Mysteries of history. Sea peoples. The peoples of the sea in the history of ancient Egypt The peoples of the Mediterranean

The death of the Crete-Minoan civilization coincided in time with a new wave of migration of Indo-European peoples. In the XIII-XII centuries. BC. The Middle East was shaken by events unheard of in their scale. One by one, the palace cultures of Crete, Mesopotamia and Canaan perish. The Hittite empire collapsed; the once mighty Egypt repulsed the raids of the barbarian tribes with the last of its strength. The Aegean world was going through a period of turbulent historical change; many cities of Asia Minor fell, including Troy, the cities of the Achaeans in Attica perished one after another, and it took many years for relative peace to return to Greece.
Although there were several reasons for these truly revolutionary upheavals and not everything is yet clear in this kaleidoscope of events, one of the main factors was the migration of the so-called peoples of the sea. These migrations are associated with several waves of migration of peoples, in the XIII century BC.

moving from the Aegean to the south and southeast and, as a result, completely changed the situation in Asia Minor and the Middle East. And soon the wave of these conquests reached Egypt.
Egyptian sources report two major attacks on Egypt by a confederation of peoples, for whom the name "peoples of the sea" has been assigned in historical science. The Egyptians themselves do not use this term. They describe the invaders who invaded the Nile Delta as a confederation of tribes, "foreigners from the sea", who came from the "northern countries" or from the "islands of the sea" (meaning the Mediterranean Sea).
The first invasion of the Sea Peoples (in alliance with the Libyans) took place in the fifth year of the reign of the pharaoh of the 19th dynasty of Merneptah (1224-1214 BC). This is told by the texts carved on the wall of the temple of Amun in Karnak and the text of the stele from the mortuary temple of Merneptah (the so-called Israeli stele). Merneptah successfully repelled the Sea Peoples and their allies, killing 6,000 and driving out the rest.
The texts of Karnak name five peoples who took part in this invasion:

A-qi-ya-wa-sa (A-qi-wa-sa) - like yours.
Ta-ru-sa (Tw-rw-s’/ Tw-ry-s’) - tursha.
Rw-ku (Rw-kw) - Rucca/Lukka.
Sa-ra-d-n (Sa-ar-di-na) - sards, shardana.
Sa-k (a) -ru-su (S'-r -rw-s) - sheklesh, shekelesha.

According to most researchers, the Akivasha people are the Homeric Achaean Greeks. "Tursha" is either Trojans or Etruscans (Tyrsen, Tus); there is a hypothesis that the Trojans are the Etruscans, therefore, we are talking about the same people here. The Lucca people are the Lycians, the inhabitants of southwestern Anatolia (Asia Minor). Sardis, or Shardana, are the inhabitants of Sardinia already familiar to us, the builders of the Nuraghe. "Sheklesh" are the Siculs, the inhabitants of Sicily (Sikelia).

The second attack by the "peoples of the sea", this time simultaneously from land and from the sea, occurred in the eighth year (c. 1175 BC) of the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses III (1182-1151 BC). By this time, the “peoples of the sea” had probably already captured the Syrian cities of Ugarit and Alalakh. To repel the invasion, Ramesses III used warships, troops and chariots. The defeat of the "peoples of the sea" was complete. Ramesses III boasted that he not only defeated and scattered the "peoples of the sea", but also forced them to submit to the Egyptian ruler. Taking pity on the vanquished, the pharaoh settled the remnants of the "peoples of the sea" in Palestinian fortresses so that they would guard the northern borders of Egypt. However, some researchers believe that everything could be just the opposite: having been defeated, the “peoples of the sea” retreated to Palestine and occupied it, eliminating Egyptian domination in this area. Ramesses III was unable to prevent this.
Be that as it may, the victory in the Nile Delta protected Egypt from invasions from the north, but could not prevent the insidious penetration of the Libyan (Berber) peoples from the west. The result of the Sea Peoples attack was disastrous for Egypt: the country plunged into a kind of "dark ages".
Texts dedicated to the victory of Ramesses III over the "peoples of the sea", illustrated with relief images of battle scenes, are carved on one of the pylons of the temple of Medinet Abu near Thebes. In these texts, along with those already known, other "peoples of the sea" are mentioned:

Pe-ra-sa-ta (Pw-r-s-ty) - peleset.
Tjikar (T-k-k [-g)] - chikar.
Sa-k (a) -ru-su - sheklesh.
Danuna (D-y-n-yw-n) - danuna, given.
Wasasa (W-s-s) - yours.

The first on the list are the well-known Philistines from the Bible; the second are the Chakals who lived in Cyprus at the end of the 13th century BC, and later, according to an Egyptian document of the 12th-11th centuries. BC, who moved to the Palestinian

coast at Dore, south of Mount Carmel. The third people, sheklesh - Sikuls, is already known to us from the list of Merneptah; it is the only one of the "peoples of the sea" that is mentioned in both records. Fourth on the list are the Danaan Greeks, familiar from the poems of Homer, fifth - Vashisha, presumably an Asia Minor people of Cretan origin; perhaps we are talking about the Carians, the inhabitants of western Anatolia.
In addition to the temple of Medinet Habu, the attack of the "peoples of the sea" under Ramses III is mentioned in the so-called Great Papyrus of Harris and in the list of temple income received in the reign of Ramses III (1184-1153)[†††††††††]
Written sources and images on Egyptian reliefs testify that the "peoples of the sea" arrived in Egypt with their families, with cattle and property loaded on ships and carts drawn by oxen. Consequently, these attacks were a clear attempt to forcibly seize foreign lands in order to settle on them. Everything indicates that the "peoples of the sea" did not just seek robbery - they planned to develop the areas that they were going to conquer. This behavior may have been the result of a large-scale famine in the "islands of the sea". Indeed, in the XIII and XII centuries BC. in the northern and eastern Mediterranean a number of
big crop failures. This catastrophe even forced Pharaoh Merneptah to send grain to the famine-stricken Hittites (already in decline). Perhaps it was the famine that caused large-scale movements of peoples through Anatolia and the Levant to Syro-Palestine and Egypt.
All the "peoples of the sea", apparently, were well known to the Egyptians before. The Egyptians, of course, also knew that these peoples were connected geographically and partly politically (by some kind of allied obligations?) and came to the Nile Delta from the north - from the islands of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor.
The fact that the “peoples of the sea” were not unknown to the Egyptians is also evidenced by two earlier sources: the Egyptian list of allies of the Khetg king who opposed Pharaoh Ramses II (1279-1213) at the Battle of Kadesh (1285 BC), and a Hittite document listing the peoples that were part of the Ahkhiyav (Western Anatolia) league, whose troops attacked the Hittite empire. The bone of contention was the western regions of Asia Minor and the island of Cyprus, and the struggle was fought both on land and at sea. As a result, the Akhkhiyavsky union was around 1250 BC. defeated, and the Hittites briefly took possession of Cyprus.
The following tribes are named in the list of Ramesses II:

Pi-da-sa.
Da-ar-d (a) -ap-wa.
Ma-sa.
Qa-r(a)-qi-sa.
Ruka.
Arzawa.

