In the late thirteenth and early twelfth centuries BC, the peoples and tribes of Asia Minor and the Aegean Basin moved. Some of them from the Indo-European race crossed the seas with others, invaded the Syrian coast and Phoenicia in the far north and ruined what they destroyed on their way, including the famous city of Ugarit.
Those peoples -tribes couldn’t conquered or settled in Phoenicia because in that time was very powerful. They turned around Cyprus and headed straight to Egypt. About 1191 BC, they reached the borders of Egypt and the Egyptians led by the hero Ramses III stopped their attack. So, they retreated to the southern shore of Lebanon – Phoenicia and the land of Canaan. There they found an opportunity and a suitable place to settle in the land from the Jaffa border to Rafah.
These tribes were known by tribal names such as Peleste, Pulaste and Purasti. Their names were mentioned in an inscription left by Ramses III. Read Breasted, Vol. IV, Sec. 403.
Later on, these tribes were called ‘the Philistines’ and the land of their new homeland, ‘Gaza,’ which they occupied in the southern part of the land of Canaan – Phoenicia was called ‘Palestine’ alongside the existed ancient Israel. Thus, since that temporal occupation in known human history, the corrupt Rome called later the land of that region by mistake the name Palestine.
The Philistines
The ancient Palestinians were a strange new people in the region, hostile and attacking. They were not the Arab Palestinians of today and did not belong to the Semitic race. They were even known, as we said earlier, of the Indo-European race. See Dr Philip Hitti, Lebanon in History.
Initially, after retreating back from the Egyptian defense force, the Sea Peoples, Indo-Europeans and ‘Philistines’ occupied the area that extends from Gaza to Jaffa and established an important emirate for them over its area.
Indo-European Civilization, ‘Palestinians’
1. The ancient (Philistines) Palestinians did not have a distinct and rich culture like the culture of the Hebrews – Jews, which calls for enriching the soul of the individual with the sublime laws of God and worshiping him in order to walk the path of light and the development of humanity.
2. The ancient Palestinian people were a non-Semitic people and a mixture of different tribes and peoples living near the Black Sea. Their origin can only be determined and known by DNA.
3. The Palestinian people were a fierce people in their fighting and war. They came to the region as a warrior and conquering people. They destroyed, plundered and demolished many cities; even some of them ceased to exist in the countries they invaded on their way, as mentioned earlier.
4. The Indo-European ‘Palestinian’ people had equipment, weapons and complete knowledge of iron making, smelting and using it in fighting and war.
5. From their extensive experience in iron making, they contributed and accelerated the transition of civilization from its Bronze Age in the Mediterranean region to the Iron Age, which was widely used by the human creature in all the tools and machines that it uses in its daily life.
6. The Indo-European-Palestinian people were weak in the values of their spiritual community and strong in engineering material and weapons for use in fighting and war.
7. The Indo-European-Palestinians did not leave us with religious or other written books that have feats and knowledge in developing the life of their spiritual society and the global community.
8. The Indo-European people – the Philistines arrived at the borders of Egypt to fight the Egyptians around 1191 BC. But under the pressure of the Egyptians’ ferocious defense of their country, they retreated to the Gaza Strip and occupied it. From there they began to penetrate the lowland of Canaan and harass, clash and fight with the inhabitants of the country, among them the Hebrews, the settled Jews who preceded them to the Promised Land.
From the book: “Is God a Lie or Are We? Certainly We Are!”
Author: Jamil Elias Kabalan
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