The Sea Peoples by Amogh Joshi

 The Sea Peoples

The Late Bronze Age Collapse affected numerous human civilizations and was in turn caused by a multitude of factors. However, one of these factors stands out for the sheer aura of mystery surrounding it. The New Kingdom of Egypt managed to survive the Late Bronze Age Collapse, but unlike some of the other surviving empires, it was considerably weakened on a larger scale. According to archaeologists, this was due to a supposed maritime civilization known as the Sea Peoples.

The Sea Peoples were said to have attacked Ancient Egypt and other neighboring Mediterranean civilizations throughout the Late Bronze Age Collapse (primarily the period 1200 B.C. to 900 B.C.), and are considered to be one of the biggest causes of the decline of the New Kingdom. At first glance, one might assume that they were simply another civilization, perhaps hailing from the region we consider to be the Suez Canal today, or further north in the Mediterranean sea. However, the mystery arises when we realize that there is no archaeological evidence of any civilization related to these so-called “Sea Peoples”.

And the mystery is only furthered by the fact that while there is no archaeological evidence, there are plenty of drawings and reliefs of battles between Ancient Egypt and the Sea Peoples, such as the below relief of the Battle of the Delta (referring to the Nile Delta) in the tomb of the pharaoh Rameses III. In fact, the numerous records inside Rameses III serve as the best record that we have of the existence of these Sea Peoples as a whole, as it is supposed that throughout the majority of his reign, he was forced to battle with them and in turn his tomb is decorated with many depictions of these said battles. 

In modern times, there are a number of suggested theories as to the origins of the Sea Peoples. With more and more archeological evidence of the Late Bronze Age migrations being revealed, these theories range from the Sea Peoples having existed as early as 1900 B.C., with an inscription on the Abishemu Obelisk at Byblos supposedly referring to the Sea Peoples’ ethnic group, or as late as the collapse itself, potentially even being the Philistine people. A number of connections are made to Mycenaean civilization, whether it being the Greeks, or something as far-fetched as the Trojans.

We many never know exactly who the Sea Peoples really were, but we can only hope that more archaeological evidence will continue to unveil more details about their origin. In the next article, we’ll take a look at one of the effects of the Late Bronze Age Collapse, specifically the evolution of the Middle Assyrian Empire into the Neo-Assyrian Empire.