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[[File: Medinet_Habu_Peleset.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Relief Depicting Captive Sea Peoples Peleset Prisoners from the Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu]]__NOTOC__
Of all the people of the ancient world, one of the most important but least known is a group collectively known as the “Sea Peoples.” The Sea Peoples were actually at least nine different groups who sacked countless cities and kingdoms in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean region from about 1220 BC until 1170 BC. Wherever the Sea Peoples went, destruction followed as the Hittite Empire, the wealthy city-state of Ugarit, and Mycenaean Greece were just some of the more important peoples who did not survive their attacks.
Today, modern scholars know about the movement of the Sea Peoples, their names, and even the way they dressed from modern archaeological work and inscriptions from two Egyptian kings who recorded the attacks on their kingdoms, but even with that information , there are still many questions surrounding these enigmatic ancient peoples.
====Who were the Sea Peoples?====
Most difficult of all for modern scholars to answer is the question: who were the Sea Peoples? The question is difficult to answer for a number of reasons. First, none of the Sea Peoples tribes were literate when they embarked on their historic raids, so therefore there is no first -person account that relates the various tribes’ origins. Second, since the Sea Peoples were actually several different tribes who only occasionally worked together before going their separate ways again, their origins can be found in multiple places.
Still, thanks to the ancient Egyptian sources and work conducted by modern scholars, some reasonable conclusions can be drawn about the origins of the Sea Peoples. Most of the Sea Peoples tribes more than likely originated in Europe and many were therefore Indo-Europeans. More importantly, the names the Egyptians used to refer to the different Sea Peoples tribes provide even more clues that can help answer the question of their origins in Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
Similar to the earthquake theory and one that has gained more adherents in recent years is the drought theory. Unlike the earthquake theory, there is some primary source evidence to support the idea of widespread drought in the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean. The fifth century BC Greek historian Herodotus mentioned in his history of Lydia that the region had suffered from drought long before his time <ref> Herodotus. <i> The Histories.</i> Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. (London: Penguin Books, 2003), I, 95</ref> and there is an extant New Kingdom Egyptian text that mentions grain being sent from Egypt to Hatti as aid. <ref>Astour, Michael C. “New Evidence on the Last Days of Ugarit.” <i>American Journal of Archaeology</i> 69 (1965) p. 225</ref>
Finally, there is evidence that overpopulation in the Aegean region, specifically mainland Greece, contributed to the movements of the Sea Peoples. For instance, the region of Messenia on the Peloponnese peninsula reached a peak population of 50,000 just before the Sea Peoples invasions began. <ref> Sandars, Nancy. <i>The Sea Peoples: Warriors of the Ancient Mediterranean.</i> Revised Edition. (London: Thames and Hudson, 1987), p. 77</ref> The reality is that a combination of two or more factors probably contributed to the invasions. Overpopulation in Greece may have led some there to become pirates, while in Anatolia where there was were drought groups formed to find new land. Whatever the reason, or reasons, for the movement of peoples at the end of the Bronze Age, once the lid was opened it would prove impossible to close.
====The Sea Peoples Arrive====
====Conclusion====
The impact that the Sea Peoples had on world history was massive. They destroyed the Hittite Empire, brought down the city-state of Ugarit, and sent Greece into a dark age. But as quickly as the Sea Peoples entered the historical record, they vanished almost as fast. The precise origins of the Sea Peoples may never be known, but based on a combination of modern archaeological work and the available ancient Egyptian texts a reasonable conclusion can be drawn. The Sea Peoples originated from different parts in Europe and Anatolia before they coalesced into a confederation that attacked several of the major Bronze Age powers. After the destruction was done, some went back to Europe while others settled in the Levant.
<youtube>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pbRMmuaO0w</youtube>
====References====