Ancient History - Part 60: Limited Rule For The Philistines

Despite the Philistine rule of the lower portion of the Levant region, the Hebrew religion remained unaffected by their influence. While the Philistine civilization drew heavily from their Aegean counterparts (as seen by their rebranding of Canaanite cities to Greco names), the invaders' very dominance over Palestine did not amount to much of anything in the way of changes to the Semitic culture. 

Upon the Philistine conquest of the five largest Canaanite cities Ekron, Askalon, Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath, each was left without a ruler, Gath being the sole exception. Within Gath was the seat of the king, who ruled the entirety of the Philistine Confederation. New towns were settled in the hillside surrounding these cities, primarily Philistine in makeup and origin though this was not to last as the populace soon intermingled.

Philistine rule was designed to dominate by force, militarily. Ironically distrustful of invaders, they viewed uncircumcised men and their brethren as unwelcomed visitors at best, and until king David would later rise to liberate his people, maintained a strangle-hold upon key areas in Judah and Israel.

The culmination of this repression of the Israelites by the Philistines resulted in war. At Ebenezer, a site in southern Palestine, two major battles took place between the Philistines and the Israelites. The Philistine warriors in full battle-regalia the first won against the Israelites, capturing the Ark of the Covenant. In the follow-up battle, the mercenary units of David, the Cherethites, made their presence known, winning the uprising king and his Israelites the day and their well-earned independence.

Nothing detracts more from a dictator's rule than a disinterested populace. In the case of the Philistine dominance over the Semitic peoples, it was less than two centuries for a rebellion to build and surmount an efficient effort of resistance.

When it comes to Palestine, historically speaking, rule over the the Semitic people always bears a limited shelf life, as their spirit to prevail in their fight for freedom proves them victors for thousands of years in whatever contests of attrition they are subjected to in order to survive.

[THE BATTLES OF EBENEZER]

Ancient History - Part 59: The Philistine Confederacy

Caphtor is frequently mentioned in the ancient inscriptions of Egypt and Syria as well as the Hebrew Bible and is purported to be the original homeland and locality of the Philistines. There is much discourse in the relation between the Cretans, Minoans, and Philistines in regards to Caphtor, as all three groups appeared to have occupied the region, at times simultaneously. 

Egypt commonly referred to those native born to Crete or Cyprus as Minoan and their migrant populations later recognized as Keftian. Both groups therefore migrated to Caphtor to adopt the lifestyle and ways of the Philistines who thereby ruled it. The language of the Philistine lands was maintained as Semitic, despite a continual influx of migrants who entered via Palestine’s coasts.

Upon the Philistines overtaking of Gaza City, the grand temple converted to worship their sea-god, Dagon, the very head of their pantheon. According to the Bible, the Philistine temples whose construction followed were massive in size and scope. They adopted the architectural design of the Babylonians and Egyptians, with the exception of leaving massive open theater areas that were commonly used for gladiatorial combats of amusement, especially in the case of the palaces.

Some of the ruthless sporting events included boxing and bull-grappling. Unlike sports of today, most outings comprised of participants forced to challenges resulting in death, much to the delight of the onlookers. Suffice it to say, the losers did not return home with their tails between their legs, in fact, they likely didn't return at all.

Beneath the roofs of these structures, heads numbering amongst a thousand or more could move freely within, whether gathered together for the purpose of worship, festivity, or political discourse. With the Cretan, Minoan, and Semitic peoples all dwelling in this region, it was well over a century that the Philistines enjoyed significant rule over the region until the rise of David and his Kingdom of Israel came to fruition.

[KEFTIAN CAPTIVE of Egypt during the 1200s BC]

Ancient History - Part 58: The Bible Meets History (And The Romans Ignore It)

According to the Hebrew Bible, king David is referenced as employing two groups who were listed together, the Cherethites and Pelethites, as an elite mercenary faction ("huscarles"). The Cherethites are synonymous with the Philistines, but the Pelethites are unconfirmed as being ethnically Philistine in nature. Most modern historians tend to agree that the Pelethites were likely also Philistine in makeup though occupied a separate regional part of the Levant than their neighboring brothers-in-arms.

Whilst the people of the inner Levant composed of these two groups, separate from king David and his Kingdom of Israel, the coastal peoples were largely Cretan. It is thusly this mix that caused much of confusion amongst later day historians in the coming days of Rome, when historians such as Tacitus confused the genealogies of the Levant (i.e. Tacitus on multiple instances confuses the Philistines with the Jews, erroneously categorizing them as one and the same).

In Gaza, Samson brought down the pillars which crushed the Philistines at their temple. Ancient Rome again miscategorized the names and places associated with the area to reflect Jupiter and other mentions of their own religious customs over those of Semitic faith in Asia Minor. Whilst the Romans adopted words such as "our Lord" to be interpreted as one of their own gods, and in the case of Minoa, a name brought to Gaza from Crete by the Philistines, the Romans affiliated it to resemble a piece of their own pantheon ("Jupiter Kreta-genes").

It is intriguing to reflect upon how the Romans, once overtaking the region a thousand years later, would update their new surroundings to their own society's proclivities and language as they would become the new overseers of the Levant for many, many ages. Upon witnessing the work of the dead previous civilizations before them, now in their possession, they adopted them to undoubtably become Roman, down to the very redefinition of terms and their original meanings. 

As we today live in an era where those in control have shown a tendency to ban, re-define, rename, and withhold information to alter the very perception of reality around us along with its true history, it is important to remember that for better or worse, the Romans once did it first.

[SAMSON depicted destroying the pillars of the Philistine's Pentapolis - Temple in Gaza City]

Ancient History - Part 57: Slayers, Slavers, And Survivors

Not every tribe joined the Migrant Army. The Pulesati, for example, took one gander upon Egypt's fortifications and abandoned all cause to the multiconglomerate's land horde. This group instead chose to settle in Shepheleh, unclaimed land just outside of Palestine, where a century later found themselves at war with the Israelites, all of this supposedly referenced in the lost Book of Jasher.

Whilst the mighty empire of Egypt proved capable of repulsing these threats by land and sea, the Israelites were guaranteed no such safeguard. For centuries the Semitic people were subjected to being overrun and ruled by outsiders, first by the Hittites and Egyptians, and now extending to the Philistines, the Pulesati, and the Sea Peoples themselves.

Upon Egypt's defeat of the Sea Peoples (at the Battle of the Delta) and their Migrant Army (at the Battle of Djahy) the fates of many of the losing tribes varied. Two notable examples include:

• The Washasha tribe was one of the legions that was captured and enslaved to Egypt, sentenced to lifelong servitude, in the form of hard labor.
• A lesser known tribe, the Zakaray, disappeared for nearly a century before the last remnants of their civilization was found by Egyptian tradesmen, resettled in a field to the north.

Countless other tribes who fought amongst the Migrant Army are listed in the Harris Papyrus which heavily focuses upon these wartime events and documents the enemies of Egypt by name, though many are never referenced again in history, as they scattered and split apart into obscurity in the aftermath of the two battles.

The Sea Peoples successfully conquered many nations in their migration towards Egypt. Whilst the cultures of Syria and Israel survived, many other societies who lacked a system of commerce to serve up in offering, were eradicated mercilessly. Egypt and Israel's strengths by its people were not to cave to pressure, despite the seething array of threats by this foreign enemy. Whilst the power demonstrated by Egypt to defeat this opposition is the peak of the era's events, Israel's continued survival against overwhelming odds should not be overshadowed either.

[HARRIS PAPYRUS: Primary source for the events during Ramses III's reign]