Editing Philistines (section)

===Territory===
{{main|Philistia}}
[[File:12 Tribes of Israel Map.svg|thumb|upright=1|Land of the Philistines, [[Philistia]] (lower left), and the [[twelve tribes of Israel]], based on the [[Book of Joshua#Division of the land .28chapters 13.E2.80.9321.29|Book of Joshua]], around 1200–1050 BC]]
According to [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] 13:3<ref>{{bibleverse||Joshua|13:3|HE}}</ref> and 1 Samuel 6:17,<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Samuel|6:17|HE}}</ref> the land of the Philistines, called Philistia, was a pentapolis in the southwestern Levant comprising the five [[city-state]]s of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath, from [[HaBesor Stream|Wadi Gaza]] in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with no fixed border to the east.<ref name="Fahlbusch and Bromiley, p. 185">{{harvnb|Fahlbusch|Bromiley|2005|loc="Philistines", p. 185}}.</ref>

[[Tell Qasile]] (a "port city") and [[Aphek (biblical)|Aphek]] were located on the northern frontier of Philistine territory, and Tell Qasile in particular may have been inhabited by both Philistine and non-Philistine people.<ref name="Ahlström1993">{{cite book|author=Gösta Werner Ahlström|title=The History of Ancient Palestine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cSAlLBZKaAC&pg=PA311|year=1993|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-0-8006-2770-6|page=311}}</ref>

The location of Gath is not entirely certain, although the site of [[Tell es-Safi]], not far from Ekron, is currently the most favoured.<ref name="Bryce2009">{{cite book|author=Trevor Bryce|title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C|date=10 September 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-15907-9|page=249}}</ref>

The identity of the city of [[Ziklag]], which according to the Bible marked the border between the Philistine and Israelite territory, remains uncertain.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/z/ziklag.html| title = Butler, Trent C, editor. ''Holman Bible Dictionary'', "Ziklag" (1991)}}</ref>

In the western part of the [[Jezreel Valley]], 23 of the 26 Iron Age I sites (12th to 10th centuries BC) yielded typical Philistine pottery. These sites include [[Tel Megiddo]], [[Tel Yokneam]], [[Tel Qiri]], [[Afula]], [[Tel Qashish]], Be'er Tiveon, Hurvat Hazin, Tel Risim, Tel Re'ala, Hurvat Tzror, Tel Sham, [[Midrakh Oz]] and Tel Zariq. Scholars have attributed the presence of Philistine pottery in northern Israel to their role as mercenaries for the Egyptians during the Egyptian military administration of the land in the 12th century BC. This presence may also indicate further expansion of the Philistines to the valley during the 11th century BC, or their trade with the Israelites. There are biblical references to Philistines in the valley during the times of the [[Book of Judges|Judges]]. The quantity of Philistine pottery within these sites is still quite small, showing that even if the Philistines did settle the valley, they were a minority that blended within the Canaanite population during the 12th century BC. The Philistines seem to have been present in the southern valley during the 11th century, which may relate to the biblical account of their victory at the [[Battle of Gilboa]].<ref name="auto"/>