The Sea Peoples were a group of tribes believed to have attacked Egypt and other areas in the Eastern Mediterranean around 1200 BC during the Late Bronze Age. This idea was first suggested by 19th-century Egyptologists Emmanuel de Rougé and Gaston Maspero, based on records such as carvings found on the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. Later research expanded this idea, trying to connect these records with other evidence from the Late Bronze Age, including migration, piracy, and destruction. Early versions of this idea considered the Sea Peoples as a main cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse, but more recent studies generally view them as a result of events that had already begun before their attacks.

The Sea Peoples included groups like the Lukka and Peleset, which are well-documented, as well as others such as the Weshesh, whose origins are unclear. The possible origins of these groups are widely debated. Some appear to have come from Aegean regions, while others may have been from Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Southern Italy, Cyprus, and Western Anatolia.

History of the concept

In 1855, Emmanuel de Rougé, a curator at the Louvre, introduced the idea of the "Sea Peoples" in his work Note on Some Hieroglyphic Texts Recently Published by Mr. Greene. He based this idea on descriptions of battles involving Ramesses III, found on the Second Pylon at Medinet Habu, which were made clearer by photographs taken by John Beasley Greene. De Rougé observed that the Sherden and Teresh, two groups shown in the inscriptions, were labeled as "peuples de la mer" (people of the sea), referencing prisoners depicted near the Fortified East Gate.

In 1867, de Rougé published Excerpts of a Dissertation on the Attacks Directed Against Egypt by the Peoples of the Mediterranean in the 14th Century BC. This work focused on battles involving Ramesses II and Merneptah and included translations of geographic names from hieroglyphic texts. Later, de Rougé became the chair of Egyptology at the Collège de France and was succeeded by Gaston Maspero. Maspero expanded on de Rougé’s research and wrote The Struggle of the Nations (1895–96), explaining the theory of seaborne migrations in detail. At that time, the idea of population movements was more familiar to the public.

The theory of the Sea Peoples was later supported by scholars like Eduard Meyer and became widely accepted among Egyptologists and Orientalists. However, since the early 1990s, some scholars have questioned this theory.

The historical accounts of these events come mainly from seven Ancient Egyptian sources. While the term "of the sea" is not used for all groups in these texts, the modern term "Sea Peoples" is commonly used to describe nine different groups.

Primary documentary records

The Medinet Habu inscriptions are the main source of information about the Sea Peoples. These writings are the foundation for most important discussions about them.

Three separate stories from Egyptian records mention more than one of the nine groups known as the Sea Peoples. These stories appear in six different sources. A seventh source, called the Onomasticon, lists 610 names but is not a story. These sources are shown in the table below.

Records about the Sea Peoples or specific groups are linked to two military campaigns led by Pharaoh Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty. One campaign happened near the Nile Delta in his second year of rule. The other was a major battle with the Hittite Empire and its allies at Kadesh in his fifth year. The exact years of Ramesses II’s reign are unknown, but they likely cover most of the first half of the 13th century BC.

In his second year, Ramesses II defeated an attack by the Sherden people near the Nile Delta. He captured some of the attackers, and this event is recorded on the Tanis Stele II. An inscription on this stele describes the Sherden as a continuous threat to Egypt’s Mediterranean coasts.

The captured Sherden were later added to the Egyptian army and fought in the Battle of Kadesh. Another stele, the Aswan Stele, mentions Ramesses II’s efforts to defeat several groups, including those from the Mediterranean.

The Battle of Kadesh happened during a campaign against the Hittites and their allies in the Levant in Ramesses II’s fifth year. Both Egypt and the Hittites prepared to fight at Kadesh. Ramesses II divided his forces, but they were attacked separately and nearly defeated. Ramesses II was separated from his troops and had to fight alone to return to them. He then led counterattacks while waiting for help. After reinforcements arrived, the Egyptians forced the Hittites to retreat to Kadesh. Although Egypt won the battle, neither side achieved its main goals.

At home, Ramesses II had scribes write an official account of the battle, called "the Bulletin" because it was widely shared through inscriptions. Ten copies of this account remain today on temples at Abydos, Karnak, Luxor, and Abu Simbel. The "Poem of Pentaur," which describes the battle, also survived.

