By the early 12th century BC, the eastern Mediterranean was in turmoil. Cities in the Levant and Anatolia were destroyed, the Hittite empire fell apart, and groups of people on the move, by land and sea, threatened Egypt. Ramesses III (c. 1184–1153 BC), the greatest king of the 20th Dynasty, met them in battle.
Key idea
The Sea Peoples
The Medinet Habu reliefs show a land battle and a sea battle at the edge of the Delta, with warriors in feathered and horned helmets, ox carts with women and children, and ships with bird-headed prows. The texts name groups such as the Peleset, Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denyen and Weshesh. Most scholars identify the Peleset with the Philistines, who settled on the coast of Canaan. Earlier, Merneptah had fought some of these groups too, allied with Libyans.
Why it works
The strike
In Year 29 of Ramesses III, the workmen who cut the royal tombs walked off the job and sat down behind the temples, saying "We are hungry", because their monthly grain rations were weeks late. A papyrus now in Turin, kept by the village scribe Amennakht, records it. Officials brought rations and the men went back, but the protests happened again. It shows the strains on the state, and the workers' sense that they had a right to be paid.
- Papyrus Harris I, made at the end of his reign, lists his huge gifts to the temples.
- A plot in the royal household against the king was put on trial; the court records survive.
Worked example: One nation?
- Egyptian scribes gave each group its own name.
- Different groups came with different gear and helmets.
- So the "Sea Peoples" were a coalition or a movement of many groups, not one nation.
Answer: A mix of groups, whose origins are debated.
Common mistake