Who were the Sea Peoples? | Eric Cline

Key Concepts

• Sea Peoples: A confederation of nine distinct naval groups that invaded the Mediterranean region and Egypt during the Late Bronze Age.
• Late Bronze Age Collapse: The period of systemic societal collapse across the Mediterranean, often attributed to the incursions of the Sea Peoples.
• Peleset: The only group among the Sea Peoples definitively identified by historians and archaeologists, widely accepted as the Philistines.
• Mycenaean Pottery: A distinct style of Greek pottery; "degenerate" in this context refers to a stylistic evolution where the technique remains Mycenaean, but the materials (clay) are sourced locally in the Levant or Cyprus.

---

The Identity and Origins of the Sea Peoples

The "Sea Peoples" is a modern term coined by French Egyptologists to describe a coalition of nine distinct groups that swept across the Mediterranean. While historical records from Egypt identify these groups by name—including the Sherden (Shardana), Shekelesh, Weshesh, Ekwesh, and Peleset—their precise origins remain a subject of academic debate.

• Geographic Theories: There is a long-standing scholarly "flip-flop" regarding whether names like Sherden and Shekelesh indicate the groups' origins (e.g., Sardinia and Sicily) or if these groups migrated to those islands after being defeated by the Egyptians, thereby bestowing their names upon the regions.
• Current Perspective: The prevailing theory suggests these groups originated in the Western Mediterranean, moved across the Aegean, and eventually launched attacks on Egypt and other major powers of the era.

The Peleset and the Mycenaean Connection

The Peleset are the only group among the nine that can be identified with high confidence. They are synonymous with the Philistines mentioned in the Bible.

• Archaeological Evidence: The identification is supported by pottery analysis. Philistine pottery exhibits characteristics of "degenerate Mycenaean" style. This indicates that the people producing the pottery were likely Mycenaeans who had migrated from Greece.
• Technical Detail: The pottery is technically Mycenaean in design but was manufactured using local clay found in Cyprus, Rhodes, and the Levant, suggesting a displaced population maintaining their cultural manufacturing traditions in a new geographic location.

Egyptian Defense and Settlement

The Egyptian pharaohs Merneptah and Ramses III both claimed victory over the Sea Peoples. These conflicts were not merely military repulsions but resulted in the forced relocation of the invaders.

• Ramses III’s Strategy: Ramses III explicitly stated, "I settled them in strongholds bound in my name."
• Outcome: The defeated Sea Peoples were settled by the Egyptian state within Egypt itself and in the region of Southern Canaan, which was under Egyptian control at the time. This provides a clear historical record of where these groups ended up, even if their point of origin remains elusive.

Synthesis

The mystery of the Sea Peoples centers on the tension between their destructive impact on the Late Bronze Age civilizations and their eventual integration into the Levant. While the origins of groups like the Sherden and Shekelesh remain speculative, the Peleset provide a concrete link to Mycenaean migration. The Egyptian records serve as the primary evidence for both the conflict and the subsequent settlement of these groups, effectively ending the era of their nomadic, invasive existence by incorporating them into the Egyptian-controlled geopolitical landscape.