Philistia פלשת

The coastal plain of southern Canaan held by the Philistines from about 1175 BCE, centered on the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath. Philistia was Israel's chief rival in the days of the judges and the early kings. Assyria later made its cities vassals. Rome eventually applied the name Palaestina, drawn from Philistia, to the whole province after the Bar Kokhba revolt, and the word Palestine descends from it.