Who Were the Philistines? | Ancient History Podcast
Para Bellum History - En podcast av Para Bellum History
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This documentary explores the real history of the Philistines — one of the most misunderstood peoples of the ancient world. Known today mainly as the biblical enemies of Israel, the Philistines were in fact a powerful Iron Age civilization whose cities ranked among the largest and richest in the eastern Mediterranean.The episode traces their origins in the chaos of the Late Bronze Age collapse, when drought, famine, and mass migrations reshaped the ancient world. Drawing on Egyptian inscriptions, archaeology, and modern DNA studies, it explains how the Sea Peoples — identified in Egyptian sources as the Peleset — were defeated by Ramesses III and resettled in southern Canaan, where they merged with the local population and formed what later sources call the Philistines.You will learn how the Philistine Pentapolis — Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath — functioned as a unique political confederation, why their material culture points to Aegean origins, and how their early use of iron technology gave them a decisive military edge over their neighbors. The video also examines their religion, language, and rapid cultural assimilation into the Semitic world, including the worship of deities such as Dagon and Baal-Zebub.A major focus is the long conflict between the Philistines and the Israelites, including the historical background behind figures like Saul, David, and Goliath, as well as archaeological finds from Gath that shed light on biblical traditions. The story then follows Philistia under Assyrian domination, its transformation into an industrial powerhouse producing olive oil on a massive scale, and its eventual destruction by the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II.Finally, the documentary explains how the Philistines disappeared as a distinct people through deportation and assimilation, yet left behind one of the most enduring names in history. From Peleset and Pelištim came the term Palestine, later used by Greek authors such as Herodotus and ultimately adopted by Rome when Emperor Hadrian renamed the province Syria Palaestina.This episode is based on primary sources, archaeology, and modern scholarship, offering a full historical reconstruction of who the Philistines really were — beyond myth, polemic, and later tradition.
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This Episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/pcYg1Tm2Htg
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🎤 Voiceover by: Nick Banas
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