Canaanite city kingdom conquered by Joshua in 1230 B.C.E. and allotted to Judah. It was rice, corn, vine, and olive-growing area lying astride the main trade routes to Egypt and Mesopotamia. Lachish was coveted and fought for by Israel’s neighbors. Later, it was the scene of Samson‘s triumphs and David‘s victory over Goliath. Lachish was a link in the chain of fortresses which King Rehoboam built to guard the southern approaches to Jerusalem. It was attacked by Sennacherib and then by Nebuchadnezzar, as corroborated in the Lachish Letters discovered in 1935. After fourteen centuries of neglect, the 125,000 acres of the Lachish area on Israel’s southern border are now being rehabilitated through agricultural settlement. Three training camps have been set up to prepare future settlers, and eight villages have already been established.