Lachish (Hebrew: לכיש, romanized: Lāḵîš; Koine Greek: Λαχίς; Latin: Lachis) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite city in the Shephelah ("lowlands of Judea") region of Canaan on the south bank of the Lakhish River. The current tell by that name, known as Tel Lachish (Hebrew: תל לכיש) or Tell el-Duweir (تل الدوير), has been identified with Lachish. Today, it is an Israeli national park operated and maintained by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. It lies near the present-day moshav of Lakhish, which was named in honor of the ancient city.
Lachish was first mentioned in the Amarna letters (dated to the mid-14th century BCE) when it was a significant Canaanite city-state referred to as Lakisha. There is clear archeological evidence for (one or two) violent destruction(s) at Lachish in the late 13th/early 12th century BCE, but there is no historical evidence conclusive about the perpetrators with potential theories discussing internal Canaanite conflict, the Sea Peoples, people from the Habiru group or others. In the Book of Joshua (written around 600-700 BCE), Lachish is cited as one of the cities conquered by the Israelites for joining the league against the Gibeonites (Joshua 10:31–33). According to the Hebrew Bible, the territory was later assigned to the tribe of Judah according to Joshua 15:39 and may have become part of the united Kingdom of Israel. Lachish emerged as one of the most important cities in the Kingdom of Judah, second only to the capital, Jerusalem.
