Peleset warrior

PELESET / PHILISTINE WARRIOR. The Peleset, as the ancient Egyptians called them, also known as the Philistines in the Old Testament, were one of the groups that formed the multi-ethnic pirates known as “SEA PEOPLES”, that contributed to the collapse of the LATE BRONZE AGE civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean (all except Egypt, which successfully repelled them). The Sea Peoples are mostly known from two sources: the Old Testament and the inscriptions on temples made by the Egyptian pharaohs that fought against them, which are Ramesses II, Merneptah and Ramesses III. Egyptian inscriptions credit the Sea Peoples for the destruction of the Hittite Empire and Canaan (which brought the Bronze Age to an end in the Eastern Mediterranean), and modern historians have also connected them with the destruction of Mycenaean Greece. The origin of the different groups of Sea Peoples has always been a subject of debate, but the Peleset, characterized by their helmets with either horsehair or feathers, are believed to have originated in the Aegean Sea. If that was the case, they would be Mycenaean Greek-speakers.

THE PHILISTINES AND THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME “PALESTINE”: apart from attacking Egypt alongside the rest of the Sea Peoples, the Peleset also attacked Canaan, the land of the Canaanites (the people that would become the Hebrews and the Phoenicians after the Bronze Age). In Canaan the Peleset were known as the Philistines, and the Old Testament presents them as the mortal enemies of the ancient kingdom of Israel. The biblical giant Goliath, slain by David using a sling, was a Philistine. The Philistines organized their conquered territory in five city-states: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath. Despite their Aegean Greek origins, the Philistines adopted the Canaanite language and eventually became assimilated into the local gene pool. Centuries after the Philistines had disappeared as a distinct people, the Romans took the Greek form of their name and created the Province of Syria Palaestina, naming the whole region after the nemesis of the ancient Israelites as punishment for the Jewish revolts. From then onwards, the region would be known as Palestine.

References used:
- The lower part of the helmet is based on a reconstruction by La Casa del Recreador, but I changed the stiff leather stripes of the original replica for red horsehair, which I personally believe was more likely used in those helmets.
- Sea Peoples shield based on a reconstruction by Szczytnik – Shields with History.
- Naue II sword based on a replica by Ørjan Engedal (The Bronze Age Warrior Series). Naue II swords, which originated in the Alps, spread as far as Norway, Britain, Egypt and Mesopotamia during the Late Bronze Age.