A New Chapter in Sea Peoples
SEA PEOPLE? NOW we know - Minoan/Cretan who simply island-hopped!
WOW! Those Minoans were playing. Remember what Alan Watt said - they take turns losing - they are the SAME (SEA) PEOPLE! - TLH
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| forts? Indeed! |
During the reign of Ramesses III (1186 - 1155 B.C.) the Sea Peoples burned every major city from Troy VIIA in northwestern Anatolia to Gaza in the southern Levant with the notable exception of the Phoenician cities of Arwad, Berut, Byblos, Sarepta, Sidon, and Tyre in the Levant. Egypt was attacked at least three times during this period. The first incursion occurred in 1180 B.C. when the Libyans again attempted to seize the Nile delta, but it again ended in failure. In about 1178 B.C. the Sea Peoples launched a combined land and sea invasion that resulted in the land "Battle of Djahy" in Canaan and the sea "Battle of the Delta". The Egyptians were again victorious but terribly weakened. According to the Papyrus Harris the confederation included the Peleset, Tjekker, Shardana, Danuna, and Weshesh. The Shardana and Weshesh are described as being "of the sea" implying they are wandering sea-farers that were raiders and pirates. The Mortuary Temple of Medinet Habu states the coalition facing him was composed of the Peleset, Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denyen, and Weshesh.
By this time, after over 100 years of chaos in the eastern Mediterranean created by the Minoan Diaspora from Spain, the trade routes were shattered and the whole region was impoverished and desperate for survival. The Report of Wenemdiamun is a priceless piece of illumination into the true nature of the makeup of the Sea Peoples at this time. Notably the Papyrus Harris tells of the captured Sea Peoples as being resettled in strongholds. These strongholds were probably the founding settlements of the Philistines in Canaan. The final attack came in 1175 B.C. when the Libyans attacked the Nile Delta again with the same result. The Egyptians won the battle but their resources were dangerously exhausted. They would never fully recover from this era of conflicts with the Sea Peoples and would later collapse during the reign of Ramesses VI (1145 - 1137 B.C.).
By this time all of the great Bronze Age powers that had existed before
the volcanic eruption of Minoan Santorini, except the Egyptians, lay
shattered, depopulated, and would never recover. In sharp contrast, the
Phoenicians in the Levant survived completely unscathed and invigorated.
It was the beginning of the "Age of the Phoenicians" in the
Mediterranean. What did they do? They headed straight for the gold,
silver, and tin of southern Iberia to establish trading outposts and
colonies.

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