The first name is associated with the Pedas (Pedasians) - the inhabitants of Mysia of Troas (south of Troy), the second - with the Dardanians (Troas), the third - with southwestern Anatolia, the fourth - with Caria, the fifth - with Lycia (Lukka), and the sixth - with the country of Artsava in southwestern Anatolia. Interestingly, the Lucca (Lycians), Shardana (Sardinians) and Peleset peoples
(Philistines) in the Egyptian document are also named among the mercenaries who fought in the troops of Ramses II in the battle of Kadesh.
The reliefs on the walls of the temple of Medinet Habu give us excellent images of the ethnic image of the "peoples of the sea", their clothes, weapons, chariots and ships. These images have much in common with the descriptions of the Aegean peoples in other sources. For example, the warriors of the "peoples of the sea" - tall, slender people, vividly reminiscent of ancient Greeks - on the reliefs of Medinet Abu are depicted in helmets with a flat feather sultan, very similar to the one depicted on the famous Phaistos disk.
The feather sultan, according to Herodotus, as well as one late Assyrian text, is typical of Caria and Lycia in the Bronze Age. Later it was taken over by the neighbors of the Carians. This type of flat feather sultan can be seen on an Assyrian relief depicting Ionian and Carian warriors, and was also worn by Lycian mercenaries in the fleet of Xerxes. According to Herodotus, “the Carians invented three things, which the Hellenes later adopted from them. So, they taught the Hellenes to attach sultans to their helmets, depict emblems on shields, and were the first to attach handles to shields (until then, all peoples wore shields without handles and used them with leather bandages, putting them on the neck and on the left shoulder) ” (Herodotus, I, 171).
Homer in the Iliad describes in some detail the various types of helmets, but he does not mention the helmets with a flat feather plume worn by the "peoples of the sea" or part of them. But the image of such a sultan can be seen on a ceramic anthropoid urn found during excavations in Bet Shin (Bef San). On the wall of this city, as is known from the Bible (1 Kings, 31, 10), the Philistines hung the headless body of Saul. The urn can be roughly dated to 1040 B.C. - The reign of Saul. Similar anthropoid urns have been found in other areas covered by the Egyptian rule.
stvo, including in Canaan and in Egypt itself. In addition, a flat feather sultan can be seen on the warriors of the “peoples of the sea”, depicted on an ivory casket (XII century BC) and on a seal from Cyprus. From all that has been said, it follows that the flat feather sultan on the helmet is a distinctive feature of the "peoples of the sea", the Carians and the Philistines in particular.
The Phaistos disk, in addition to the feather sultan, contains other parallels connecting Crete and Anatolia. Among the pictograms on the disk one can see some structures resembling beehives - probably huts. These beehive-like huts find close analogues in the architecture of the Lycians who lived in the south-west of Anatolia. The type of bow depicted on the Phaistos disc also has Mapoasian analogues. Apparently, the Cretan-Anatolian ties played an important role in the Early Minoan (before 2000 BC) and Middle Minoan (2000-1800 BC) periods. Nearly five hundred years separate the Phaistos disc from the reliefs at Medinet Habu, indicating very long-standing ties between Crete and Anatolia.
Other weapons of the "peoples of the sea", which can be seen on the reliefs of Medinet Habu - long swords, spears, shields and armor tapering towards the end - find close analogues in the text of the Iliad. Despite the differences in details, the armament of the Achaeans is very close to the armament of the Philistines and the Shardan (Sardinians). The pleated "skirts" worn by the warriors of the "peoples of the sea", depicted on the reliefs of Medinet Habu, are of Anatolian origin. The ships of the "Sea Peoples" and their characteristic "humped" cattle also clearly come from Anatolia. By the way, the ships of the "peoples of the sea", depicted on the reliefs of the temple of Medinet Abu, are similar to similar images on the Phaistos disk and on the Mycenaean vase found on the island of Skyros. It is curious that the crews of the war chariots of the "peoples of the sea" consist of three people armed with spears - this is also an Asia Minor, or rather, Hittite, tradition. The Egyptian chariots had only two warriors each.
Scientists find many other parallels between the "peoples of the sea" depicted on the reliefs of Medinet Habu,
and Mycenaean Greek-Achaeans and Anatolian tribes. From this, of course, it is impossible to draw a completely unambiguous conclusion that the "peoples of the sea" came directly from Anatolia and the Aegean - they could adopt the details of clothing and weapons from the Anatolians, Crete-Minoans and Mycenaeans thanks to cultural contacts. However, there is no doubt that the "peoples of the sea" had much in common with the Crete-Mycenaean world and Anatolia, especially its western and southwestern parts. Most researchers today agree that the Sea Peoples came to Egypt from the Aegean and Anatolia.
The study of the names of Asia Minor tribes in Egyptian and Khetga sources showed that various groups of "peoples of the sea" can be associated either with their ancestral home, or at least with those areas where they settled as a result of migration. We have already said that the names Akivasha ("Ekwesh") and Dana ("Denen"), apparently, can be attributed to the Achaean Greeks and the Danaan rivers known from the Iliad. The people "Lukka" may have come from Lycia (Anatolia), the Shardana ("Sherden") - from Sardinia, and the "Peleset" is unambiguously associated with the biblical Philistines, after whom Palestine was named. Shekelesh ("Shekelesh") and Turshi ("Teresh") may be associated with the inhabitants of Sicily and Etruria.
Initially, all these parallels were established according to etymology and philology, but in recent years there has appeared serious archaeological evidence of links between the western and eastern Mediterranean that existed in the Late Bronze Age [‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡]. Archaeological evidence suggests that at the end of the Bronze Age the eastern Mediterranean came into contact with several cultural centers in the west, and this connection continued even after the destruction that was subjected to mainland Greece, Anatolia and the Levant. We already know that almost all
the west of the Mediterranean was inhabited by Ibero-Libyans, and Egyptian texts indicate that at least two of the "peoples of the sea" were of Ibero-Libyan origin - the Shardana (Sardinians) and Shekelesh (Sikul). Apparently, in the Cretan-Minoan period, a certain cultural community began to take shape throughout the Mediterranean, united by a chain of Mediterranean islands, the core of which was Crete. At its extreme pole was the Mbero-Libyan Tartes, which had close economic ties with Britain and the Atlantic coast of France, at the other - the legendary Troy and the ancient pre-Indo-European cultures of Asia Minor. According to the Austrian scientist D. Wölfel, all the countries of the Mediterranean, including North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, already in the Neolithic era were a closely welded cultural and historical unity with highly developed ethno-cultural ties. It seems likely that at this time a single "Euro-African" language was spoken in Iberia, southern France, northern Africa, and southern Italy.
The catastrophe caused by the explosion of the Santorini volcano, the collapse of the Cretan-Minoan civilization, the death of Troy and the movement of the Indo-European peoples, which happened in a very short historical period, put an end to this cultural community. The descendants of the builders of megaliths, who left colossal, still largely mysterious structures on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, suddenly left their islands and were literally “scattered over the face of the earth”. The "prehistoric" Ibero-Libyan Europe suddenly ceased to exist, leaving, however, behind it many monuments so outstanding that even the all-powerful time is powerless before them. Stonehenge and the megaliths of the British Isles, the stone palaces of Karnak and Le Menech in France, Filitos in Corsica, the giant megalithic temples of Malta, the talaiots of the Baleares and the nuraghes of Sardinia, and, finally, the majestic Palace of Knossos in Crete are clear evidence of this.

