According to the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, Saul

Saul

-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...

, the king of the Israelites, went to war against the Philistines

Philistines

Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...

, who were attacking his kingdom. Facing a more numerous and sophisticated enemy, Saul used guerilla tactics, but was eventually forced to confront a Philistine army. Sure to be defeated on level ground, where the Philistines could use their chariots, the Israelites retreated to the steep, rocky ridge of Mount Gilboa. Yet the Philistines were not deterred by the terrain: they stormed the ridge, taking a heavy toll from the Israelites. As his army fell around him, including his three sons, Saul took his own life rather than fall into enemy hands.