The interest shown by VO readers to the topic of the Trojan War is very indicative. Obviously, studying it in the fifth grade of a general education school as still very young children, they … well, take out little for themselves even from the text of the poem in a prose retelling, not to mention the verses. Yes, and at the university bench … Well, what do they say there about those legendary events? I know there’s nothing particularly interesting. And what is known about the Bronze Age itself? That everything was made of bronze: both tools and decorations! And that's it! And in the end, people who imagine themselves to be versed in at least something write the following: “these swords were mostly (after all,“mostly”added, well, how … - V. O.) were for burial, because military use it was difficult because of the fragility of the swords, but the fragility from the absence of tin and the content of arsenic … . Alas, there was tin at that time, and arsenic bronzes (up to tin) were not inferior to them in strength!
"Sea Peoples" during the naval battle with the Egyptians. Relief on the wall in the temple in Medinet Abu. Drawing.
It is surprising that all these perplexities are easily resolved by self-education. In Soviet times, it was necessary to go to the library or wait a month for an ordered book at the MBA. Now I pressed a couple of buttons and … read! However, even then there were books that answered all these questions, and they gave comprehensive answers. For example, the book by E. N. Chernykh "Metal - Man - Time" (Moscow: Nauka Publishing House, 1972). Moreover, this man knew about what he was writing, by no means by hearsay, since he was in charge of the laboratory of spectral analysis at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The book is so popular that it is understandable even for the most mediocre mind, and his more serious monographs are called “History of the Ancient Metallurgy of Eastern Europe” (1966) and “The Ancient Metallurgy of the Urals and the Volga Region” (1970). And this is accessible for Russians today and they have not lost their value, although there are several new discoveries … only confirming everything that he wrote then!
"Sea Peoples" during the naval battle with the Egyptians. Relief on the wall in the temple in Medinet Abu. Original.
At a later time, that is, already in our days, an excellent monograph by A. I. Solovyov, an employee of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, author of over 50 scientific articles and eight monographs, “Arms and Armor. Siberian weapons: from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages "with drawings by the artist M. A. Lobyreva (Novosibirsk, publishing house "INFOLIO-press, 2003).
Well, why there is no Russian research on the same topic, but it is obvious from the Trojan War: we are poor and cannot afford to go where we should and, accordingly, study what we want. David Nicole, for example, suggested that I somehow write about the Genoese fortresses in the Black Sea region. All he had to do was drive through them all and describe how they look now, and he would have given them a retrospective description, according to Western sources. I had enough for Sudak and Kafa, and that's all. And then in different years, so what kind of book can we talk about? And in order to write a book about the Trojan War, you need to visit Hisarlik, Mycenae, Athens, Crete, and Cyprus.
The severed penises of the enemies of Egypt. Relief on the wall in the temple in Medinet Abu.
I've been to Cyprus, but when it comes to all the other objects, I can't even guess. And an artist is needed to be always at hand and to be able to draw, and not to make excuses that “I see it this way”. And I don't have such people in Penza! There is an art school, but there are no artists - I checked it! That is, they paint landscapes, but the buckles on the belts draw narrower than the belt itself, well, how can such people be trusted to draw the same "Osprey" ?! By the way, I suggested writing a book on this topic to one of our reputable publishing houses. And the editor replied that he would personally read it with pleasure, but … “the book will be expensive, the topic is narrow, and who will buy such a book from us? We are all poor, and those who are rich do not read such books! " Like this! Today the reader votes for books with a ruble!
Another image from the ancient Egyptian relief. Noteworthy is the hilt of the sword, characteristic of types C and CII, with the "horns" of the blade retracted back.
Therefore, moving on to the topic of the Trojan War and the "Peoples of the Sea", I will have to reluctantly, first of all, rely on the works of such English-speaking historians as Raffaele D'Amato and Andrea Salimbeti. Moreover, Dr. Raffaele D'Amato is a famous Turin historian who collaborated with the University of Athens and received a second doctorate in Roman military archeology. He currently works as Deputy Head of the Danube Provinces Laboratory at the University of Ferrara. Well, Andrea Salimbeti has been dealing with the Trojan War for a long time. The illustrator of their books, Giuseppe Rava, who, as required by the rules of the Osprey publishing house, for each of his drawings presented a detailed description of the sources from which this or that detail was taken, plus a photo of each such detail!
