Mercenaries, pirates, fugitives and thieves, what better place to plunder than the sunny eastern Mediterranean? With cunning coves and tricky shoals the turquoise coasts are perfect for sneak attacks on passing traders.
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Many a merchant vessel could perish in these waters. The Shekelesh (Hittite: Shikalayu) are pirate warriors who live beyond the reach of the forces of authority. They're elusive. They don't want to be found and take care to cover their tracks.
They seem to roam from place to place, land and sea, valleys and hills. Shadows in the night until it's time to strike, they have no settlements. They move like wild animals in the forests, and their oars dip silently as they glide through glistening waters.
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The Shekelesh are among the Sea Peoples who decimate the Mediterranean and area in the Bronze Age Collapse c 1250 - 1170 BCE. The Shekelesh are considered the primary force behind the destruction of Ugarit, Syria.
Ugarit (Ras Shamra, Latakia) is a city kingdom on the northern Levant coast. A crossroads of trade and travel over land, sea and river routes, Ugarit commands its small but crucial part of the world.
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For the last fifty years tremors and earthquakes have been shaking up the land. The eastern Mediterranean is built on shifting tectonic plates and volcanic activity. Earthquakes and drought are considered possible contributors to the big collapse.
It's thought by some a combination of factors work together to cause a mass migration of sea peoples due to climate and quake conditions, which also affect the major powers like the Greeks and Hittites. The migrations lead to territorial battles.
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Since the Neolithic era, Ugarit is a growing metropolis, and the seat of kings. Trading vessels and camel caravans come bearing papyrus, fabric, and spices; donkeys are laden with lapis lazuli and ingots of tin. Date honey and olive oil are in demand.
By 1250 BCE seven different scripts are used in Ugarit: Egyptian, Hittite, Cypro-Minoan, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurrian and Ugaritic cuneiform. Over the years different countries take over Ugarit, which doesn't have a large military force itself.
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The Phoenician Canaanite city kingdom depends on its conquerors, or allies, to provide military aid. In return Ugarit takes vassal status and pays a tithe or tribute. Other coastal settlements such as Byblos have similar agreements.
Toward the end of the 13th century BCE, an ongoing drought depletes supplies and brings famine throughout the lands. Dry winds blow and trade grinds to a slow stop. People who only a few years ago brought grain to trade in excess now can count their ribs.
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And then, the attacks.
In a letter to the governor of Ugarit, King Šuppiluliuma of the Hittites calls them Shikalayu "those who dwell on ships," referring to the Shekelesh. They're only part of the attack force, It includes tribes such as the Lukka and Sherden Sea People.
By c. 1200 BCE, correspondence from Ammurapi, the last King of Ugarit rings with despair. He answers a letter from the nearby king of Alashiya, who is pleading for help.
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Ammurapi says,
"My father behold, the enemy's ships came (here); my cities were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots are in the Land of Hatti, and all my ships are in the Land of Lukka?...Thus, the country is abandoned to itself. May my father know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us."
After 1200 BCE official correspondence is desperate. Letters speak of biru (Akkadian for “hunger”). A Hittite official begs, “If there is any goodness in your heart, then send even the remainders of the [grain] staples I requested and thus save me."
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King Ammurapi writes to Egyptian Pharaoh Seti II:
“In the land of Ugarit there is a severe hunger. May my Lord save it, and may the king give grain to save my life…and to save the citizens of the land of Ugarit.”
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The most fearsome blow comes from the Sea Peoples. They bring their boats to anchor just over an hour's brisk walk down the coast. Ugarit's King Ammurapi hastens a plea to the Hittite vassal city-state of Carchemish:
“Send me forces and chariots and may my lord save me from the forces of this enemy!”
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The enemy are the Shekelesh. They attack and sack Ugarit and burn it to the ground. At the same time, effects are felt throughout the Mediterranean.
Drought, famine, disease, mass migration, seismic upheaval and internal conflict shuts down military and trading networks alike. A final catastrophic battle with the Sea Peoples comes in 1177 BCE.
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The remains of the Kassite Empire of Babylon, parts of Cyprus, Canaan and Turkey crash into oblivion, joining the Late Bronze Age Collapse. The Mycenean civilization explodes to ruin.
After the time of collapse, the Egyptians eventually rise again to power, along with the Assyrian Empire. The Phoenicians rebuild and revise a vast trading complex, establishing settlements throughout the Mediterranean.
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No one knows what happens to the Sea People. They continue to skirmish with Egypt as they have for hundreds of years. Some may have assimilated into other cultures.
Some settle in the land of the Canaanites, for that is where the Sherden lived, not so long ago. Origin theories of the Shekelesh range from Sicily, to Sagalassos in the western Taurus Mountains.
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From some contemporary letters and mentions, it's believed these tribal warrior sea pirates come from a mysterious island called Shikala. Maybe they just went home.
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