The stele is famous in biblical scholarship for containing the earliest known reference to Israel outside the Bible, but it also represents the first clear Egyptian reference to the Sea Peoples phenomenon.

Ramesses III’s records are the most extensive and dramatic.

The temple at Medinet Habu contains lengthy hieroglyphic texts describing two major campaigns: one against a Libyan invasion (Year 5 of his reign), and then the great crisis of his reign, the multiple conflicts of Years 8 and 11, during which the Sea Peoples made their most dramatic appearance in the historical record.

The Year 8 inscription is worth quoting at some length for its dramatic quality.