The Peleset/Philistines appear to have settled along the southern Levantine coast, founding or reorganizing the cities of the Pentapolis — the five great Philistine cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza.

Their subsequent history, traced through archaeology and the biblical record, lasted several centuries before they were conquered by Assyria in the late eighth century BCE.

The Shardana (also spelled Sherden) are the group with the most extensive history before the crisis of 1200 BCE.

They appear in Egyptian records as early as the Amarna period (fourteenth century BCE), initially as raiders who attacked Egyptian-controlled territory in Canaan.

By the time of Ramesses II, they are serving as mercenaries in the Egyptian army — warriors who had been captured or recruited and who were then employed in Egyptian military service.