu" or "Ka-na-na" (Canaan) come to an end, and since 1873 comparisons were drawn between them and to the Aegean "Pelasgians". This identification is held by the majority of egyptologists and biblical archaeologists. Archaeological research to date has been unable to corroborate a mass settlement of Philistines during the Ramesses III era.
Rabbinic sources state that the Philistines of Genesis were different peoples from the Philistines of the Deuteronomistic history. This differentiation was also held by the authors of the Septuagint, who translated (rather than transliterated) the term as "allophuloi" (Αλλόφυλοι, "other nations") instead of "philistines" throughout the Books of Judges and Samuel.Throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Philistines are almost always referred to without the definite article, except on 11 occasions. On the basis of the LXX's regular translation into "allophyloi", Robert Drews states that the term "Philistines" means simply "non-Israelites of the Promised Land" when used in the context of Samson, Saul and David. The Philistines are said to have dominated the Israelites in the times of Samson and Eli, and even to have captured the Ark of the Covenant for a few years. Also, Samson killed many Philistines and had many skirmishes with them. A few biblical texts, such as the Ark Narrative and stories reflecting the importance of Gath, seem to portray Late Iron I and Early Iron II memories. They are mentioned more than 250 times, the majority in the Deuteronomistic history (the series of books from Joshua to 2 Kings), and are depicted as among the arch-enemies of the Israelites, a serious and recurring threat before being subdued by David. The Bible paints the Philistines as the main enemy of the Israelites (prior to the rise of the Assyrian Empire between the 10th century BC and late 7th century BC) with a state of almost perpetual war between the two peoples. The Philistine cities lost their independence to Assyria, and revolts in following years were all crushed. They were subsequently absorbed into the Babylonian and Persian empires, and disappeared as a distinct ethnic group by the late 5th century BC. The Philistine pentapolis were ruled by seranim ("lords"), though to what extent they had a sense of a "nation" is not clear without literary sources. The following is a list of battles purported in the Bible between the Israelites and the Philistines: The Battle of Shephelah
 (2 Chronicles 28:18). Israelites defeated at the Battle of Aphek, Philistines capture the Ark (1 Samuel 4:1–10). Philistines defeated at the Battle of Eben-Ezer (1 Samuel 7:3–14). Skirmish at Michmash, Philistines routed by Jonathan and his men (1 Samuel 14). Near the Valley of Elah, David defeats Goliath in single combat (1 Samuel 17). The Philistines defeat Israelites on Mount Gilboa, killing King Saul and his three sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malkishua (1 Samuel 31). Hezekiah defeats the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory (2 Kings 18:5–8).
Πηγή: http://www.ancient.eu/Sea_Peoples/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistines#Battles_between_the_Israelites_and_the_Philistines