Shechem, also spelled Sichem, was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel. According to Joshua 21:20–21 it was located in the tribal territorial allotment of the tribe of Ephraim. Traditionally associated with Nablus, it is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in Balata al-Balad in the West Bank.