The most interesting version of the origin of peoples Etruscans and Umbrians, as well as their language and writing, is their origin from the "peoples of the sea" - the Pelasgians, Lelegs, Dardani, Trojans and Danaans.

« The Egyptians called the peoples of the sea the culprits of the universal turmoil of the XII century (BC - author). However, according to Egyptian data, from this motley conglomerate of tribes one can actually isolate Pelasgians. In some monuments they are directly called Pelasgami (Pulasati), in others, appear under the names Trojan Pelasgians-Dardans (Dardna), Pelasgians-Tevkrovs (Takkara) or Argive Pelasgians - Danaans (dainiuna).

The mention of the Dainiuna in Egyptian inscriptions has given rise to a whole literature, mainly focused on the question: were the Dainiuna the famous Homeric Greek-Danaans? However, it seems doubtful the legitimacy of the very formulation of such questions, because the Danaans, rather, were not the Greeks, but the same Pelasgians " .

An extremely important and full-fledged study on the Pelasgians and other peoples of the Mediterranean pre-Greek era was made by the researcher Sergei Darda in the book "Belt of Peace". He noted the following interpretations of the name "Pelasg":

"PELASGA (PELASGA) or PELASGUS (PELASGUS - Πελασγις).

Used as a second the name of the Thessalian Hera and Demeter. Demeter under this name had Temple in Argos and, according to existing belief, she received this name from Pelasg, the son of Triop, who founded a sanctuary dedicated to her.

"PELASGI (PELASGI - Πελασγoι) - d zealous people who inhabited in prehistoric times all of Greece and the coast with the islands of the Aegean Sea. Their traces are also in Asia Minor (Turkey) and Italy. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography".

Absolutely ingenious, in my opinion, an assumption regarding the origin the name of the Pelasgians and Lelegs Sergey Darda put forward: “ According to ancient legends, the Pelasgians were called Pelasgians because they were a nomadic people who, like storks, flew from place to place. in Greek stork - πελαργoς, pelargos - pelargós, and, according to ancient authors, it is from this word that the ethnonym Pelasgians comes. The name of the second most frequently mentioned pre-Greek people, Lelegov, very similar with the Ukrainian word "leleka" - stork, Turkish - leylek, Albanian - lejlek.

“The Attic historian tells of their life there, and says that because of their tendency to migrate, the inhabitants of Attica called them Πελαργoι (storks), (Strabo, 5.R.221) ".

« Further, Anticlides relates that the Pelasgians were the first to settle the regions around Lemnos and Imbros, and, indeed, some of them, led by Tyrrhenus, the son of Atis, crossed to Italy. And the collators of the "History of Atfis" also report on the stay Pelasgians in Athens, but since it was a nomadic tribe that, like birds, flew anywhere, the inhabitants of Attica called them "pelargs" (literally "storks")» .

Another interpretation of the name is associated with the word Πελαγoς - sea (Greek). Pelasgians are known in history as the people who inhabited Palestine under the name Philistines :

"Term Philistines- typical in the Greek translation of the Bible, alteration of the Hebrew pelishtim. In turn, the biblical pelishtim is a reworking of the Pelasgian word with a characteristic rethinking of this ethnonym, which acquired the meaning of a wanderer, settlers» .

Based on historical data about the Pelasgians Sergei Darda makes the following conclusion: “Given that Asia Minor was at that time inhabited mainly by Pelasgian peoples, it can be assumed that Asia Minor authors had direct access to information about the Pelasgians, which increases the reliability of data on Pelasgians. Based on the information provided to us by the authors of antiquity, we can draw the following conclusions regarding the Pelasgians.

1. According to legend, the Pelasgians were the most ancient chronicled people, who lived in what is now Greece, east coast Anatolia(Greek ἀνατολή) (modern Turkey) and on the territory Italy.

2. The areas in which the Pelasgians lived for sure areArcadia, Argolis, Attica, Boeotia, Thessaly, Epirus, Ionia, Samothrace, Lemnos, Imbros, Lesbos , which according to legend was formerly called Pelasgia and Crete, as well as parts of Italy.

3. As a result of the arrival of the ancient Greek tribes, Pelasgians were forced out of Greece to the east, to Asia Minor and adjacent islands. The remaining Pelasgians were assimilated by the Greek colonists. Despite the differences between the Greeks and the Pelasgians, both belonged to the Indo-European group of peoples" .

Other pre-Greek peoples of the Mediterranean, which is often found in historical sources are LELEGI. Sergei Darda reports the following about the Lelegs: “In general terms, the following conclusions can be drawn from the information about the Lelegs:

1. Historians of antiquity believed the Lelegs, like the Pelasgians, the oldest people who inhabited Greece.

2. According to the historians of antiquity, the Leleges lived over a large area Greece, namely: on Leukas, in Acarnania, Locris, Boeotia, Messenia, Laconia, Argolis, in Ionia on the coast of Asia Minor, near Troy, in Caria, Halicarnassus, Pisidia, Chios and Samos.

3. Lelegs were considered a kindred people Carians, Lydians and Mysians.

4. If the Lydians were a people related to the Leleges, and thus it is possible and Pelasgam, then the legend retold Herodotus about the ancestors of the Etruscans, colonists from Lydia to Italy, indirectly confirms belonging Etruscans to Pelasgian peoples who inhabited the Mediterranean before the arrival of the Greeks.

5. Homer counts Lelegov to the peoples, allied Trojans.

6. There was a legend according to which Leleg, the ancestor of the Lelegs, came from Egypt.

7. Lelegi(Greek λελεκι - Leleks) were ousted from Greece, and then from Asia Minor by Greek tribes» .

Among the Slavic peoples stork (gr. λελεκι - Leleks) it is a sacred animal, about which many legends, beliefs and stories are composed, killing a stork is a mortal sin, it is believed that storks were once the totem animal of the ancient Slavs. In one of the Slavic legends, it is said that the stork flies away in autumn to a mysterious distant land. Vyry or to Irey ( "to the Aryan country"), to Paradise where the souls of dead ancestors live. According to one of the legends about storks, the stork flies to the end of the world in autumn, where he plunges into the lake and turns into a man; in the spring he dips into another lake, turns back into a stork, and returns home. Etymology of the word Irey associated with a distant sea: “According to this version, Z.-Rus. cut out, Ukrainian viry, virey, white vyray, floor. dial. Wyraj“a mythological land where migratory birds winter” (Proto-Slavic form *irijь or vyrijь) goes back to I.-e. *iur"body of water, sea", lit. Jura"sea". (F. Bezlay, Slavic Antiquities, T2, p. 423). This is confirmed by numerous Russian hydronyms: Vyry, Vyrya, Vyra, toponyms Vyrya, Vyrets and Old Russian lexemes vyr, vir whirlpool, Ukrainian Virey, virij, "circle, whirlpool, whirlpool", Slovenian. virij "swamp", ir "depth, depth", as well as the name of the Slovenian village Verjana standing at the confluence of two rivers, reconstructed as *vyr(üj)ane - "living near vyry".

