Lachish was a Canaanite city located between Mount Hebron and the Mediterranean coast of Israel. It became a city during the early Bronze Age of the 4th millennium BC, and it came under strong Egyptian influence from 2000 BC to 1650 BC. Around 1450 BC, the Israelites under Joshua defeated and slew the Amorite King of Lachish, Japhia, and Rehoboam, son of Solomon, went on to fortify the city. The city was destroyed in a fire in 1150 BC, but, under the protection of the New Kingdom of Egypt, it was rebuilt by the Canaanites. The city was destroyed again by either the Sea Peoples or the Israelites, and it was rebuilt by the Israelites during the 10th and 9th centuries BC. In 925 BC, Pharaoh Sheshonk I burned the unfortified settlement, but, in the first half of the 9th century BC, it returned to being an important city of Judah, was fortified with massive walls and ramparts, and became home to a royal palace. In 701 BC, the Assyrian king Sennacherib captured the strong fortress despite determined resistance. It was rebuilt in the late 7th century BC during the decline of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but it fell to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II just before Jerusalem's fall in 586 BC, leading to its final abandonment.
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