What happened to the Philistines after David? Although their military superiority was shattered, and their distinctive material culture disappeared from the archaeological record soon afterwards, the Philistine people and culture did not vanish. They are referred to in the Assyrian Annals and the Books of Kings and Chronicles as well as by the later Biblical prophets. There is also literary and numismatic evidence that their descendants continued to perpetuate some native Philistine traditions right into the Roman and Byzantine periods.

The Assyrian Annals are the official historical records of the Assyrian kings written in cuneiform script on clay and stone. They date from c. 900–600 B.C. Mentioned in the Annals are several major Philistine cities. The Annals also refer to payments made by Philistine cities to the Assyrian kings.