Philistia was a historical region and civilization in the Levant that existed from 1175 to 722 BC. The Philistines were known to the Egyptians as the Peleset and to the Greeks as the Pelasgiotes, and they migrated from Crete to the eastern Mediterranean as one of the Sea Peoples; the Philistines of the Levant had 20%-60% DNA similarity with ancient skeletons from Crete, Iberia, and Sardinia (home of the Sherden). In 1175 BC, Pharaoh Ramesses III defeated the Sea Peoples and resettled them in the land of Canaan, where the Peleset and their fellow raiders assimilated into Canaanite culture and became known as the "Philistines". The Philistines established a "Pentapolis" of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza, each of which was ruled by a lord, and the Philistines were in constant struggle and interaction with the neighboring Israelites, Canaanites, and Egyptians. The Philistines ruled over the Israelites from 1157 to 1117 BC, when Samson delivered the Israelites from their oppression, but the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant in 1116 BC. In 1096 BC, God was said to have driven the Philistines from Israel with thunderstorms, and, in 1093 BC, King Saul defeated the Philistines at the Battle of Michmash. A Philistine invasion of Israel in 1063 BC was defeated at the Battle of the Valley of Elah, but the Philistines slew King Saul at the Battle of Mount Gilboa in 1055 BC. King David was able to push the Philistines out of Israel during his reign, but the Philistines remained frequent antagonists of the Jews, invading Judah in 888 BC and plundering the King's house and slaying his family. In 740 BC, the Philistine invaded the Israelite lowcountry as the Edomites invaded Judah, but, in 717 BC, King Hezekiah conquered all but one of the Philistine cities from Gath to Gaza. In 712 BC, the Philistine leader Iamani led a rebellion against the Assyrian conquerors of the Levant, and, in 701 BC, Egypt instigated further Philistine risings against the Assyrians. At the end of the 7th century BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed all of the Philistine cities during his conquest of Judah, and the Philistines disappeared from the written record. The Philistines' lasting legacy was the name of the Roman province and modern country of Palestine.
