Lezhë (Albanian: [ˈlɛʒə], Albanian definite form: Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with roughly 2,400 years of recorded history.

One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian construction and are dated to the late 4th century BC. Lezhë was one of the main centres of the Illyrian kingdom. During the conflicts with Macedon, it was captured by Philip V becoming the Macedonian outlet to the Adriatic Sea. The city was later recovered by the Illyrians. It was subjected to Rome after the Roman-Illyrian wars and the fall of Gentius' realm. Lezhë was the site of the League of Lezhë where Skanderbeg united the Albanian lords in the fight against the Ottoman Empire.

The city is mentioned in ancient sources as Lissós (Ancient Greek: Λισσός) and Lissus (Latin: Lissus, Lissum). It is also attested in numismatic material. The ethnicon ΛΙΣΣΙΤΑΝ Lissitan is found on coin inscriptions of the Hellenistic era. It is considered a Greek toponym, deriving from the Greek λισσός lissós, meaning 'smooth, smooth rock, gruff'.

The ancient name Lissus evolved into its modern form Lezhë (archaic: Lesh) through Albanian sound changes. In Turkish, the town is known as Leş or Eşim and in Italian as Alessio. Lezhë is also known as Alise, Alexiensis, Eschenderari, or Mrtav.

Various swords (C and D type) unearthed in Lezhë are attributed to a free exchange pattern between the locals and the centres of Mycenaean Greece from the early Mycenaean period (1600-1450 BC). The earliest human constructions have an Illyrian character and appear on the site from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The settlement with its fortifications was built on a 413-metre-high mountain, the Mal i Shëlbuemit, from at least the 8th century BC, and was located near the mouth of the Drin river.

In antiquity the area was described as the territory of the Illyrii tribe (the "Illyrians proper"; Ancient Greek: Ἰλλυριοί, Illyrioi; Latin: Illyrii or Illyrii propriae dicti; Albanian: ilirët).

Diodorus ("Library", 15.1, c. 1st century BC) mentions that Dionysius of Syracuse founded a "city called Lissos" in the year 385 BC, as part of a strategy by Dionysius to secure Syracusan trade routes along the Adriatic. Diodorus calls it a polis. Some modern scholars have interpreted that the Syracusan colony mentioned by Diodorus was established on the site of Lezhë, but more recently scholars think that it was in fact more likely established at Issa near the island of Pharos, not at Lissus (modern Lezhë) which was too distant for the events described by the ancient historian. Meanwhile, Issa is known from other evidence to be a Syracusan foundation. Except Diodorus' account there is nothing to connect Lissos (the ancient site of Lezhë) with Syracuse, and according to historian Pierre Cabanes, even if Diodorus' account is accepted as accurate, it is very likely that this colony had a short life.

The earliest of the fortification walls of the proto-urban settlement are of typical Illyrian construction and are dated to the late 4th century BC. The transition from the Iron Age fortification of Acrolissus (on the 413 m Shëlbuem mountain) to the proper Illyrian city of Lissus was continuous. The city was built on a lower hill (172 m) near the Iron Age fortification. It was surrounded by ramparts that faced the low valley of the Drin river and the sea coast. Its function was to guard the route inland, to ensure defense against possible attacks from the sea, and to furnish a secure anchorage for the Illyrian ships.