The mysterious stories of the Sea Peoples and their migrations that shook the Ancient World are one of the biggest mysteries of archeology. These mysterious civilizations have drifted into unknown waters for years and lost their traces. The Sea Peoples, also known as the Sea Peoples, are the warrior and sailor communities behind the invasion movements towards Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and Egypt towards the end of the Bronze Age, especially in the 13th century BC, that is, between 1276 and 1178 BC.
The devastating incursions of the Sea Peoples are considered part of the invasions that led to the collapse of many kingdoms and the Hittite Empire in the eastern Mediterranean. Ancient Egypt managed to repel these attacks with wars at sea and on land. However, the exact extent of these invasions and the identities of the attackers are still not fully established, as precise records of the events have been lost. The best information we have on this subject is limited to Egyptian inscriptions, reliefs, Hittite documents, Ugaritic documents and archaeological finds.
There is no specific name for sea people in ancient inscriptions. located in Egypt Karnak In its inscription, it just says “foreign peoples of the sea” is used. In these inscriptions, it is stated that these people came from the sea or the islands, but it is not specified which sea or islands are meant. The term “Sea Peoples” was first proposed and accepted by the French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero in 1881.
Devastating Attacks of the Sea Peoples
These devastating attacks began in the last quarter of the 13th century BC and continued throughout the 12th century BC. Attacks and the accompanying destruction were rare for the first time in the last quarter of the 13th century BC, then became more frequent around 1190 BC, and peaked around 1180 BC. However, by 1175 BC it began to become increasingly rare.
The most up-to-date information about attacks and destruction in the Eastern Mediterranean is available from Ugarit. Ugarit is an important source, with documents containing hundreds of clay tablets fired in kilns in the days when it was burned and destroyed. These documents are rare sources from the days when Ugarit was subjected to attacks. The term “hapiru” was used in one of these documents. The term hapiru or habiru was a term widely used in the 18th-12th centuries BC and was often used to describe people from the “marginal” or “lower” social classes of society, such as vigilantes, rebels, murderers, bandits or mercenaries.
Another letter includes a letter written by the king of Ugarit to the king of Alashiya. The letter states that enemy ships have arrived, cities have been burned and evil has occurred in the country. The king states that all his soldiers and chariots are in the Hittite country and his ships are in Lycia. For this reason, he emphasizes that the country is defenseless and reports that seven enemy ships caused great damage. These documents are considered important sources that enable us to access historical and social information about that period in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Egypt’s War with the Sea Peoples
Egypt fought against invaders a total of four times between 1208 and 1176 BC, during the reign of two pharaohs. The first war took place during the reign of Merneptah (1213 – 1203 BC), in the fifth year of his reign, that is, in 1208 BC. Then three wars, III. It took place during the periods ruled by Ramses (1186 – 1155 BC) in 1180, 1177 and 1174 BC. All four wars resulted in the decisive victory of the Egyptian forces. Naval combat was also included in these wars.
attacks, challenged Egypt’s military and political authority and caused it to retreat from the southeastern Mediterranean. The last Egyptian presence in this region dates back to Henry VI, a pharaoh of Egypt’s twentieth dynasty. It is known as the bronze statue of Ramses (1141 – 1133 BC) in Megiddo.
Merneptah’s war began when a Libyan king attacked the Western Delta with auxiliary forces from “northern countries”. Among these auxiliary forces are the Ekveş, Lukka, Şerden, Şekeleş and Tursha peoples. The Libyan king bringing his family and throne may be a sign that victory is certain. The battle was fought at Periri, and the enemy casualties are inscribed: more than 6,000 Libyans, 2,201 Ekvesh, 722 Tursha, and 200 Sherden fighters were killed.
III. Another Libyan attack took place in 1182 BC, during the reign of Ramses, and inscriptions state that 12,535 enemies were killed. Three years later, in 1179 BC, the third Libyan attack took place, this time with the warriors of Shekelesh, Denyen, Veshesh and Tursha. III. Ramses defeated these armies in a battle at Zahi and defeated the reinforcements of this enemy alliance in a naval battle. The last Libyan offensive, III. It was repeated in the eleventh year of Ramses’ reign, 1176 BC, in which 2,175 Meshwesh warriors were killed and 1,200 captured.
Hittite Empire Attacked by Sea Peoples
One of the states threatened by the Sea Peoples is the Hittite Empire. In 1210/1209 BC II. Suppiluliuma won a naval victory over the Sea Peoples and organized a naval expedition to Alashiya (present-day Cyprus) as a precaution. However, they did not have to fight a single attacker because the attackers were focused on different targets.
In the Medinet Habu inscriptions, “None from the Hatti country could resist these attacks. Kadesh, Carchemish, Arzava, Alashiya were destroyed. They set up headquarters around the country of Ammurru and completely destroyed the people of this region.” It is expressed as .
As for Cyprus, archaeological findings about Cyprus indicate that some Aegean peoples such as the Peloponnese and Crete migrated to Cyprus immediately after the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces.
Reasons for the Migrations of the Sea Peoples
There is no clear information in archaeological sources about the reasons for these mass migrations. However, modern research has developed different hypotheses to explain the possible reasons for these migrations. Among these hypotheses natural disasters, Reasons such as long-term drought and system collapse come to the fore.
Some researchers have suggested that the reason behind these migrations may be largely natural disasters. Especially earthquakes and long drought It is thought that these periods may have caused famines by affecting large areas of land. However, there are those who oppose this thesis. Because the Egyptian inscriptions mention the invading peoples behind these migrations, and they argued that the discovery of valuable commodities such as gold and silver after the earthquakes indicates that the gold and silver in the destroyed settlements were buried and hidden in the pits.
The hypothesis that found the widest support was “tribal migration” is the thesis. According to this thesis, the reason for migrations is the displacement of large tribes and their spread to different regions. The result of this process led to the collapse of existing empires and kingdoms. Egyptian records mention “foreign peoples of the sea” during this period, but do not specifically mention the migration.
However, it is important to note that historical records from this period are incomplete and only Egyptian records exist. Therefore, more archaeological and historical evidence is needed to understand the full details of this period. The influence and reasons of the Sea Peoples on the Ancient Near East still remain a mystery.
Identities of Sea Peoples in Egyptian Sources
Although it is unclear, it is possible to obtain some information about the identities of the Sea Peoples in Egyptian sources.
Ekveş: In Hittite records, they are referred to as the people of Western Anatolia or the Aegean Islands, and the strongest theory on this subject is that these people were of Mycenaean origin. Another theory suggests that these people were the people of Troy.
Tyrrhenians or Tyrsenoi: According to Strabo, Tyrrhenians refers to the peoples of the Tyrrhenian Sea, i.e. associated with the Etruscans.
Luke: It is referred to as Lycia in Hittite sources.
From Denyen and Evil: Although a definitive identity for Denyen has not been established, it is thought that Sherden probably refers to the peoples of Sardinia.
Şekeleş, Şikalaya, and Şekeleş: It has been suggested that these people may be from Sicilian tribes.
Pellets: It is thought that they are a people who came from Crete and settled in these regions.
Pickle: Although there is no definitive information about their identity, the term may refer to Cyprus or other regions with various hypotheses.
Although it is claimed in the Egyptian inscriptions that the Sea Peoples came from the Greek, Aegean Islands and Anatolian coasts, the reasons such as the Thracians that forced them to leave these regions are not mentioned.
On a stele in Egypt, “They came from the sea in their own ships and no one could resist themIt is said.
