The homeland of the "Sea People" known as Pršt (Peleset) in Egyptian sources from the 12th century BC

Analysis of the reliefs and inscriptions from the Egyptian temple of Medinet Habu demonstrates that the Sea People known as Pršt or Peleset originated in the geographical area of Anatolia and Cyprus. At the beginning of the reign of Ramesses III, the Peleset and their allies migrated to Canaan because their homelands had been invaded by other European peoples of Aegean origin, as the Egyptologist Harold H. Nelson deduced almost a century ago. Although the Peleset gave their name to the Philistines who occupied the southern coastal strip of Canaan during the Early Iron Age, the latter were actually an ethnic mix of various Sea Peoples, arriving in two different waves. In the first wave, the most numerous were the Ekwesh or Achaeans, who probably arrived from Crete and were therefore called Kaphtorim in biblical texts. The Peleset, instead, arrived with the second migratory wave. But in addition to being known as Pelishtim in the Bible, the Hebrews also called them Anakim, because their territory of origin must have been the ancient Anaku or “tin land”, located in southeastern Anatolia, near the island of Cyprus. Keywords: Sea Peoples ‒ Peleset ‒ Philistines ‒ Anaku ‒ Medinet Habu