SEA
PEOPLES
Towards
the end of the thirteenth century BC, the international system started
to break down. Characterised by international contacts between the
empires of the Near East and their interaction with the many smaller
states, especially in Syria and Canaan, the kings of Babylonia,
Egypt, Elam, the Hittites, Mitanni, and in the later stages the
Assyrians, maintained good lines of communication which opened up
the ancient world, especially to trade. However, the system was
one that made the elite very rich and the poor even poorer as their
debts increased. Increasing numbers of people started to leave the
cities to escape their debts, and often joined rogue groups known
as the habiru in Syria and the Levant, which not only maintained
a way of life free from the control of the major kings, but which
also raided their cities and supplies.
The
international system was starting to creak under the strain when
it was also hit by drought and a loss of crops. Food supplies dwindled
and the number of raids by habiru and other groups of peoples who
had banded together greatly increased until, by about 1200 BC, this
flood turned into a tidal wave which destroyed the Hittites and
many Anatolia and Syrian cities and states, and brought about a
dark age which delivered approximately two centuries of isolation
to Egypt and the eastern states, Assyria, Babylonia, and Elam. It
also isolated cities in Syria and the Levant, and saw the end of
Mycenaean civilisation in Greece.
The
term 'sea peoples' was used to collectively refer to this mass of
raiding peoples and they frequently took everything with them on
their attacks; wives, children, and belongings, and often settled
in any territory they managed to conquer. The Bronze Age collapse
they engendered brought the international system to an end, eventually
to be replaced by one of great empires, but it didn't happen overnight.
While its beginnings with the habiru were much earlier, it was only
in about 1210 BC that things seriously started to go wrong, and
the process of collapse lasted until about 1140 BC, with a recovery
period which did not fully end until around 800 BC.
Judging
by various contemporary accounts regarding the Sea Peoples, it seems
the origin of many of them (if not all) was either in western Anatolia
(from places probably including Ahhiyawa, and the Lukka, and perhaps
Karkissa too), or mainland Greece (Mycenaeans escaping the Dorian
invasion), or the islands in between. Killebrew states that it is
noteworthy that the designation 'of the sea' appears only in relation
to the Sherden, Shekelesh, and Eqwesh. Subsequently, this term was
applied somewhat indiscriminately to several additional ethnonyms,
including the Philistines, who are portrayed in their earliest appearance
as invaders from the north during the reigns of the pharaohs Merenptah
and Ramesses Ill.
(Additional
information by Edward Dawson, from The Philistines and Other 'Sea
Peoples' in Text and Archaeology, Ann E Killebrew (Society of Biblical
Literature Archaeology and Biblical Studies, 2013), from Researches
into the Physical History of Mankind, Vol 3, Issue 1, James Cowles
Prichard, from The Roman History: From Romulus and the Foundation
of Rome to the Reign of the Emperor Tiberius, Velleius Paterculus,
J C Yardley, Anthony A Barrett, and from External Link: Listverse.)
c.1340
BC :
A member of the Shardana group of peoples is mentioned in the Armana
letters.
c.1278
BC :
Ramses II repels a raid by the Shardana, taking prisoners.
c.1210
BC :
Drought in the region causes a famine and subsequent movement of
peoples. Collectively known by chroniclers as the Sea Peoples, various
groups begin raiding the Mediterranean coastline, attacking kingdoms
and destroying cities, and in some cases even settling in the conquered
areas. While not specifically Sea Peoples themselves, the Dorians
have already begun invading Mycenaean Greece from the north, perhaps
forced to move by those same drought conditions.
![Habu relief at Medinet](SeaPeoples_Medinet01_full.jpg)
Attacks
by the Sea Peoples gathered momentum during the last decade of the
thirteenth century BC, quickly reaching a peak which lasted about
forty years
1208
BC :
Egypt fights off an attempted invasion by a confederation of Libyan
and northern peoples in the Western Delta. Raids on this area had
already been so severe in recent years that the region was 'forsaken
as pasturage for cattle, it was left waste from the time of the
ancestors'. Included amongst the ethnic names of the repulsed invaders
are the Danya, the Ekwesh, the Lukka, and the Tjekker.
c.1200
BC :
In Anatolia, Arzawa's old territory is destroyed, as is Hattusa,
the capital of the Hittite empire, and Ishuwa, Kizzuwatna, and Tarhuntassa
also fall. If the Ekwesh do originate from Ahhiyawa, their hostility
towards the Hittites probably leads to their being involved in the
destruction of that state.
In
Syria and Canaan, various raids and attacks take place over a period
of time. Alalakh, Amurru, and Hazor are all destroyed and Arvad
is sacked. The group of Sea Peoples called the Peleshet grabs territory
on the coast of the Levant in the region of Gaza.
The
founding of Tabal in Anatolia is associated by some scholars with
the Sea Peoples. Possibly some of their number settle in the region
at this time.
c.1195
BC :
Ugarit is probably attacked by the Sea Peoples.
c.1185
BC :
Emar in Syria is destroyed, and large regions of Syria and Anatolia
are left depopulated for many decades.
c.1182
BC :
Seven ships of Sea Peoples attack and destroy Ugarit, ending that
state's existence, and on Cyprus Alashiya is sacked.
