Hi Sheri, I was hoping that you would pop in and add your knowledge too. You're obviously much more involved than I am!
Oh dear, re the spelling. In truth I was so exhausted when I wrote that last comment that I went to bed not long afterwards. The tribe referred to was the Peleset, not the Pelest. My apologies.
The trouble with such general discussions about ancient history as this, is that we're all going to have to be very careful about when we're talking about,; as well as whether it's about a people, a place or whatever. The potential for confusing each other is huge, and I'm very guilty of that!
A case in point is Canaan. I didn't mean to imply that the Canaanites were still around in 1150 BCE, but that the Egyptians still referred to the land mass as Canaan. I thought it was still called that until somewhere between 1000 and 500 BCE. Though looking it up now, it seems that the Phoenicians were still referring to Canaan around 174-165 BCE. Again, all foreigners looking in and choosing names!
I agree that the Peleset probably did come from somewhere around the Mediterranean. I believe that modern day Albania is the favorite. But by 1150 BCE, they were in the land mass that I've been calling Canaan.
Oh! Wikipedia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistines You know, I hadn't linked the Palestinians with the Philistines before. That one is new to me, but if it's right then that really does explain the antagonism.
However, you're telling me that it's nothing of the sort. Are you saying that the Peleset were there in 1150 BCE, leaving their name on the landscape, but then disappearing as a race?
Ah! Yes. I've just looked into it further and you're quite right. (I love learning! Thank you!) The Byzantines named the whole area Palaestina. After the Arabic conquest, the old place-names were kept.
