Sea people 2

Sea People and the Aegean Crisis

• Definition: Sea People are those who took to the sea as refugees fleeing from breakdown and chaos at home, or as corsairs seeking spoils from the ruin.
• Diaspora scope: if there was a diaspora, it was limited to one social class—the lords and their immediate followers.
• Mobility of craftsmen: Craftsmen were often mobile and self-governed; may have found new markets and masters overseas, not only to the south but also to Italy and the central Mediterranean.
• Evidence of movement westward: Bronze knives and swords from Italy and Greece, including Crete, are very alike and largely late-developed types from the end of the 12th and of the 11th century.
• Aegean corsairs in culture: The opening scene of the Iliad presents a big-scale Aegean pirate with arrogance, choler, philotimo, and power to dominate others; this is discussed as a historical idea of a pirate rather than a political force.
• Meaning of the pirate activity: Piracy does not necessarily aim for greater political or commercial power; the hero’s aim is spoil:
  • spoils include: $silver, gold, bronze, horses, cattle and sheep, women, above all treasure and women$
  • success for a pirate society means a larger band of followers and bigger enterprises, not the establishment of a state.
• The seven ships against Ugarit: They may have represented a band that achieved success early but did not cause the general breakdown.
• Achilles and Agamemnon: They symbolize disinherited Mycenaean descendants rather than reigning princes; homecomings were tragic or delayed.
• Decline and privatized raiding: As economies impoverished and trade routes closed (long-distance trade, northern overland and southern maritime), a once-proud leader of a warband could become a small-time bandit, content with limited spoils.
• Archaeological evidence for piracy: Traces include Cypriot, Egyptian, and other trinkets found in Dark Age sites and graves, which may reflect piracy or privateering activity.
• Piracy and privateering as a social norm: Recognized as a way of life, sometimes accepted or condoned by societies; Aristotle notes piracy as an alternative to commerce; the first modern history of the Mediterranean begins with piracy.
• Graded spectrum of operators: From Homeric onsistent with big operators—the Aegean “Sackers of Cities”—to very small ventures (e.g., $3$–$4$ men with a sack of flour, a skin of oil, and a pot of honey) who can operate opportunistically.
• Braudel’s point on piracy and economy: There is a positive correlation between piracy and the economic health of the Mediterranean; piracy rises and falls with overall economic conditions; honest sea-captains and privateers were often the same people in different roles.
• Piracy as a consequence, not a cause: Pirates did not by themselves cause the collapse of commerce and great powers; they were a result of collapse. “When piracy disappears altogether there is probably nothing worth taking.”
• Temporal breadth of turmoil: Disturbances and conflicts stretch over decades, not confined to a few years; this makes it dangerous to tie Greece’s disturbances to Egypt or the Levant’s events.
• Correlation limits: We cannot confidently map destructions in Cyprus and Palestine to specific wars of Merneptah and Ramesses III; broad patterns are more plausible than one-to-one correspondences.
• Possible enemy contingents: Egyptians name groups but do not confirm that all were Greek; we can list tentatively named groups not strictly Anatolian or northern Syrian: Ekwesh (Merneptah), Shekelesh (Merneptah and Ramesses III), Tjeker (possible link with Salamis and the Troad), Peleset (chapters 5–7).
• Filtering through geography: Anatolia and Cyprus likely acted as filters where Aegean groups passed, losing some names but perhaps retaining identities.
• Portraits and iconography: Contemporary portraits of the Ekwesh are lacking; however, Aegean fighting men in the first half of the 12th century can be inferred from pottery depictions like the Warrior Vase from Mycenae.
• Warrior Vase and fighting men: The relief suggests a grim troop of spearmen, described as bronze and iron wearers who are "harsh-voiced and sullen-faced and loving harm"; the warriors wear greaves, fringed kilts with corselets, carry half-moon shields, and wear distinctive helmets (horned or plumed on one side, spiky hair or wild hair on the other).
• Helmets and equipment: The helmet resembles the Asiatic 'Shardana' helmet, known from the Medinet Habu relief; this helmet also appears on the ingot-god of Cyprus. The kilt is a familiar motif from Ugarit and Egyptian monuments.
• Shield design: The shield shown in the scene has a concave lower edge, which is unusual compared to the round shields of other attackers and the Pylos wall-paintings.
• Warrior Vase chronology: The Warrior Vase is later than Ramesses III’s wars, dating to around the middle of the $12^{th}$ century (LH IIIC pictorial style).
• Contemporary Lefkandi find: Lefkandi in Euboea yields sherds showing warriors with round shields and greaves, suggesting cross-cultural connections to Cyprus and Sardinia; greaves are an Aegean fashion and appear to have traveled to Cyprus during the troubles.
• Enkomi tomb 18 (LH IIIB/C): A single dead warrior had greaves and a flange-hilted sword (type IIa), possibly an adventurer from the Aegean or another country, illustrating cross-regional movement of arms and equipment.
• Armament industry as international: The armor and weapons trade was international; quality gear travels quickly when its advantages are understood.
• Mobility of war gear and mercenaries: The traffic of arms and fighting men may not be one-way; mercenaries and adventurers could move from northern Syria, Cyprus, and Anatolia to Greece, as well as Mycenaeans moving elsewhere.
• The role of piracy in Mediterranean history: The narrative emphasizes piracy as both a symptom and a contributing factor in the broader breakdown of Bronze Age networks; it is a lens to examine cultural contact, economic exchange, and military dynamics of the period.
• Distinguishing evidence from interpretations: While paintings like the Warrior Vase provide a glimmer of what fighting men looked like, they are stylized and the draughtsmanship is naïve; careful interpretation is required to avoid over-claiming.
• Key archaeological takeaway: The period shows extensive cross-cultural interaction—Aegean, Cypriot, Egyptian, Sardinian, and Anatolian elements—indicating a dynamic and interconnected, though unstable, network of exchange, war, and migration during the late Bronze to early Iron Age transition.
• Summary perspective: Piracy and privateering did not single-handedly destroy the Mediterranean powers; instead, they thrived as part of the broader upheaval and were themselves shaped by economic decline, resource scarcity, and shifting trade routes.

