The Philistines
It is thought that the Philistines came from the island of Crete after the collapse of the Minoan Empire. In Egyptian inscriptions, they were called the 'sea peoples'. They failed to invade Egypt, so they settled along the coast of Palestine from Joppa to Gaza. Their five leading cities were Ekron, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Gaza. The Philistines had a more advanced material civilisation than the Israelites and were able to produce tools and implements made of iron. The Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their farm implements (1 Sam 13:19).
Jer 47:4 connects the Philistines and Caphtor in Hebrew parallelism. The Caphtorim came from Caphtor and settled on the sea coast (Deut 2:23). Likewise in Zeph 2:5 the Philistines are connected to the Cerethites, who are thought to come from Crete or that area. Pictures of their armour, especially their distinctive feathered head-dress is found on Egyptian reliefs. The name Palestine is derived from Philistia, the land of the Philistines.
The Philistines were a group of people in the promised land that Joshua never conquered (Josh 13:2). They became one of the main enemies of Israel with about 270 references in the Bible. Abraham dwelt in the land of the Philistines (Gen 21:34). Abimelech was the king of the Philistines (Gen 26:1). Both Abraham and Isaac in turn made a covenant with him. They were a constant problem to Israel.
God used the Philistines, among others, to discipline the people of Israel. Just before Eli died, they captured the ark and God retrieved it by divine judgment (1 Sam 5-6). Saul had some victories against them, but they finally beat Saul at the Battle of Mount Gilboa, when Saul killed himself rather than be humiliated by the Philistines (1 Sam 31). In David's day they were totally subdued. Not much is heard of them after that time, apart from a prophecy against them in Zechariah ch 9. Pompey incorporated them into the province of Syria in 62 BC.