And this is how Giuseppe Rava imagines the appearance of the warriors of the "peoples of the sea". As you can see, every little thing is tied to their images on the wall in the temple in Medinet Abu. Well, a khopesh in the hands of a warrior could well be a trophy.
And here are their books: "Ealy Aegean Warriors 5000 - 1450 BC" (Early Achaean Warriors 5000 - 1450 BC), "Bronze Age Greek Warrior 1600 - 1100 BS" (Greek Warriors of the Bronze Age 1600 - 1100 BC) BC), “Sea Peoples of the Bronze Age Mediterranean from 1400BC - 1000 BS”. All of these books belong to different series, but any of them can be ordered, including in electronic form, for about £ 10.
The same goes for their hats. Original.
Well, now let's turn to what is known today more or less precisely. So: the "peoples of the sea" is a whole group of Mediterranean peoples, which, as a result of the "catastrophe of the Bronze Age" (the eruption of the Santorini volcano, drought, etc.), in the XIII century BC. e., approached the borders of the Egyptian New Kingdom and the Hittite state from the Aegean Sea (Balkans and Asia Minor). Their names are known: Sherdans, Tirsen, Tursha, Philistines and Chakkal, Danuns, Phrygians, Shakalsha, Akayvasha (Achaeans), Garamants, bows, Tevkras.
Hieroglyphic inscription denoting "Sea Peoples"
That is, it happened that a huge mass of tribes, including peoples who spoke various dialects of the Greek language (Dorian and Western Greek dialects, close to Dorian), as well as non-Greek peoples living in the same places, left their homes and moved south … There, in Central Greece and the Peloponnese, there were rich regions, and the aliens subjected them to defeat. The famous Pylos Palace also perished in the fire of the conflagrations, and the place where it stood was forgotten for a long time. The citadels of Mycenae and Tiryns were not captured, but the economy of the Mycenaean states was irreparably damaged. There was a rapid decline in crafts and trade just in the areas most affected by the invasion … Thus, at the turn of the XIII-XII centuries BC, the ancient civilization of Mycenaean Greece suffered a terrible blow from which it never recovered.
The naval battle of the Egyptians with the "peoples of the sea." Artist J. Rava.
A number of modern historians believe that the beginning of the migration of the "Sea Peoples" to the south was precisely caused by the Trojan War - or rather its end, which had a devastating effect not only on the defeated civilization of the western coast of Asia Minor, but also on the economy of the victorious Achaeans. That is, the migration process itself in this region began even before the invasion of the Dorians by one or two centuries!
Achaean leaders at the walls of the fortified Troy. They do not yet know what awaits their civilization after the victory! Artist J. Rava.
Interestingly, some of the "sea peoples" were known to the Egyptians long before their invasion of Egypt. So, at the beginning of the XIV century. in the Amarna documents, you can find a mention of the people living next to the Libyans, and most likely they were Phrygians. Sherdans from Phenicia were also known to the Egyptians, and from the middle of the 15th and 14th centuries. BC NS. Danaans and bows were added to them. The same Danaans are mentioned in the inscription of Amenhotep III from Kom el-Getan, as well as the names of the cities that belonged to them (presumable decoding): Mycenae, Thebes, Messene, Navplion, Kiefer, Eleus, Amikla.
This is how the warriors of the "sea peoples" of 1150 BC could look like. Artist J. Rava.
At the Battle of Kadesh around 1274 BC. NS. Sherdans fought as part of the Egyptian troops, and bows and Danaans were among the allies of the Hittite king. There is a famous stele of Pharaoh Merneptah, the images on which are associated with the first invasion of Egypt by the "peoples of the sea" ca. 1208 BC NS. (in the fifth year of Pharaoh's reign), which the Egyptians repelled by defeating the aliens near the city of Perirou, in the area of the so-called Natrov lakes.
Reconstruction of the "Peoples of the Sea" ship.
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