Most of the storks from the Slavic lands fly to Africa for the winter. Among the ancient Egyptian artifacts of 3-2 millennia BC, images of storks are found, the underworld or paradise among the ancient Egyptians was called Iar.

It can be assumed, that Pelasgians and Leleges- kindred peoples who had one totem - a stork.

The composition of the pre-Greek peoples of the Mediterranean included DARDANUS (Greek Δαρδανος). Concerning the dardan, Sergey Darda writes: “ At the moment, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. The period of life of the Biblical Darda and Dardanus of the Mediterranean approximately coincide on the time scale.

2. The lifetime of the Dardanus of the Mediterranean falls approximately on a period close to flood of Deucalion. In this regard, it is interesting to recall that, according to legend, Dardan left Arcadia as a result of the flood and the riots that followed.

3. Because, according to the legends, Pelasgians were the original inhabitants of Arcadia., then Dardanus, who immigrated to Asia Minor, can be considered with a high degree of probability a Pelasgian.

4. Battle of Kadesh in which the Dardani are mentioned as allies of the Hittites, occurred about a hundred years after the foundation Dardania in Asia Minor; thus these two facts (the battle of Kadesh and the founding of Dardania) are linked in a chronological sense with each other.

5. The Trojan War (1240-1230 BC) approximately coincides in time with the battle of Ramesses III with the Philistines (Pelasgians). Considering that Asia Minor lost the Trojan War, and the Philistines, according to legend, flooded in from Asia Minor and adjacent islands, it is likely that the Philistines made a forced migration from Asia Minor, unless, of course, we can identify them with the Trojans and their allies.

6. Peleg of the Bible and Pelasg of the Mediterranean, if the dating we have is correct, they lived in different eras.

7. Dardania of Asia Minor and the country of Darada in northern India, probably existed in parallel in time, however Indian Darada, most likely originated before the Dardania of Asia Minor.

Sergei Darda did not mention DANATSEV ( Dainiuna - Egyptian) - the people of the Mediterranean known for many historical legends, including ancient Greek myth about King Danae and his Danaid daughters. True, according to the story of Euripides, the Danaans forced the Pelasgians to take on the name of the Danaans:

"Father of fifty daughters Danai,
Arriving in Argos, founded Inaha city
And to all who bore the name of the Pelasgians,
Danaev ordered to take a nickname in Hellas».

Nevertheless, the Danaans have the right to be mentioned in history under their own name among the "peoples of the sea", as well as the Pelasgians.

Another people mentioned in Egyptian chronicles as part of the "peoples of the sea" - TEVCRAS (takkara -Egypt.) or TROJANS. The Trojans, as well as the Danaans, cannot claim independence, since they are an association of the tribes of the Dardanians and the peoples of Asia Minor.

All of the above "peoples of the sea", who were the parents of known ancient civilizations, have in historical terms the mysterious status of mythical or disappeared peoples, although we know from the laws of physics that nothing disappears without a trace and also does not arise from nothing. And the phrase of the chronicler Nestor: “ Disappeared like obra " in this case is unfair.

"In other parts of Italy, we constantly stumble", - Schwegler is perplexed, - “to the same common names. So, they say that Guernicah the Pelasgians once lived. Pichenum was also once inhabited by them. There is evidence that Noceria, Herculaneum and Pompeii were founded by them, or that they lived there for some time. Examples have already been given of other cities that history associates with the name of the Pelasgians».

Based on this and on such legends, according to Sergey Darda, Barthold-Georg Niebuhr, put forward a hypothesis, which is now universally recognized, and against which objections can only be expressed from the point of view of comparative philology. According to Niebuhr y, The Pelasgians were the very first people who inhabited not only Greece, but also Italy. Once upon a time in the past, he says, Pelasgians - the most numerous people, inhabited all countries, starting with Arnus and Padus and ending with the Bosphorus; and they were not nomads, as many historians imagine, but as a settled, powerful and respected indigenous people. It was in the distant past, long before the beginning of Greek history in its classical sense. Later, however, in the time of our historians, only isolated, scattered parts of this vast nation remained of them - as happened to the Celts in Spain - who, like the tops of mountains, rise in islands after the dry land has been turned into a lake by a flood. “Antiquity can be compared to a huge city of ruins, in which there is not even a plan in which everyone must figure out and understand the whole from the parts, and the parts from a careful comparison and study of the relationship of the latter to the first,” wrote Barthold-Georg Niebuhr .

Sergey Darda states: “That the name "Pelasgians" once meant an existing people, we can fully believe; but we cannot form any historical conception of a people who Herodotus calls sedentary, others - nomadic, and whose oldest place of residence was somewhere between Mount Ossa and Mount Olympus, as well as in Arcadia and Argolis«

And if we pay more attention to the Pelasgians today than to other real-life races, not because they left a lot of truthful evidence of their existence, but because they occupied such a really important place in the myths of Greece and Italy" .

The first thing I want to say is that the concept, in fact, has already been presented in the work of the author "Fear the Danes who bring gifts." And second, definitely, the proposed concept needs to be improved. Before introducing the concept development of the Indo-European ethnic group Let us summarize the findings of various researchers regarding Origins of the Sea Peoples, their location, common names, customs, culture, economic relations.

-nos \-na

General conclusions about the "peoples of the sea" suggest the following:

1. "Peoples of the Sea" territorially localized in one region of the Mediterranean (see the map of the residence of the Pelasgians and Lelegs in the Mediterranean of S. Darda).

2. Dardane, according to sources, there are from the island of Samothrace and further migrated to Asia Minor, founding Troad.

3. Lelegi according to the sources, they moved from Egypt to Asia Minor in the neighborhood with the Carians and Lydians.

4. The origin of the Pelasgians is unknown.

5. Danaans appropriated Argolic Pelasgians own name. It is known from historical sources that the Pelasgians migrated from Egypt to Argolis and took the name of the Danaans under the compulsion of King Danae, according to Euripides, however, in the ancient Greek myth of the Danaids, it is said that King of Argos Pelasg sheltered the Danaids, who fled from the persecution of the Egyptians, led by King Danai. The Egyptian chronicles mention the invasion of the "peoples of the sea" Pelasgians and Danaans. Apparently, the mythical flight of the Danaans from Egypt is an interpretation of historical data about the invasion of Egypt by the “peoples of the sea”.

: -ssos \-ssa; -sos\ -sa.

