Philistines

Philistines were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
There is evidence to suggest that the Philistines originated from a Greek immigrant group from the Aegean. The immigrant group settled in Canaan around 1175 BC, during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Over time, they intermixed with the indigenous Canaanite societies and assimilated elements from them, while preserving their own unique culture.
In 604 BC, the Philistines, who had been under the rule of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, were ultimately vanquished by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Much like the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Philistines lost their autonomy by the end of the Iron Age, becoming vassals to the Assyrians, Egyptians, and later Babylonians. Historical sources suggest that Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Ashkelon and Ekron due to the Philistines' rebellion, leading to the exile of many Philistines, who gradually lost their distinct identity in Babylonia. By the late fifth century BC, the Philistines no longer appear as a distinct group in historical or archaeological records, though the extent of their assimilation remains subject to debate.
The Philistines are known for their biblical conflict with the peoples of the region, in particular, the Israelites. Though the primary source of information about the Philistines is the Hebrew Bible, they are first attested to in reliefs at the Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, in which they are called the , accepted as cognate with Hebrew ; the parallel Assyrian term is,, or . They also left behind a distinctive material culture.

Name

The English term Philistine comes from Old French Philistin; from Classical Latin Philistinus; from Late Greek ; from Koine Greek Φυλιστιείμ, ultimately from Hebrew Pəlištī, meaning 'people of Pəlešeṯ'. The name also had cognates in Akkadian and Egyptian. The native Philistine endonym is unknown.

