Editing Tel Lachish (section)

===Late Bronze (Levels VI–VII)===
[[File:Amarna letter. A letter from Shipti Ba'al (ruler of Lachish), who reassures the Egyptian pharaoh (Amenhotep III or his son Akhenaten) of his loyalty. Akkadian cuneiform text. 14th century BCE. From Tell el-Amarna, Egypt. British Museum.jpg|thumb|Amarna letter EA 330. A letter from Shipti Ba'al (ruler of Lachish), who reassures the Egyptian pharaoh (Amenhotep III or his son Akhenaten) of his loyalty. 14th century BCE. From Tell el-Amarna, Egypt. British Museum]]

{{hiero|1=rkjšꜣ<ref name=Gauthier129 /><ref name=Hannig1361/> |2=<hiero>D21:Z1-V31:Z4-M8-G1-T14-N25</hiero>|era=nk|align=right}}
In the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), Lachish was re-established and developed slowly, eventually becoming one of the large and prosperous cities of the Southern Levant. It is first attested as [[:wikt:rkjšꜣ|rkjšꜣ]] (''Lakisha'') in a [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] text, the [[List of ancient Egyptian papyri|Papyrus Hermitage 1116A]].<ref name = Gauthier129>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 3 |date=1926 |page=129 |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1926/page/n67}}</ref><ref name = Hannig1361>{{cite book |last1=Hannig |first1=Rainer |title=Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch (2800 – 950 v. Chr.) |date=1995 |publisher={{ill|Philipp von Zabern|de|Verlag Philipp von Zabern}} |isbn=3-8053-1771-9 |page=1361}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Webster |first1=Lyndelle |last2=Streit |first2=Katharina |last3=Dee |first3=Michael |last4=Hajdas |first4=Irka |last5=Höflmayer |first5=Felix |title=Identifying the Lachish of Papyrus Hermitage 1116A Verso and the Amarna Letters: Implications of New Radiocarbon Dating |journal=Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections |date=2019 |volume= 21 |access-date=7 April 2020|url= https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/jaei/article/view/23234}}</ref>

Lakhish came under the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt]], which expelled the [[Hyksos]] and established an empire that was most powerful following the military campaigns of [[Thutmose III]]. During the [[Amarna Period]] ({{Circa|1350 BCE}}), several letters were written to the [[pharaoh]] and were discovered as part of the Amarna archive. It is mentioned in the Amarna letters as Lakisha/Lakiša (EA 287, 288, 328, 329, 335).

During the [[20th Dynasty of Egypt]], the empire of the New Kingdom of Egypt started to lose its control in the [[Southern Levant]]. A bronze object bearing the cartouche of Ramesses III may be associated with the city gate.<ref>Ussishkin 1983:123-124, 168-169</ref> While Lachish had prospered under Egyptian hegemony, fire destroyed it around 1150 BCE. It was rebuilt by Canaanites, who built two temples. However, this settlement was soon destroyed by another fire around 1130 BCE (cf. nearby fortified [[Eglon, Canaan]]). The site then remained sparsely occupied for a long time (Level V). The reasons for this may have been rebellions and invasions by the [[Sea Peoples]].

Four mass graves were found at the site with over 1500 individuals interred, about half women and children. The tombs themselves dated to the Late Bronze Age but the burials contained few dateable elements so it is uncertain if the burials date to the LBA or later.<ref>Boyes, Philip J. "The Impact and Legacy of Alphabetic Cuneiform." ''Script and Society: The Social Context of Writing Practices in Late Bronze Age Ugarit'', Oxbow Books, 2021, pp. 261–76</ref><ref>Israel Eph'Al, ''The City Besieged: Siege and Its Manifestations in the Ancient Near East'', Brill, 2009, ISBN 9789004174108</ref>