6. Pelasgians and Leleges lived in Crete and the islands of the Aegean Sea.

7. Pelasgians, Leleges according to the sources, they are called nomadic peoples (storks).

8. The ethnonym Leleg in the Eastern Slavic languages means "stork".

9. One of the symbols of the later form Cretan letters(XV-XII centuries BC), the so-called "Linear B" is a symbol very similar to stork - ai.

10. Pelasgians and Leleges partially moved to the Apennine Peninsula after a natural disaster or for other reasons.

11. The peoples of the sea were warlike(attack on Egypt), created a high culture of agriculture, crafts, urban planning, which borrowed autochthonous tribes of the ecumene of the Mediterranean and Greeks.

12. The Pelasgians and Leleges spoke a barbarian language unknown to the Greeks.

13. The Pelasgians brought writing to Italy.

On the - nthos/-ntha; -ndos / -nda; -nza / -nzos in Eastern Anatolia

14. Pelasgians and Lelegs did not have topographical and toponymic names from their own name, although they built and lived in many cities and in different territories.

15. Dardani and Danaans(from the root of the word dan - river, stream) had topographical and toponymic names ( Dardan, Dardanelles, Danube, Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Don, Donets, etc..).

16. Ethnonyms Dardani and Danes have one root "-dan-".

17. The Pelasgians, under the name of the Philistines, lived in Palestine, fought and coexisted with the Jews as the dominant ethnic group.

18. The Pelasgians made human sacrifices(first-born babies) to their gods. In the Zagreb mummy, the Etruscan language describes the custom of human sacrifice (A Dozen is a swaddled child), which, by the way, was also characteristic of the Jews (an episode from the Bible of the Massacre of Innocents).

19. According to sources, the Pelasgians were excellent sailors.

20. "Peoples of the Sea" suddenly appear in the field of view of chroniclers and historians, as well as suddenly disappear.

21. Etruscan texts, the Zagreb mummy, Iguva tables are translated only with the help of Slavic languages.

The coincidence of many characteristics of the "peoples of the sea", such as migration, appearance, disappearance, a barbaric language incomprehensible to the Greeks, along with a high level of civilization, suggests that Pelasgians, Leleges, Danaans, Dardani are one people that existed before the Greeks under different names.

The name of this people DANIES. Only, this numerous people is not the “people of the sea”, but the “people of the rivers” in the root "dan, d-n", in Sanskrit: (related words in Russian: DON, Dnepr, DONets, Dniester, the Don river was called “Quiet Don”, i.e., “Quiet River”.). The Danes came from the north of Europe to the Balkan Peninsula somewhere in 4 thousand BC, and later settled in the Mediterranean.

The Egyptians, in fact, did not care where this people came from, the main thing is that they came from the sea on ships, therefore they called him, as one "people of the sea" - Danaans, became a collective image of the "peoples of the sea." The Danaans were endowed with all the epithets that the settlers of the Mediterranean had: Pelasgians - "nomadic", Lelegs - "storks", Dardani - "keeping the stream", that is, the Hellispont.

Where did the Danaans come from in the Mediterranean basin?

The collapse of the linguistic Indo-European community dates back to IV millennium BC Indo-European tribes, living in the northern Black Sea region, settled along the main rivers of Eastern Europe - the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Don and moved to Western Europe and the Scandinavian Peninsula. It was a united Indo-European ethnic group, not yet divided into Celts, Germans, Slavs. Later, during 2nd millennium in Eastern Europe ethnos was formed along the rivers Danes(peoples of the rivers), in Western Europe took shape celtic tribes. A new ethnic group was born in Scandinavia, which returned to the shores of old Europe under the name Germans.

Numerous tribes of Danes mastered not only Danube, but also the Adriatic coast and the Balkan Peninsula, and then the Mediterranean basin. On the island Crete to the Danes and an ancient advanced civilization was created, appeared linear A.

Invasion Greek tribes in the II millennium BC from Asia Minor stopped the expansion of the Danaans in the Mediterranean. On mainland Greece, the Greeks gradually ousted the Danaans and created their own Mycenaean civilization. On the island Crete was the first written Minoan civilization - Linear B. In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. there was a natural disaster on the island of Thera, which practically destroyed the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. Survivors Danaans from Crete migrated to the Apennine Peninsula, where they merged with the autochthonous population and later became known as the Etruscans and Umbrians (lat. Umbri) - an ancient Italian people that formed in Northern Italy at the end of the Bronze Age. After the events of the Trojan War and the subsequent natural disaster at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. n. e. The Danes have practically returned to their former habitats, that is, to Eastern Europe. Routes:

- The Balkan Peninsula, where they became known under the name Veneti and Dardanians;
— Pannonia- known by name sloppy;
- Central Europe - Western Slavs(Czechs, Slovaks, Poles);
- Eastern Europe - East Slavs(Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians.).

peoples of the mediterranean

What do we know, for example, about the Ligures - the most ancient inhabitants of northwestern Italy and southeastern France, mentioned by the writers of classical antiquity - Roman and Greek? “This people has still remained unexplained, although the memory of it lives throughout the West,” writes de Morgan in the book Prehistoric Mankind. “Scientists see in the Ligures the creators of Neolithic culture and the builders of dolmens. Being skillful stone-workers, at the same time, perhaps under foreign influence, they became metallurgists.

We know just as little about the Lycians, the inhabitants of the southwestern coast of Asia Minor, whom the Egyptians spoke of in the 2nd millennium BC as sea robbers. Almost nothing is known about the Carians, who, according to legend, owned the islands of the Aegean Sea before the arrival of the Greek tribes there, who forced the Carians into Asia Minor.

The fresco of the Palace of Knossos depicts a young man in a helmet, to which a bunch of long, colorful feathers is attached as an ornament. Herodotus wrote that the Lycians, one of the oldest peoples, had headdresses with feathers. The Lycians, on the other hand, were related to the Carians, who owned Crete in ancient times, according to legend. Unfortunately, the existing inscriptions in the Carian language are not yet interpretable. But this language was spoken by the indigenous population of southwestern Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean Sea, and the Carian script had some distribution on the northern coast of Africa. Herodotus claims that Carian was spoken by the Lydians (the shores of the Gulf of Genoa), the Mysians (northwestern Asia Minor), and that the Phrygians (Asia Minor) belonged to the Carian race.

Fresco "Young Man".

The Carian god of thunder was depicted with a double-edged ax, as was the supreme deity on ancient Cretan monuments and the god of thunder and lightning, Shango, among the Yoruba in western Africa. Shango's weapon was a double ax or axe. The image of an ax, sometimes with two, sometimes with one blade, just like the image of a bull, acquired exceptional significance in the East, in North-West Africa and in ancient Europe. Often the bull and the ax were depicted together. From this it is concluded that both symbols corresponded to some representations close to each other.

Atlantologists, on the other hand, believe that the worship of the bull passed to the East and, in general, to the Old World from Atlantis. This is based on the bull-sacrifice described by Plato by the kings of Atlantis. A double ax is considered by them a characteristic feature of the Atlantean culture.