The Aegean Context: Peoples, Places, and Evidence

• The term "Sea People" encompasses those who moved by sea due to home instability and those who raided for spoils; their presence reflects a wider collapse of Late Bronze Age networks.
• Named groups linked to Egyptian records include: Ekwesh, Shekelesh, Tjeker, and Peleset; these groups may have originated in or passed through Anatolia, Cyprus, and beyond before influencing Greece and the Aegean.
• The evidence base is mixed: contemporary portraits are scarce for some groups, but material culture (pottery, weaponry, armor) and graves provide crucial clues about who fought and from where they came.

The Warrior Vase and What It Tells Us About Aegean Combatants

• Warrior Vase (Mycenae) depicts disciplined troops round a Mycenaean center; warriors have greaves and fringed kilts, corselets, and carry half-moon shields; some wear horned/plumed helmets while others show spiky or furry headgear.
• The vase offers a composite image of Aegean warriors who may be tying together influences from Cyprus, Sardinia, and Anatolia with Mycenaean practices.
• The chariot scenes (one pair of figures in a chariot) illustrate mobility and the strategic use of chariots in battle; a second chariot appears on a different sherd, showing varied military setups.
• Related pottery from Lefkandi (Euboea) shows similar gear (round shields, greaves), indicating regional exchange of armor styles across the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean.
• The ambelio (Cyprus) shard with a rudimentary wheel exemplifies differences in technology and scale of warfare material culture across sites.

Armament, Armor, and Mobility Across the Eastern Mediterranean

• Armor and weapons circulated internationally: a good weapon or armor piece could travel quickly via trade and raiding networks.
• Greaves and swords: Enkomi tomb 18 LH IIIB/C reveals greaves and a flange-hilted sword (type IIa), possibly indicating Aegean origin or influence among Cypriot/near-eastern warfare gear.
• The Shardana helmet connection: The Asiatic Shardana helmet is visible on Egyptian reliefs and is tied to Macedonian or Cypriot-influenced warfare styles; this helmet also appears on artifacts related to Cyprus.
• Helmet, shield, and shield-edge features: The concave shield edge and the overall helmet style reflect a blend of cultures in the Aegean and Levant during the late 12th century.
• Military labor market: The movement of mercenaries, adventurers, and skilled fighters between Aegean, Cyprus, Syria, and Anatolia underscores a political economy of war, where expertise travels as currency.

Chronology, Geography, and the Limits of Correlation

• Chronology anchors: The late 12th century (c. $1186$–$1189$) marks key Libyan and eastern Mediterranean conflicts; Ramesses III and Merneptah are central to Egypt’s defense and response.
• Cross-regional filtering: Anatolia and Cyprus likely served as corridors or filters in which Aegean groups passed, potentially losing some names but not necessarily their identities.
• Correlation caution: It is difficult to map Egyptian campaigns and named contingents to specific destructions in Greece; broad associations are more plausible than precise matches.
• The role of social structure: Piracy and privateering as a response to economic distress could involve lords and their followers more than craft-workers or peasants, explaining the selective diaspora.

Key Takeaways for Understanding the Bronze Age Collapse and Aftermath

• Piracy and privateering are integral to understanding the Bronze Age collapse but are not sole drivers of it; they are both symptoms and accelerants of deeper systemic stress.
• Material culture (pottery, armor, weaponry) and elite social dynamics illuminate how Aegean and eastern Mediterranean groups interacted and transformed under crisis.
• The evidence points to a highly interconnected but unstable region where ideas, weapons, and people moved across political and geographic boundaries, creating a mosaic of cultural contact and conflict.
• The study of the Sea People requires cautious interpretation, combining literary sources (Iliad) with archaeology (Warrior Vase, Lefkandi finds, Enkomi tombs) and Egyptian records to build a nuanced narrative of migration, raiding, and exchange.