Rebecca Gray-Hoch
The Philistines were an ancient people who occupied a small area of land in southern Canaan, which is now known as Palestine. The word "Palestine" comes from the Greek name for the Philistines' land, Philistia, which was used to describe both the coastal plains and inland regions. The Romans assigned the name "Palestine" to the region after putting down the Bar Kochba rebellion around A.D. 135.