The invention describes a mercury-free high intensity gas-discharge lamp (1) comprising a discharge vessel (5) enclosing a fill gas in a discharge chamber (2) and comprising a pair of electrodes (3, 4) extending into the discharge chamber (2), for which lamp (1) the fill gas in the discharge chamber (2) is free of zinc iodide, and the fill gas includes a halide composition comprising sodium iodide and scandium iodide to a combined proportion of at least 30 wt % and at most 95 wt %, and thulium iodide, to a proportion of at least 5 wt % and at most 70 wt %.