Who Were the Sea Peoples?
Historians and scholars alike continue to debate and theorize about the origins and exploits of the so-called Sea Peoples who terrorized the Mediterranean's eastern coast during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries B.C. What is known about the Sea Peoples is mostly gleaned from Egyptian inscriptions that describe a battle waged during the reign of the Egyptian king Merneptah in 1208 B.C. According to the inscriptions, the Sea Peoples were an amalgam of migrating tribes, six of which were named: Tjeker, Denyen, Peleset, Weshesh, Shekelesh, and Shardana.
As a combined force, the Sea Peoples led maritime invasions in areas along the eastern Mediterranean and later took aim at Egypt during two epic battles, once during Merneptah's reign and again twenty years later during the kingship of Pharaoh Ramses III.
Voracious in their attacks on villages and merchant shipping, the Sea Peoples were maritime raiders on a grand scale. In 1190 B.C., one of the scribes serving Ramses III described the Sea Peoples as a
Of Unknown Origin
The Sea Peoples' place in history is secured by the historical theory that as a collective force they brought about the collapse of key Mediterranean powers during the Late Bronze Age between 1600 and 1000 B.C., including the Greek and Hittite empires in Anatolia (the Asiatic area of Turkey) and northern Syria. Some scholars conclude that the Sea Peoples were from the Aegean area or Anatolia, were Greek, or were even the original inhabitants of the fabled lost city of Atlantis. One of the prominent theories regarding their formation into a cohesive civilization is that various separate tribes were forced into a southern migration as a result of eroding economic factors, desperation driving them to pillage and piracy.
Attack on Egypt
Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah came to power in 1213 B.C. after the death of his father — the legendary Ramses the Great — and ruled until approximately 1203 B.C. In antiquity, the death of any leader was often followed by a period of panic when civilizations feared being overtaken by neighboring factions. Such was the case after Ramses' death, but an incursion didn't come from the Hittites as might have been expected. Instead, it is said to have been a contingent of Libyans — enemies of the Egyptians — who joined forces with the Sea Peoples. In the fifth year of Merneptah's reign, the Sea Peoples began an assault on the Nile Delta in an effort to block the supply of wheat that Egypt was providing the Hittites. With numbers estimated as high as 5,000, the Sea Peoples attacked, but in the end their efforts proved to be no match for Merneptah's forces.
One by Land, Two by Sea
For the next two decades, the piratical Sea Peoples continued their relentless raids on the east coast of the Mediterranean, liberating any and all goods and capturing men, women, and children who could be sold as slaves. For their efforts, they ultimately controlled entire ports, cities, and surrounding lands. Twenty years after their attempted assault on Egypt, the Sea Peoples once again attacked the Nile Delta. This battle, fought around 1175 B.C. during the reign of Ramses III, is described on the walls of his mortuary temple in Medinet Habu in Thebes (present-day Luxor). The battle against the Sea Peoples depicted in the temple of Ramses III bears striking similarity to the invasion previously fought by Merneptah two decades before, a fact that has led some scholars and experts to believe that there was no second invasion by these seafaring pirates.
Regardless of whether a second battle took place, inscriptions show that Ramses' forces waged an enormous fight against the Sea Peoples and their allied forces. Apparently overconfident, the raiders allegedly sailed into the Nile Delta unprepared for the battle to come. Their method of attack was swift and they relied on the element of surprise and the use of swordplay at close quarters. While this tactic had traditionally proven successful against less experienced forces, the Egyptians had a distinct advantage in the form of archers armed with bows and arrows. Before the invaders could get close enough to inflict harm, they were cut down and their ships destroyed. Ultimately, the Sea Peoples fought to the bitter end, but were resoundingly defeated. The damage they'd inflicted upon the lands surrounding the Mediterranean, however, was undeniable.
The term
