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Canaan (transliteration: kꜣnꜥnꜥ) is a region in the Upper Levant that was inhabited by various, primarily Semitic-speaking, peoples (often grouped under the term Canaanites) which have connected economically and culturally with ancient Egypt throughout ancient history.
History[]
Early references to "Canaanites" and "Canaan" appear in Near Eastern and Egyptian texts (ca. 2000 BC); these populations were structured as politically independent, territorially based city-states.
During the Second Intermediate Period large groups of Canaanites migrated into the eastern Nile Delta bringing a lot of cultural influence along with them. This led to the foundation of the Canaanite Fourteenth Dynasty.
During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BC), large parts of Canaan formed vassal states paying tribute to the New Kingdom of Egypt.
After the Bronze Age Collapse (ca. 1200 BC), the Israelites are recorded to have been in Canaan on the Merenptah Stela. The defeated Sea Peoples known as the Philistines also settled in the region. The Canaanites and their culture survived along the northern coasts under another name as Phoenicians.
See also[]
- Levantine regions (category page)
- Canaanites (category page)