We know that the widespread settlement of the shores of Asia Minor, the Aegean archipelago, the Balkan Peninsula dates back to the beginning of the Neolithic - the 7th-6th millennium BC. The tribes that inhabited the coasts communicated with each other from ancient times, which was facilitated by the sea connecting them. But where did the Etruscans come from?

Scientists are still arguing about their origin. It is only known that the Etruscan cities were ruled by priest-kings, that Etruria was the first agricultural country in Italy and was famous for its high technology of metal processing. A feature of their system was the free position of women - priestesses and legislators.

We know about the Pelasgians that in ancient times they inhabited the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, some islands and the western part of Asia Minor. Under the onslaught of the Greeks, the Pelasgians in the II millennium BC settled on the island of Crete and further to Palestine. The Greeks, who moved to the lands of the Pelasgians, adopted many features of their culture, for example, the cult of the thunder god Zeus. According to Diodorus Siculus and Herodotus, the Pelasgians were related to the Berbers of African Libya.

Modern Berbers - a swarthy, black-haired people, among whom there are blondes with blue eyes - are descendants of the most ancient population of North Africa - the Libyans. The Berber language belongs to the Semitic-Hamitic group of languages. The center of this group of languages was the Sahara or, more precisely, the northern part of Africa. In the 5th-4th millennium BC, the tribes that spoke the languages of the Semitic-Hamitic group settled in different countries and the peoples who now speak these languages belong to the most diverse types - from the European-Mediterranean to the Negroes. The migration of people of the Paleolithic (ancient Stone Age) from one area to another was repeated from century to century. In search of game, groups of hunters moved from place to place, as did fruit gatherers. They went farther and farther, and after a while they had other interests; they gradually became alien to their tribe. Then there were differences in language.

Many facts speak of the connections between the Paleolithic tribes and their movements over considerable distances. One of the evidence of the movement of the Aurignacian tribes is the found bones of people of that time. At Menton in France, bones of two different human Paleolithic races have been found in the Aurignacian layer.

Some belonged to people of the Cro-Magnon type with a large skull and a protruding "aquiline" nose. Others had features that brought them closer to modern Negroes.

And here, on the Upper Don in Kostenki, a burial was found with a skeleton that had pronounced Negroid features, and the skeletons in the burials at the Kostenki II site are characterized by the same clearly expressed features of Cro-Magnon people, as in Western Europe.

In addition, there are traces of an ancient Negroid population in Northern Italy, Switzerland and even England in the Neolithic, Bronze and Early Iron Ages.

During excavations in Palestine, the remains of the agricultural culture of the so-called Natufians were found (according to finds in Wadi en-Natuf northwest of Jerusalem). The Natufian culture is attributed to the 7th-6th millennium BC; it preceded the Neolithic, and the Neolithic in Palestine developed simultaneously with the Egyptian. According to the English anthropologist Heights, the Natufians were representatives of the Mediterranean race with a Negroid admixture and strikingly resembled both the people of the Aurignacian layer of Southern Europe and the prehistoric Egyptians.

In the latest excavations of English archaeologists near the Dead Sea, ruins of stone walls and towers were discovered three kilometers from the city of Erichi, whose age scientists determine at 8 thousand years. Archaeologists believe that these are the remains of one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth, about which we still know nothing.

And how many more unsolved secrets are kept underground? And maybe, over time, unknown cities will be found, in which there will be inscriptions testifying to Atlantis.

From the book New Chronology and the Concept of the Ancient History of Russia, England and Rome author

The five primary languages of ancient Britain. What peoples spoke them and where did these peoples live in the 10th-12th centuries? On the very first page of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, important information is reported: “On this island (that is, in Britain - Auth.) There were five languages: English (English), British or

From the book Essays on the History of Civilization author Wells Herbert

Chapter Fourteen The peoples of the sea and the peoples of trade 1. The first ships and the first navigators. 2. Aegean cities in the prehistoric era. 3. Development of new lands. 4. The first merchants. 5. The first travelers 1Man built ships, of course, from time immemorial. First

From the book Book 2. The Secret of Russian History [New Chronology of Russia. Tatar and Arabic languages in Russia. Yaroslavl as Veliky Novgorod. ancient english history author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

12. Five Primary Languages of Ancient Britain What peoples spoke them And where these peoples lived in the XI-XIV centuries On the very first page of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle important information is reported. “On this island (that is, in Britain - Auth.) There were five languages: English (ENGLISH), British

From the book History of the Ancient East author Lyapustin Boris Sergeevich

Culture and Religion of the Eastern Mediterranean The main cultural achievement of the inhabitants of this region was the creation of an alphabetic script, to which all modern alphabets of the world go back. In the II millennium BC. e. in the small city-states of the Eastern Mediterranean there were

From the book History of the East. Volume 2 author Vasiliev Leonid Sergeevich

Countries of the Eastern Mediterranean There are four Arab countries in this region - Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq (the problem of Palestine will be considered separately). Two of them, Syria and Iraq, are relatively large, strong, even aggressive states, if we mean

From the book Rus. China. England. Dating of the Nativity of Christ and the First Ecumenical Council author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

From the book Barbarian Invasions on Europe: German Onslaught by Musset Lucien

A) Invasions and the destruction of the unity of the Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea provided the Roman West with cohesion and unity. And by no means for strategic or naval reasons: the permanent squadrons based in Mysen and Ravenna disappeared even under the North. It was in

From the book History of France. Volume I Origins of the Franks by Stefan Lebeck

Clovis and the Burgundians. The attraction of the Mediterranean This event made a great impression on the contemporaries of Clovis. Already not only the bishops of the southern half of Gaul - Ver of Tours, Avit of Vienna or Quintian of Rhodes, but "a multitude of people from now on ardently desired to cross

From the book History of Culture of Ancient Greece and Rome author Kumanetsky Kazimierz

Chapter IV. Rome - the first power of the Mediterranean

From the book Ancient East author

The most ancient history of the Eastern Mediterranean With the advent of the Canaanites in Syria and Palestine, there is a sharp progress in handicraft production, especially in metallurgy; from that time begins the so-called Early Bronze Age in the history of the Eastern

From the book Ancient East author Nemirovsky Alexander Arkadievich

Culture and Religion of the Eastern Mediterranean Phenicia: Writing and Mythology The main cultural achievement of the inhabitants of the Middle East, rightfully grateful descendants, is the creation of an alphabetic letter, to which all modern alphabets of the world go back. In II

From the book Medieval Europe. 400-1500 years author Koenigsberger Helmut

The return of the Western Mediterranean The court of Justinian lived as if the happiest days of the Christian Roman Empire had returned. And indeed, the time has come to restore the power of the emperor in those western provinces that were actually lost, but

From the book History of the Ancient World [East, Greece, Rome] author Nemirovsky Alexander Arkadievich

Culture of the Eastern Mediterranean A striking achievement of this region was the creation of an alphabetic script. In the II millennium BC. e. in the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean there was an intensive search for writing suitable for mass, unambiguous and rapid reference

