Sea Peoples


Sea Peoples,

modern term for any of the groups of people who attacked Egypt and the E Mediterranean by sea and sometimes by land c.1200 B.C. They are recorded as having fought in battles with Egypt during the dynasties of Ramses IIRamses II
, Rameses II,
or Ramesses II
, d. 1225 B.C., king of ancient Egypt, of the XIX dynasty. The son of Seti I, Ramses was not the heir to the throne but usurped it from his brother. He reigned for 67 years (1292–1225 B.C.).
..... Click the link for more information. , when some also served as mercenaries in his armies; MerneptahMerneptah
, d. c.1215 B.C., king of ancient Egypt, of the XIX dynasty; son and successor of Ramses II. He succeeded (1224 B.C.) to the throne when he was already advanced in years. He quelled a revolt in Syria and repulsed a Libyan invasion of the western delta of the Nile.
..... Click the link for more information. ; and Ramses IIIRamses III
, Rameses III,
or Ramesses III
, d. 1167 B.C., king of ancient Egypt, 2d ruler of the XX dynasty. He ended the period of anarchy that followed Merneptah rule and reigned c.1198–1167 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. . They also may have contributed to the downfall of the HittiteHittites
, ancient people of Asia Minor and Syria, who flourished from 1600 to 1200 B.C. The Hittites, a people of Indo-European connection, were supposed to have entered Cappadocia c.1800 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information.  empire. Their origins are unclear and have been the subject of much conjecture and speculation. They may have come from the Aegean, especially Crete, or elsewhere in the Mediterranean and from ancient Asia Minor; their migrations and attacks may have been prompted by drought and crop failures in their own lands. The PhilistinesPhilistines
, inhabitants of Philistia, a non-Semitic people who came to Palestine from the Aegean (probably Crete), in the 12th cent. B.C. Their control of iron supplies and their tight political organization of cities made them a rival of the people of Israel for centuries.
..... Click the link for more information.  have been considered one of the Sea Peoples, but some scholars have questioned that designation.