2'rd millennium BC : Egyptian hegemony
and Canaanite autonomy were constantly challenged by such ethnically
diverse invaders as the Amorites, Hittites, and Hurrians. These invaders,
however, were defeated by the Egyptians and absorbed by the Canaanites,
who at that time may have numbered about 200000.
14th
century BC : Egyptian power began to weaken, new invaders appeared:
the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia, and the Philistines
(after whom the country was later named), an Aegean people of Indo-European
stock.
1230
BC : Joshua conquered parts of Palestine. The conquerors settled
in the hill country, but they were unable to conquer all of Palestine.
1125
BC : The Israelites, a confederation of Hebrew tribes, finally
defeated the Canaanites but found the struggle with the Philistines
more difficult . Philistines had established an independent state
on the southern coast of Palestine and controlled the Canaanite town
of Jerusalem.
1050
BC : Philistines with there superior in military organization
and using iron weapons, they severely defeated the Israelites about
1050 BC .
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