The Philistines dwelt in cities and controlled much of the coast, and the term 'Palestine' is cognate with the word Philistine,[3] That area was known in Greek sources from the mid 5th century BCE as Palaistina. When the Romans defeated the Jewish rebellion of 67-70 CE, and merged the province of Judea with Galilee, Samaria and Idumaea, the name Palaestina was applied to the newly formed larger unit.
The ethnic affiliation of the Philistines is not clear. The Philistine names preserved on inscriptions appear to 'contradict the notion that they were Greek-speakers'.[4] Some scholars argue however that they were a non-Semitic group, with roots in Southern Greece dating back to the period of early Mycenaean civilization.[5] Inhabiting a smaller area on the southern coast called Philistia, whose borders approximate the modern Gaza Strip, Philistia comprised a confederation of five city states: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod on the coast and Ekron, and Gath inland.[6]
Egyptian texts of the temple at Medinet Habu, record a people called the P-r-s-t (conventionally Peleset), one of the Sea Peoples who invaded Egypt in Ramesses III's reign. This is considered very likely to be a reference to the Philistines. The Hebrew name Peleshet (— Pléshseth), usually translated as Philistia in English, is used in the Bible to denote their southern coastal region.[citation needed]
The Assyrian emperor Sargon II called the region the Palashtu in his Annals. By the time of Assyrian rule in 722 BCE, the Philistines had become 'part and parcel of the local population',[7][8] and prospered under Assyrian rule during the seventh century despite occasional rebellions against their overlords.[6] In 604 BCE, when Assyrian troops commanded by the Babylonian empire carried off significant numbers of the population into slavery, the distinctly Philistine character of the coastal cities dwindled away,[7][9] and the history of the Philistine people effectively ended.[6]
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