Philistines

It has been suggested that Peleset be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2024.

The Philistines (Hebrew: פְּלִשְׁתִּים, romanized: Pəlīštīm; LXX: Koinē Greek: Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: Phulistieím; Latin: Philistaei) were an 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.

The Philistines may have originated as a Greek^[1][2][3] immigrant group from the Aegean that settled in Canaan circa 1175 BC during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Over time, they gradually assimilated elements of the indigenous Canaanite societies, while preserving their own unique culture.^[4] The Bible's first mention of their presence in Canaan dates back to the 19th century BCE, supposedly during the time of Abraham.^[5] Likewise, Minoan pottery dating back to circa 1800 BCE has been found in several locations along the Syro-Palestinian coast, particularly in Ashkelon.^[6]

In 604 BC, the Philistine polity, after having already been subjugated for centuries by the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), was finally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.^[7] Subsequently, the Philistines were compelled into exile in Babylonia, where over time, they lost their unique ethnic identity. By the late fifth century BC, they vanished from both historical and archaeological records as a distinct group.^[8][9]

The Philistines are known for their biblical conflict with the Hebrew and Canaanite 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 Peleset (𓊪𓏲𓂋𓏤𓏤𓐠𓍘𓇋𓍑), accepted as cognate with Hebrew Peleshet;^[10] the parallel Assyrian term is Palastu, Pilišti, or Pilistu (Akkadian: 𒉺𒆷𒀸𒌓, 𒉿𒇷𒅖𒋾, and 𒉿𒇷𒅖𒌓).^[11] They also left behind a distinctive material culture.^[4]