The poem mentions that the captured Sherden not only fought for Ramesses II but also helped plan the battle, including the idea to divide Egyptian forces into four groups. There is no evidence that the Sherden worked with the Hittites or acted against Egypt. Ramesses II did not record any suspicion of their intentions.

The poem lists groups that fought with the Hittites at Kadesh. Some of these groups are the same as those mentioned in earlier Egyptian inscriptions. Many of these groups later participated in large migrations around 1200 BC.

During the reign of Pharaoh Merneptah (1213–1203 BC), the fourth king of the 19th Dynasty, his most important event was a battle at Perire in the western Delta. He fought against a group called the "Nine Bows." This group had caused so much damage that the region was left empty and unusable for farming.

Merneptah’s actions against the Nine Bows are described in three sources. The most detailed account is the Great Karnak Inscription. Two shorter versions appear on the Athribis Stele and the Cairo Column. The Cairo Column, now in the Cairo Museum, was first published in 1881. It mentions the invasion by the "Shekelesh" and other groups. The Athribis Stele, found in Athribis, was published in 1883. The Merneptah Stele from Thebes describes the peace after the battle but does not mention the Sea Peoples.

The Nine Bows were led by the king of Libya and included a revolt in Canaan involving Gaza, Ascalon, Yenoam, and the Israelites. It is unclear which groups were always part of the Nine Bows, but the battle included Libyans, Meshwesh, and possibly groups from the eastern Mediterranean, such as the Hittites or Syrians. The Karnak Inscription also mentions some Sea Peoples who arrived by ship from the Western Delta or Cyrene.

Later in the inscription, Merneptah learns of the attack and is described as angry like a lion. He gives a speech to his court and dreams of receiving a sword from the god Ptah. During the battle, the god Amun protected the Egyptian soldiers. After six hours, the Nine Bows surrendered, and Merneptah claimed to have killed 6,000 soldiers and captured 9,000. He confirmed these numbers by collecting the hands and penises of the dead, showing that the Ekwesh were circumcised, which led to questions about their origins.

Many records about the Sea Peoples come from the reign of Ramesses III (1186–1155 BC). His battles are described in two long inscriptions at his Medinet Habu temple. These inscriptions are separate and slightly different. The Year 8 campaign is the best-recorded Sea Peoples invasion.

The collapse of several civilizations around 1175 BC has led some to believe the Sea Peoples may have played a role in ending the Hittite, Mycenaean, and Mitanni kingdoms.

Ramesses III’s accounts of the Sea Peoples’ attacks are supported by the destruction of cities like Hatti, Ugarit, Ascalon, and Hazor around this time. As historian Trevor Bryce notes, the invasions involved not only military actions but also the movement of large groups of people by land and sea seeking new homes.

This is shown in the Medinet Habu temple reliefs, which depict the Peleset and Tjekker warriors fighting Ramesses III. These reliefs also show women and children traveling with the warriors in ox-carts.

The inscriptions at Medinet Habu record three confirmed victories over the Sea Peoples in Years 5, 8, and 12. Three other campaigns, against the Nubians and Libyans in Year 5 and the Libyans with Asiatics in Year 11, are considered unreliable.

Other documentary records

Other Egyptian records mention one group without mentioning others.

The Amarna letters, written around the mid-14th century BC, include four that mention the Sea Peoples:

• EA 151 briefly mentions the Denyen, noting the death of their king.
• EA 38 refers to the Lukka, who are accused of attacking the Egyptians with the Alashiyans (Cypriotes). The Alashiyans say the Lukka took their villages.
• EA 81, EA 122, and EA 123 mention the Sherden. At one point, a Sherden man is called a renegade mercenary, and at another, three Sherden are killed by an Egyptian overseer.

The statue of Padiiset mentions the Peleset, and the Cairo Column mentions the Shekelesh. The Story of Wenamun mentions the Tjekker. Thirteen other Egyptian sources mention the Sherden.

The earliest known group later linked to the Sea Peoples is found on the Abishemu obelisk discovered in Byblos by Maurice Dunand. The inscription lists "Kukunnis, son of Lukka," called "the Lycian." This obelisk dates to either 2000 or 1700 BC.

