Subsequent Ancient Civilizations: Philistines


Figure 1.--The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu is an important New Kingdom temple structure at Luxor. The temple is best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III (1186–55). It is widely believe that the Biblical Philistines were part of the Sea People invasion and that they came from southern Europe. As far as we know, this is the earliest depiction of a navel battle.

The Philistines were not a major ancient civilztion. They were a peoole based in a few ports of the southeastern Mediterranean. Those of us who grew up with the Bible ans Subday School wil recognize them as one of thevgreat enemies of the Hebrewbpeople in claasic battles. The Goliath thatba young David killed with his sling shot was a Philistine. They were a people living in five cities along what is now the southern coast of Israel and the Gaza Strip (around 1,000 BC). The cities included Ashkelon. This was a time of grat upheaval in the ancient world with major civilizations in the Near Wast cameg under attack from the poorly understood Sea People. [Cline] An insciption in an Eguptian temple seems to link the Sea Peoole to the Philistines. One of the mysteries of the Bible was who the Philistimes were. Ceramics and othrer archeological evidence available for some time suggested that thy were not people of Levantine (Middle Eastern origins). But a basic principle of archaeology is that different pots do not prive different people. Recent DNA work based on skeletons found at Ashkelon have determined that the Philistines came from southern Europe who arrive about 1200 BC. [Masters] This could mean anywhere from Sardinia wast to Cyprus. DNA work on ancient remains can not yet provide a more refined asessment.

Sources

Cline, Eric. 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapses.

Masters, Daniel. Masters at Wheaton College led the excavation team at Ashkelon. The DNA Work was done at the Max Plank Institute in Berlin. Science Adbances (July 3, 2019).







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Created: 6:18 AM 8/29/201907
Last updated: 6:18 AM 8/29/2019