From the book The Theory of Baths author Khoshev Yuri Mikhailovich

2.2. Antique baths of the Mediterranean First of all, we note (and we will constantly emphasize for clarity) that the Russian term “banya” is much narrower than the common European (Greek-Latin) term “baneum”, meaning purification with water in general and even wider. Terminological

From the book Christian Antiquities: An Introduction to Comparative Studies author Belyaev Leonid Andreevich

From the book History of Islam. Islamic civilization from birth to the present day author Hodgson Marshall Goodwin Simms

The Islamic world of the Western Mediterranean Already in the heyday of the Abbasid era in territories far from the center of the Caliphate government, a special historical model was formed, which even extended to local relations between Muslims and dhimmis. Especially

In the XIII century BC. e. The Eastern Mediterranean was inhabited by many peoples with a highly developed culture and rich history. In the Peloponnese there was Mycenaean civilization, who built such beautiful cities as Athens, Mycenae, Pylos, Tiryns. She was not inferior in anything and Minoan civilization settled on the island of Crete. At that time, it was already under the strong influence of Mycenae, but retained its originality, customs and huge cultural heritage of previous generations.

Settled in Asia Minor Hittite civilization. It was a powerful state. In terms of its military power, it competed with Ancient Egypt. Her combat detachments adequately repelled the onslaught of the Egyptians and even clashed with them over the city of Kadesh (Syria). The Hittites occupied the entire southeastern coast of Asia Minor, its central lands, and even part of the western coast.

Along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, lands stretched in a narrow coastal strip Phoenician civilization. Its representatives were skilled sailors and merchants. In this matter, they were unmatched. If not for the southern neighbor Ancient Egypt, all the while limiting their restless ardor and energy, the Phoenicians would very quickly occupy a dominant position in this region.

Vast lands stretched south of Ancient Egypt Nubian civilization. The people representing it by the 13th century BC. e. had a rich history behind them. She was a match for the history of her northern neighbor, famous for her ancient pyramids. The Nubian kings stood at the head of a highly developed society, had a strong army and ruled the country with the help of wise laws. This power seemed unshakable and in the future could well take the "palm" from the hands of the weakening Ancient Egypt.

Life was in full swing on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Merchants, artisans flourished, scientists who had unique knowledge in medicine, astronomy, architecture, and linguistics enjoyed great respect. Writing was at a high level. The priesthood was revered, glorifying numerous gods. Courageous warriors, ready in case of danger to stand up for their fellow citizens, were not deprived of attention.

Everything changed in the second half of the 13th century BC. e. As if eternal night had fallen on flowering lands. Rich cities turned into ruins, writing disappeared, fat meadows with cattle were empty, the inhabitants of the plains changed their place of residence. They began to build villages on impregnable rocks, grow crops and graze cattle on mountain plateaus, securely hidden from prying eyes.

The reason for such global changes was that on the rich and well-fed lands appeared sea peoples. Who they are, where they came from - historians today cannot give a clear and precise answer to this question.

The Sea Peoples are the greatest mystery of the Ancient World. Very little is known about them. To be completely accurate, almost nothing. This phrase is mentioned in Egyptian historical sources from the time of the pharaoh of the XX dynasty, Ramses III (1185-1153 BC). But by the time this lord came to the throne, the peoples of the sea had been burning and destroying for 40 years Greatest Civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Hittite kingdom could not withstand their invasion and fell. All cities were destroyed, the greatest historical monuments were destroyed. The culture of the ancient people was wiped off the face of the earth. New tribes appeared on the territories of the most ancient civilization. In terms of their level of development, they were not even close to the Hittites.

A similar fate befell the lands of the Peloponnese. Here, too, everything collapsed and was destroyed. Noble people were killed, commoners were turned into slaves. In a short time, the entire intellectual stratum of society was destroyed. The peoples that inhabited the peninsula were thrown back hundreds of years in their cultural development.

Did not escape the sad fate and the island of Crete. The peoples of the sea came to its shores on numerous ships. They were warlike, strong and ruthless. The indigenous inhabitants of the island, who chose the cozy lowlands, were forced to flee from the invaders high in the mountains. Today, 80 refuge villages have been found dating back to that distant and terrible era.

These villages are located in impregnable high-mountainous places. Narrow paths lead to them. You can walk along such a path only by walking one after another. A small group of men, having chosen a convenient position, can hold back the attack of an entire army here, smashing the enemy with arrows and throwing heavy stones. Judging by the excavations, people lived in such villages for many years, not daring to go downstairs and arrange a normal life.

Those who did not manage to take advantage of the protection of the mountains, a terrible fate awaited. Archaeological excavations in the lowlands tell of the incredible cruelty that the peoples of the sea showed towards the inhabitants of the island. The destruction of cities resembles a terrible natural disaster. As if a terrible earthquake hit the fragrant lands. Everywhere you can see traces of fires, ashes, piles of human skeletons.

It is noteworthy that the invaders did not settle on the conquered lands of the island. The peoples of the sea periodically appeared on their ships off the coast of Crete, landed, did evil, robbing and killing all those who came across their path, and then again loaded onto their ships and sailed away. They arose on the sea horizon each time unexpectedly. This forced the indigenous inhabitants of the island to live high in the mountains for many years.

Near the borders of Ancient Egypt, the Sea Peoples appeared for the first time in 1203 BC. e. It was the time of the reign of the pharaoh of the 19th dynasty Merneptah (1212-1202 BC). They came from the Phoenician lands. The cities of the Phoenicians defended themselves fiercely, and the invaders decided to try their luck in other lands that seemed to them less protected.

The Lord of Ancient Egypt advanced a strong army to the border lines and the peoples of the sea did not join the battle. They withdrew and captured the city of Ugarit in Syria. This ancient center of culture was subjected to barbaric destruction. The most valuable library was destroyed. It was kept in a huge royal palace, which occupied an area of a whole hectare. The palace itself also did not escape the sad fate. The Sea Peoples have reduced it to ruins. The huge city, which was not inferior to Rome in size and was the largest trading center in the Eastern Mediterranean, also expected a sad end.

This barbarism happened at the very end of the 13th century BC. e. In the early years of the new century, the carnage continued. The blow of the invaders took over the central lands of Anatolia (Asia Minor). Here the peoples of the sea marched with fire and sword through the surviving rich cities of the Hittite kingdom. Death and destruction came to the homes of innocent people.

Saturating the blood of innocent victims lasted a long twenty years. Pala and Troy - a city on the western coast of Asia Minor. Here, however, historians do not have an unequivocal opinion. There is a hypothesis that in this case there was an internecine strife long before the appearance of the peoples of the sea. The ruins of this ancient city have been found, but they cannot tell archaeologists what circumstances accompanied their emergence. So the cause of death remains in question.

Having incinerated and destroyed everything around, the peoples of the sea turned their gaze to the lands that had not yet experienced the full horror of their invasion. It was Ancient Egypt. At the beginning of the XII century BC. e. he no longer represented the invincible and mighty power, which was in more ancient times. Having fairly lost its power and greatness, the Egyptian kingdom entered a period of severe economic and political crisis.