Some Sea Peoples appear in four Ugaritic texts, with the last three likely related to the destruction of Ugarit around 1180 BC. These letters are dated to the early 12th century. The last king of Ugarit, Ammurapi (c. 1191–1182 BC), was young during these events.

• RS 34.129 is the earliest letter, written by "the Great King," possibly Suppiluliuma II of the Hittites, to the prefect of Ugarit. He asked the king to send Ibnadushu for questioning but said the king was too young to respond. He wanted the prefect to send Ibnadushu, promising to return him. Ibnadushu had been captured by a group called the Shikala, likely the Shekelesh, who lived on ships.
• RS L 1, RS 20.238, and RS 20.18 are letters from Ammurapi, now handling his own affairs, to Eshuwara, the grand supervisor of Alasiya. Ammurapi told Eshuwara that an enemy fleet of 20 ships had been spotted. Eshuwara asked where Ammurapi’s forces were and where the enemy fleet was located. Neither Ugarit nor Alasiya could stop the Sea Peoples, and both were destroyed. A letter from Ammurapi (RS 18.147) to the king of Alasiya, responding to a request for help, describes Ugarit’s desperate situation. Ammurapi also asked for help from the viceroy of Carchemish, which survived the attacks. King Kuzi-Teshub I of Carchemish, who ruled from about 1175 BC to 990 BC, was a contemporary of the last Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II. The viceroy could only offer advice to Ammurapi.

Groups

The list of Sea Peoples groups includes some that are clearly known and others that are not.

The Lukka people are mentioned in many Hittite and Egyptian records. Their lands were located in what is now the region of Lycia, but the Lukka people were highly mobile. They did not form a single kingdom and instead had a political system that was not centralized. Ancient records describe the Lukka as people who often fought, rebelled, or acted as pirates. They fought against the Hittites as part of the Assuwa group and later fought for the Hittites during the Battle of Kadesh.

Karkiya was a region in western Anatolia mentioned in Hittite and Egyptian records. It was ruled by a group of leaders, not a king, and was not a single political unit. The people of Karkiya had a complicated relationship with the Hittite Empire. They were not part of the empire but sometimes fought alongside the Hittites, likely as soldiers for pay. Some scholars think the name Karkiya might be related to the later region of Caria, but this is not certain.

Historians usually connect the Peleset to the later Philistines. The Peleset are believed to have come from the Aegean area, supported by references in the Bible that link the Philistines to places in the Aegean. Archaeological findings, such as pottery styles from the Aegean, and genetic studies showing European immigrants in places like Ashkelon during the Iron Age, also support this connection. These newcomers likely married local people and adopted local customs.

The Shekelesh are mentioned in the Great Karnak Inscription as soldiers who helped the Libyan ruler Meryey. The Pharaoh Merneptah claimed to have killed between 200 and 222 of them. They may also be linked to the Hittite name "Shikalayu," but this is not confirmed. Some scholars suggest the Shekelesh might have ties to Sicily, but evidence is limited, and it is unclear if Sicily was their original home or a later settlement.

The Sherden are mentioned in records from Ramesses II, who claimed to have defeated them in 1278 BC when they tried to attack Egypt’s coast. Many of them were later added to Ramesses II’s personal guard. They may also appear in the Amarna Letters, where their name is written in Akkadian. Some archaeologists think the Sherden might be connected to the Nuragic people of Sardinia, based on similarities in names, weapons, and locations in the Mediterranean. Evidence includes Nuragic pottery found in Cyprus from the 12th century.

The Weshesh are the least known of the Sea Peoples. They are only mentioned in records from the time of Ramesses III, and no images of them have ever been found.

The Ekwesh and the Denyen are sometimes linked to the ancient Greek names "Achai" and "Danao," which appear in Homer’s epics.

The Tjeker are known from the Story of Wenamun and also fought in the Battle of Perire and the Battle of the Delta under Ramesses III. They are believed to have lived along the coasts of early Palestine and helped build Tel Dor into a larger city. Their origins are unclear, but some scholars suggest they may have come from Crete or from the Teucri tribe near Troy. However, this idea has been called "pure speculation" by historian Trevor Bryce.