Figure 1.--Sardinians were one of the Sea Peoples that destroyed the great Bronze Age civilizations, except Pharonmic Egypt (13th century BC). The Egyptians referred to them asthe Sherdan. And thanks to the Egyptians, we knowe what they looked like. They were vividly depicted in the Sea Battle Frieze at Medinet Habu. In this case brought expertly to life by the military illustrator Igor Dzis. Like the medival Vikings thay probably first came as raiders, but like vthe Vikings eventually brouhght their families with them. Historians for years have only been able to make educated guesses about the different Sea Peoples, but we now have definitive DNA evidence.

Sardinia has an extensive, fascinating history and given its modest modern existence, more important that might be expected. It has been settled since the Paleolithic Age. Archaeologists have no idea how the first humans reached Sardinia or from where. Unlike Sicily, Sardinia was located at some distance from the Italian mainland. It was inhabited throughout the Neolithic Age. The population has one of the oldest and most distinct DNA profiles in Europe. There is a vey high percentage of the island's population nwith direct ancestry from the early Neolithic farmers who migrated from Anatolia. Sardinians are more genetically similar to ancient Neolithic farmers than any other modern European populations. And unlike mainland Italians and other Europeans, Sardinians have low levels of migratory Steppe-related ancestry. Sardiians were much less affected by the the genetic turnover experienced elsewhere on the Continent. Here they show a genetic similarity to Basque populations--in this case isolated by mountains rather than by sea. There are architectural treasures on the island. The rugged terrain includes thousands of nuraghi, poorly understood Bronze Age stone ruins looking like beehives. There are 7,000 Nuraghi and hundreds of archaeological monuments that are located all over the island. One of the largest and oldest of these Nuraghi is Su Nuraxi in Barumini (16th century BC). Also notable is the Domus de Janas, holy wells, temples and the mystic giant tombs, which are huge stones set into the ground called ‘betili’ or ‘menhir’ which stem from the megalithic architecture. The Bronze Age remains are interesting given that Sardinians were some of the Sea Peoples that destroyed the great Bronze Age civilizations--except Egypt (figure 1). The Sherden may have been the Sardinian Nuragic people. The Sardinian origin was only surmised at by historians based on pottery and other historical clues. But we now have definitive DNA evidence. Sardinia is not as strategically placed as Sicily which dominated the narrows between the eastern and Western Mediterranean. Thus Sardinia has been largely a backwater of history. Many historians suggest the Phoenicians first founded colonies on the island. The relationship may be more complex as the Phoenicians may have originated with the Sea Peoples. The Sea Peoples is a modern historical term. They were were actually named by the Bronze Age peoples upon whom they descended, especially the Egyptians. This included the Sherden who settled along the cost of the southern Levant. The Sherden were one of the Sea Peoples mentioned in the records of Ramesses II. He claimed to have defeated them in his second year when they landed in the Nile Delta (1278 BC). They also apparently landed further east where they did not face the Egyptian Army. Ramses eventually recruited some for his personal guard. 【Grimal, pp. 250–53.】 Sardinia was of some importance because of the mineral resources. The Carthaginians themselves with Phoenician origins seized Sardinia (about 510 BC). The principal Punic cities were Tharros, Nora and Sulci. Rome obtained control of Sardinia during the Punic Wars (238 BC). The Sardinian-Punic people resisted Roman rule, but over seven centuries of Roman rule the population was largely Romanized. This mean the culture was Romanized, but the ethnicity of the population was largely unchanged by Rome or the subsequent imperial powers which seized the island. With the fall of Rome the island was seized by the Vandals and then the Byzantines. The medieval history of Sardinia was complicated with local dynasties and then Aragon playing important roles. The major modern historical importance of Sardinia was the role it played in the unification of Italy. Dardinia wascoccupied by the Germans in World War II, but escaped the heavy fighting and destruction that occured on Sicily and mainland Italy (1943).

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Created: 12:27 AM 3/13/2026
Last updated: 12:27 AM 3/13/2026