The Battle of Rasm al-Hirmil occurred in 1196 BC when an invading army of Shekelesh "Sea People" was routed by an army of Syrian shasu nomads in present-day Syria.
Starting in 1200 BC, progressively larger and stronger waves of Sea People invasion fleets began to appear in the eastern Mediterranean. A Weshesh wave was easily defeated by the Canaanite rulers Irsu and Bay in 1200 BC, while a Shekelesh wave arrived in 1198 BC and a Lukka wave in 1196 BC. While most of the Shekelesh fleets invaded southern Anatolia, one of their armies, led by Barisone, marched overland from southern Anatolia to ravage Syria. The Canaanite warlord Irsu sent his general Bedezorus and 2,000 troops to confront the Sea People threat just north of the city of Tuba in present-day Aleppo Governorate.
The Syrians deployed their army at an angle; the main body held the center, while two diagonally-positioned wings were in a position to flank the Shekelesh once the battle began. In the ensuing confrontation, the Syrian wings closed in on the Sea Peoples, outflanking their infantry and slaughtering their Aegean skirmishers. With the Sea Peoples surrounded, and their less-armored raiders coming up against bronze-armored and equipped professional soldiers, the Shekelesh army was nearly destroyed. The remaining Shekelesh retreated to the east, where they were confronted and destroyed at the Battle of Abadza.
Gallery[]
