Sherden

The Sherden (Egyptian šrdn, š3rd3n3 or š3rdyn3, Ugaritic šrdnn(m) and trtn(m), possibly Akkadian še–er–ta–an–nu; also glossed “Shardana” or “Sherdanu”) are one of several groups of "Sea Peoples" who appear in fragmentary historical and iconographic records (Egyptian and Ugaritic) from the Eastern Mediterranean in the late second millennium BCE.

On reliefs they are shown carrying round shields and spears, dirks, or swords, perhaps of Naue II type. In some cases they are shown wearing corselets and kilts, but their key distinguishing feature is a horned helmet which, in all cases but three, features a circular accouterment at the crest. At Medinet Habu the corselet appears similar to that worn by the Philistines. The Sherden sword, it has been suggested by archaeologists since James Henry Breasted, may have developed from an enlargement of European daggers, and been associated with the exploitation of Bohemian tin. Robert Drews has recently suggested that use of this weapon amongst groups of Sherden and Philistine mercenaries made them capable of withstanding attacks by chariotry, making them valuable allies in warfare, though Drews' theory has been widely criticized by contemporary scholars.

The earliest known mention of the people called Srdn-w, more usually called Sherden or Shardana, is generally thought to be the Akkadian reference to "še–er–ta–an–nu" people in the Amarna Letters correspondence from Rib-Hadda, mayor (hazannu) of Byblos, to the Pharaoh Amenhotep III or Akhenaten in the 14th century BCE. Though they have been referred to as sea raiders and mercenaries, prepared to offer their services to local employers, these texts do not provide any evidence of that association, nor do they shed light on what the function of these "širdannu-people" was at this time.

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