1179
BC :
Ramses
III of Egypt records that he fights off an attack by Libyans and
people from the north, almost certainly Sea Peoples. The Peleshet
and the Tjekker are mentioned.
1176
BC :
Egypt fights another successful campaign against attackers from
the north, this time against the Denyen, Peleshet, Shekelesh, Tjekker,
and Weshesh. It seems the victorious Egyptians use their fleet to
mount attacks on some of the bases used by their attackers.
1172
BC :
Ramses III records his final (believable) campaign against raiders
who are identified as Sea Peoples, again the Denyen, Peleshet, Shekelesh,
Tjekker, and Weshesh. Once again defeated by a surprise Egyptian
attack, their power seems to wane and their threat appears to fade
as they found new settlements on captured territory in the Levant
and elsewhere.
c.1100
BC :
The Onomasticon of Amenemope document in Egypt appears to confirm
that the former Sea Peoples, the Peleshet, Sherden, and Tjekker,
are still settled in Philistia.
Danya
/ Dannuna / Denyen :
The
Danya are mentioned in passing in the Armana letters from Egypt,
in reference to the death of their king. The next time they appeared
they were part of the combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples
which attacked Egypt in 1208 BC (as well as later). Once defeated
and captured, they were subsequently settled along the coast of
Palestine to help guard Egypt's 'way of the Philistines' between
Egypt and Syria. They may be related to the Greek Danoi (another
name for Homer's Achaeans in Mycenae), as well as to fairly recent
settlers in Kizzuwatna, the Denyen. Those who are settled in Palestine
are generally believed by scholars to be the Israelite tribe of
Dan, which people are supposed to have settled with their ships
in between Ekron and Joppa. The alternative is that they were forced
inland by the newly arrived Philistines, which would explain their
lack of any Israelite land to their name.
Ekwesh
/ Eqwesh / Akawasha :
The
Ekwesh were part of the combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples
which attacked Egypt in 1208 BC. Some scholars see the Ekwesh as
possible elements from Ahhiyawa, or even mainland Mycenaean Achaea.
Homer and Odysseus mentioned an Achaean attack upon the delta, and
later Greek myths stated that Helen spent the duration of the Trojan
War in Egypt rather than Troy, and that after the war the Mycenaeans
went there to recover her.
Doubt
about the Mycenaean link comes from the prisoners taken by Egypt.
To be sure of the numbers of enemy dead (6,000, with 9,000 prisoners),
the pharaoh ordered that the penises of all the uncircumcised victims
be cut off, along with the hands of those who had been circumcised.
The Ekwesh number amongst the latter, making the Greek connection
doubtful to some. However, the name 'Ekwesh' is very similar to
the Indo-European word for horse. The related Latin word 'equa'
is pronounced 'ekwa'. In this period Indo-Europeans were starting
to lose their exclusivity when it came to using horses, but they
still dominated the world's total number of horse users, and the
Achaeans/Ahhiyawans were chariot users. Considering their own name,
Ekwesh, clearly relating to the Indo-European word for horse, it
can be seen that they were a division of Indo-Europeans, and almost
certainly one that was related to the Achaeans (Greeks).
![](SeaPeoples_Ekwesh01_full.jpg)
The group of people known as the Ekwesh were involved in
the destruction of the Hittite kingdom around 1200 BC, although
their origins are clouded in mystery
Karkisa :
This
was a minor grouping of Sea Peoples which were mentioned in passing
by several sources. Their origins were in Anatolia, close to the
Lukka, where they formed a tribal region known as Karkissa, or Caria
to the later Greeks who began colonising the region from the twelfth
century onwards.
Labu
/ Libu :
The
Labu, or Libu, were one of many tribes of Libyans which were active
around the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BC. Regarded as barbarians
by Egypt, they frequently mounted raids large and small on Egyptian
territory, and were often settled in groups as mercenaries by various
pharaohs. It was the prominence of this particular tribe which caused
its name to be adopted not only for what became modern Libya, but
for the whole North African coast in the ancient world.
Lukka
:
The
Lukka were part of the combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples
which attacked Egypt in 1208 BC. They appear as only a small part
of that force, however, and were more generally to be found as mercenaries
in various first millennium armies, recruited from their home in
southern Anatolia, where the confederation of uncultured and hard-fighting
Lukka people had been identified by the Hittites.
Meshwesh
:
The
Meshwesh were an ancient Libyan tribe from the region of Cyrenica
who were in an almost constant state of conflict with Egypt's Nineteenth
and Twentieth dynasties. In 1208 BC and 1179 BC a large number of
Libyans were joined by various Sea Peoples in attacks on Egypt.
A further attack in 1176 BC was led largely by the Meshwesh, and
when they were captured they were settled in Egypt and pressed into
service. However, this did not stop further attacks from Libya.