History

During the Late Bronze Age collapse, an apparent confederation of seafarers known as the Sea Peoples are recorded as attacking ancient Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean civilizations. While their exact origins are a mystery, and probably diverse, it is generally agreed that the Sea Peoples had origins in the greater Southern European and West Asian area, including western Asia Minor, the Aegean, and the islands of the East Mediterranean. Egypt, in particular, repelled numerous attempted invasions from the Sea Peoples, most famously at the Battle of the Delta, where pharaoh Ramesses III defeated a massive invasion force which had already plundered Hattusa, Carchemish, Cyprus, and the Southern Levant. Egyptian sources name one of these implicated Sea Peoples as the pwrꜣsꜣtj, generally transliterated as either Peleset or Pulasti. Following the Sea Peoples' defeat, Ramesses III allegedly relocated a number of the pwrꜣsꜣtj to southern Canaan, as recorded in an inscription from his funerary temple in Medinet Habu, and the Great Harris Papyrus. Though archaeological investigation has been unable to correlate any such settlement existing during this time period, this, coupled with the name Peleset/Pulasti and the peoples' supposed Aegean origins, has led many scholars to identify the pwrꜣsꜣtj with the Philistines.
Typically "Philistine" artifacts begin appearing in Canaan by the 12th century BC. Pottery of Philistine origin has been found far outside of what would later become the core of Philistia, including at the majority of Iron Age I sites in the Jezreel Valley; however, because the quantity of said pottery finds are light, it is assumed that the Philistines' presence in these areas were not as strong as in their core territory, and that they probably were a minority which had assimilated into the native Canaanite population by the 10th century BC.
There is little evidence that the Sea Peoples forcefully injected themselves into the southern Levant; and the cities which would become the core of Philistine territory, such as Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, show nearly no signs of an intervening event marked by destruction. The same can be said for Aphek where an Egyptian garrison was destroyed, likely in an act of warfare at the end of the 13th century, which was followed by a local Canaanite phase, which was then followed by the peaceful introduction of Philistine pottery. The lack of destruction by the Sea Peoples in the southern Levant should not be surprising as Canaan was never mentioned in any text describing the Sea Peoples as a target of destruction or attack by the Sea Peoples. Other sites such as Tell Keisan, Acco, Tell Abu Hawam, Tel Dor, Tel Mevorak, Tel Zeror, Tel Michal, Tel Gerisa, and Tel Batash, have no evidence of a destruction ca. 1200 BC.
File:Philister_pentapolis.gif|thumb|Philistine pentapolis cities shown in red: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath.
By Iron Age II, the Philistines had formed an ethnic state centered around a pentapolis consisting of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gath. Whether or not historians are inclined to accept the historicity of the old canonical books of the Hebrew nation, their writers describe a series of conflicts between the Philistines and the Israelites during the period of the Judges, and, allegedly, the Philistines exercised lordship over Israel in the days of Saul and Samuel the prophet, forbidding the Israelites from making iron implements of war. According to their chronicles, the Philistines were eventually subjugated by David, before regaining independence in the wake of the United Monarchy's dissolution, after which there are only sparse references to them. The accuracy of these narratives is a subject of debate among scholars.
The Philistines seemed to have generally retained their autonomy, up until the mid-8th century BC, when Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, marched into the region, conquering much of the Levant that was not already under Assyrian rule, and occupying the remaining kingdoms in the area. Decades later, Egypt began agitating its neighbours to rebel against Assyrian rule. A revolt in Israel was crushed by Sargon II in 722 BC, resulting in the kingdom's total destruction. In 712 BC, a Philistine named Iamani ascended to the throne of Ashdod, and organized another failed uprising against Assyria with Egyptian aid. The Assyrian King Sargon II invaded Philistia, which effectively became annexed by Assyria, although the kings of the five cities, including Iamani, were allowed to remain on their thrones as vassals. In his annals concerning the campaign, Sargon II singled out his capture of Gath, in 711 BC. Ten years later, Egypt once again incited its neighbors to rebel against Assyria, resulting in Ashkelon, Ekron, Judah, and Sidon revolting against Sargon's son and successor, Sennacherib. Sennacherib crushed the revolt, defeated the Egyptians, and destroyed much of the cities in southern Aramea, Phoenicia, Philistia, and Judah, and entered the northern Sinai, though he was unable to capture the Judahite capital, Jerusalem, instead forcing it to pay tribute. As punishment, the rebel nations paid tribute to Assyria, and Sennacherib's annals report that he exacted such tribute from the kings of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron, but Gath is never mentioned, which may indicate that the city was actually destroyed by Sargon II.
The Philistines were later occupied by the Egyptians in 609BC, under Necho II. In 604/603BC, following a Philistine revolt, Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon, took over and destroyed Askhelon, Gaza, Aphek, and Ekron, which is proven by archaeological evidence and contemporary sources. Some Philistine kings requested help from the Egyptians but they were ultimately ignored. Following the destruction of the Philistine cities, their inhabitants were either killed or exiled to Mesopotamia. Those exiled continued identifying themselves as the "men of Gaza" or Ashkelon for roughly 150 years, until they finally lost their distinct ethnic identity.
Babylonian ration lists dating back to the early 6th century BC, which mention the offspring of Aga, the ultimate ruler of Ashkelon, provide clues to the eventual fate of the Philistines. This evidence is further illuminated by documents from the latter half of the 5th century BC found in the Murasu Archive at Nippur. These records, which link individuals to cities like Gaza and Ashkelon, highlight a continued sense of ethnic identity among the Philistines who were exiled in Babylonia. These instances represent the last known mentions of the Philistines, marking the end of their presence in historical accounts.
During the Persian period, the region of Philistia saw resettlement, with its inhabitants being identified as Phoenicians, although evidence for continuity from earlier, Iron Age traditions in the region is scarce. The citizens of Ashdod were reported to keep their language but it might have been an Aramaic dialect.

Biblical accounts

Origins

In the Book of Genesis, 10:13–14 states, with regard to descendants of Mizraim, in the Table of Nations: "Mizraim begot the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim, whence the Philistines came forth." There is debate among interpreters as to whether Genesis 10:13–14 was intended to signify that the Philistines were the offspring of the Caphtorim or Casluhim. Some interpreters, such as Friedrich Schwally, Bernhard Stade, and Cornelis Tiele have argued for a third, Semitic origin.
According to rabbinic sources, the name Philistines designated two separate groups; those said to descend from the Casluhim were different from those described in the Deuteronomistic history. Deuteronomist sources describe the "Five Lords of the Philistines" as based in five city-states of the southwestern Levant: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north. This description portrays them at one period of time as among the Kingdom of Israel's most dangerous enemies. In the Septuagint, the term , which means simply "other nations", is used instead of "Philistines".
Theologian Matthew Poole suggests that Casluhim and Caphtorim were brother tribes who lived in the same territory. However, the Capthorim enslaved the Cashluhim and their Philistine descendants, forcing the latter to flee to Canaan, according to Amos 9:7.