Ramses III

Temporary improvement in all aspects of life has come during the reign of Ramesses III. He ruled for 32 years, and made a significant contribution to the strengthening of the power entrusted to him.

It was during his reign that the second campaign to Egypt of the peoples of the sea falls. This time there were a myriad of invaders. Some of them sailed on ships, while others moved on foot. A huge number of carts pulled by oxen carried not only warriors. Their wives and children sat in the carts. The peoples of the sea went on a campaign with their families. It is not known for certain whether such a practice has always taken place, or whether this happened for the first time - during the attacks on Ancient Egypt.

As already mentioned, information about the peoples of the sea is negligible. History knows about them only from the sources of Ancient Egypt. The main information is in the form of reliefs with inscriptions and drawings on the wall of the tomb of Ramses III in Medinet Habu (a suburb of the city of Luxor, the left bank of the Nile). Part of the data is contained in the archives of Deir el-Medina on papyri and ostraca (the settlement of ancient artisans is also on the left bank of the Nile opposite Luxor).

Ramesses III put up against the enemy a strong land army and a navy, consisting of many ships. The decisive battle took place in 1177 BC. e. in the lands of Phoenicia. In this battle, the Sea Peoples suffered a crushing defeat. Many of them died, the survivors were captured. Not escaped eternal slavery and women with children. Was also captured as war booty and all the belongings of the unfortunate invaders.

Land expansion was stopped, the enemy was utterly defeated and destroyed. But there was still a fleet. The peoples of the sea moved their armada to the mouth of the Nile. Here she was met by Egyptian warships. The fleet of Ramesses III won in this stubborn battle. The defeated invaders were mercilessly killed, the survivors were enslaved. Thus, the pharaoh saved his country from the horrors that other civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean experienced in full from the peoples of the sea.

On this, in fact, the bloody epic ended. The peoples of the sea have sunk into the darkness of centuries and there is no more information about them. It is only known that, with the permission of Ramesses III, tribes settled on the fertile lands of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, who called themselves Philistines. Whether they were representatives of the peoples of the sea, who meekly bowed their heads before the winners, or had nothing to do with these cruel invaders - this history is not known for certain.

There is also an assumption that the peoples of the sea were thyrsenes. These are the ancestors of the Etruscans - the very tribes that existed on the Apennine Peninsula before the Romans. It was they who taught the great conquerors to build roads, build beautiful cities, and arrange gladiator fights. Again, there is no direct evidence pointing to the participation of the tyrsenes in terrible atrocities to destroy innocent people.

It is possible that the peoples of the sea belonged to teucers- so called the inhabitants of Troy. Having been defeated in internecine strife, they lost everything: their city was destroyed, their dignity was humiliated. A warlike tribe could well challenge the inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean living in luxury and satiety.

Gathering "fortune hunters" around them, the Teucers turned into ruthless robbers and murderers. Their raids on the cities of enemies took on a huge scale due to the poorest tribes constantly adjoining them, of which many lived very close to highly developed civilizations.

It also needs to be said about siculah- a tribe that lived on the island of Sicily. They were not carriers of high culture. At the same time, they were warlike and courageous people. They could very well become the peoples of the sea, or at least join the ranks of the ruthless invaders. The sources of Ancient Egypt indicate that there were nine tribes. So the warlike inhabitants of Sicily could well be one of them.

Ancient
chariot

Has the right to life also another version. It is based on the structure of military units that existed in that distant Late Bronze Age.

The basis of the battle formations of the ancient armies were chariots. Each of them contained two warriors. One was a shield bearer, the other an archer. The wheels of these mobile war carts were made, as a rule, of solid bronze. This increased their strength and permeability. In addition, long knives were installed on the wheel hubs. Bursting at breakneck speed into the ranks of the enemy's infantry, the chariots shredded the warriors and, ultimately, demoralizing the enemy, turned him into a shameful flight.

Such war carts were already expensive in themselves, and besides, it was necessary to buy horses. Only rich people could afford such pleasure. Accordingly, the elite of the army sat in the chariots. It was to know - representatives of the upper class.

In addition to chariots, there was infantry. Cavalry appeared much later, in the 13th and 12th centuries BC. e. never heard of her. However, for the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that the chariot is much more effective than the rider. If not for its high cost, the cavalry would never have become a priority.

Infantrymen were recruited from the poorest segments of the population, they did not disdain to take on the service and men from the backward, deprived of the rich cultural heritage of the tribes. All this public had light and cheap weapons. It consisted of a helmet, shield and breastplate made of wood covered with leather. The weapon was a short spear.

In fact, the infantry was a civilian people. In the event of a threat of attack, they were called up for military service; in peacetime, most of them were disbanded. Considering that wars were a frequent occurrence in those days, mercenaries did not sit without work. The service gave them money, shelter, food. On a salary, infantrymen could support families and more or less adequately exist.

In the second half of the 13th century BC. e. in the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean came a complete idyll. Cultural peoples began to solve foreign policy issues not with the help of weapons, but through diplomatic agreements and peace treaties. This testified to the spiritual growth of people, their transition to a higher intellectual level.

As a result, the hired foot soldiers were out of work. They lost a permanent job, and, accordingly, the salary on which they could support themselves and their families. At the same time, they still have military skills, weapons and an organizational structure that unites them into combat units. Many infantrymen did not know how to cultivate the land, and, by and large, they did not want to. Peasant labor is very hard, and not everyone can do it and at will.

As a result, one of the mercenaries came up with the idea to achieve material well-being with a sword and a spear. Having united in combat units, the former infantrymen turned into sea peoples. They began to attack those who until recently gave them work and bread. The population of well-fed and rich cities turned out to be absolutely unprepared to confront these new, unexpectedly appeared opponents.

Small armed tsarist detachments were destroyed, the nobility was killed. Priceless cultural creations are committed to fire and sword. Their carriers were ruthlessly robbed and killed. The flowering lands of the Eastern Mediterranean have sunk into the abyss of obscurantism, cruelty and ignorance for centuries. The great ancient civilizations ceased to exist. It took hundreds of years for culture and enlightenment to flourish again in these primal hatred-torn territories.

The peoples of the sea, having committed terrible crimes, have sunk into oblivion. We would not know anything about them now if the ancient Egyptians had not found the strength to resist this terrible plague, which turned the whole way of life of that distant time upside down.

Thickness of centuries reliably separates us from those great and terrible events. It does not allow modern man to lift the veil of secrecy and learn the whole truth about the terrible barbarians called the peoples of the sea. But in any case, humanity must learn lessons from history and clearly understand that each of the people has the right to a worthy existence. Others who ignore this rule pay with their lives, dying at the hands of those whom they deprive of the joys of earthly existence and elementary human happiness.

The article was written by ridar-shakin

Based on materials from foreign publications

Ramses III

Ancient
chariot

Has the right to life also another version. It is based on the structure of military units that existed in that distant Late Bronze Age.

The article was written by ridar-shakin

Based on materials from foreign publications