In fact, Meshwesh continued to prove problematical for Egypt for
several centuries. By the eighth century BC they (or at least a
division of them) were dominated by the Libu who formed their own
city state within the Egyptian Nile Delta at Sais.
Peleshet
:
The
Peleshet were part of a combined force of Sea Peoples which attacked
Egypt in 1179 and 1176 BC. The Egyptian scenes of the battles which
took place show the Peleshet to be clean-shaven, wear a panelled
kilt, a chest protector, and a circle of upright reeds or leather
strips on their head. At around the same time they also grabbed
territory for themselves on the coast of the Levant, and perhaps
initially used this as a base for continued attacks on Egypt. The
regional city of Gezer and others were destroyed around the same
time. The new arrivals were known in the Old Testament as the Philistines.
Shardana
/ Sherden / Serden :
The
Shardana were bold sea pirates who appear briefly in fragmentary
records from the Bronze Age collapse but about whom very little
is known. The costume they wear on reliefs looks similar to, but
not the same as, that of the Peleshet, as well as bearing certain
similarities to Mycenaean armour. They were sometimes employed as
mercenaries, owing to their superior weaponry which could better
withstand chariot attacks.
They
were the earliest of the Sea Peoples to be mentioned, and until
recently it was thought by their name and by archaeological finds
that they migrated from Greece to Sardinia. Now it seems more likely
that they originated on Sardinia and Corsica and migrated eastwards
(and perhaps the Tyrsennoi with them). One of them was mentioned
in the Armana letters from Egypt (roughly between the 1350s to 1330s
BC), as an apparent renegade mercenary, while three more were slain
by an Egyptian overseer. In the second year of the reign of Ramses
II (1278 BC), the pharaoh repulsed a raid by the Shardana on the
Nile Delta, and took Shardana prisoners. He also spoke of the continuing
threat which these people posed to the Mediterranean coastline 'in
their warships from the midst of the sea', so it is likely they
played a notable (if unrecorded) part in the collapse.
![](SeaPeoples_Bronze01_full.jpg)
Bronze
mask dated between 1400-1150 BC probably depicting a Sherden warrior,
although the horns are missing from the holes at the top of the
head
Shekelesh / Sheklesh / Shikala :
The
Shekelesh were part of the combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples
which attacked Egypt in 1208 BC, and again in 1176 BC. They are
also believed to be responsible for the destruction of Ugarit in
1182 BC. Another group of sea pirates, they apparently 'lived on
ships', according to the Hittites in correspondence with Ugarit
(letter RS 34.129). Egyptian scenes show that the Shekelesh prisoners
had their hands removed (and were also circumcised) - these hands
were then presented to the pharaoh as a count of the enemy. A Shekelesh
prince is depicted wearing a beard and with a prominent, thin nose
and a swept-back turban or hair style.
An
interesting theory is that the Shekelesh were the Siculi of Sicily.
Seemingly before they arrived on the island, the Siculi could have
taken part in various Sea People raids and have their name recorded
by the Egyptians. This seems possible when it is remembered that
the Shekelesh were part of a combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples,
so there's no particular reason to count them purely as Libyans.
The alternative form of the Siculi name, Sicel, could be another
way of spelling Shekel, and the '-esh' could be a plural suffix
that may have been of Egyptian origin. However, the use of circumcision
was not an Indo-European practice, and the similarity in name may
also be down to pure coincidence.
Tjekker
:
The
Tjekker were part of the combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples
which attacked Egypt in 1208 BC, and they returned in 1179 BC and
1176 BC. Once defeated and captured, they were subsequently settled
along the coast of Palestine to help guard Egypt's 'way of the Philistines'
between Egypt and Syria. They are thought by some scholars to be
linked to the Anatolian Teucri, but another theory links them to
Crete (Biblical Caphtor), which was heavily influenced by the Mycenaeans.
They could later be found inhabiting some cities in northern Canaan,
including Dor.
Tyrsennoi
/ Teresh / Tursha :
The
Tyrsennoi were part of the combined force of Libyans and Sea Peoples
which attacked Egypt in 1208 BC (under the name of the Teresh).
It has been speculated that the Tyrsennoi could have originated
from somewhere near the Tyrrhenian Sea (between Italy and Sardinia).
The Greeks knew of them, and the name of that sea derives from a
Greek term for Tyrsennoi. They may have borne some relation to the
(possibly) Sardinian Shardana, while another theory is that they
were related to the Etruscans (who called themselves 'Rasena').
Interestingly, the Elymi people of Iron Age Sicily have been linked
to the Tyrsennoi. Reliefs in Egypt which show the Teresh depict
them as being bearded, wearing pointed kilts, strips of leather
or linen to protect their chests, and carrying either spears or
a scimitar.
Weshesh
:
The
Weshesh were part of a combined force of Sea Peoples which attacked
Egypt in 1176 BC. While their origins are unknown, some evidence
points to Karkissa (Caria) as their possible homeland. Theory suggests
that, like the Danya, they settled in Canaan and joined the Israelites
as the tribe of Asher.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/
AnatoliaSeaPeoples.htm