The peoples of the sea They were a confederation of Mediterranean sailors who during the second millennium BC raided and attacked the populations of Egypt and the Near East. The incursions of this confederation, which was not permanent nor its components fixed, were frequent in the Nile delta and in the coastal towns, they also allied themselves with the enemies of Egypt to pillage everything they could.
Merneptah he was the fourth pharaoh of the XIX dynasty of Ancient Egypt who came to power at the age of sixty. In 1208 BC he waged a battle against the Libyans (of the libu tribe and from which the name Libya derives) to which, logically, the peoples of the sea had joined. Merneptah's victory was total, as can be seen in the Karnak temple where the pharaoh's campaign is depicted:
In addition, all the trophies obtained in the battle that you write them are also referenced and detailed, as we already mentioned in the excuses for not going to work at the pyramids, they counted and noted down. The Egyptian practice, regarding war trophies, was to cut off the penis of dead enemies and their right hand if the enemy was circumcised. Counting all penises and hands yielded the following breakdown of enemy kills:
6,359 Libyans (including 6 generals)
2,201 of Ekwesh (identified as Achaia, region of western Greece)
222 Shekelesh (identified as Sicily)
742 from Tursha (identified as Tirrenia or Etruria)
200 from Shardana (identified as Sardinia-Sardinia)
Sources:The end of the Bronze Age:changes in warfare and the catastrophe – Robert Drews, A mind of its own:a cultural history of the penis – David M. Friedman