Idalium

Idalium
Ιδάλιον
	Map showing the ancient city Kingdoms of Cyprus; Idalion is inland at center right
	Shown within Cyprus
Location	Cyprus
Region	Nicosia District
Coordinates	35°00′57″N 33°25′23″E / 35.0158°N 33.4230°E
Site notes
Archaeologists	Luigi Palma di Cesnola, R. Hamilton Lang, Max Ohnefalsch-Richter, Erik Sjöqvist
Management	Cyprus Department of Antiquities

Idalion or Idalium (Greek: Ιδάλιον, Idalion, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤃𐤉𐤋, ʾDYL, Akkadian: e-di-ʾi-il, Edīl) was an ancient city in Cyprus, in modern Dali, Nicosia District. The city was founded on the copper trade in the 3rd millennium BC. Its name does not appear, however, on the renowned "Kition Stele", i.e., the Sargon Stele of 707 BC, but a little later on the Prism of Esarhaddon (copies of the text dated to 673-672 BC) known as Niniveh A (Nin. A) wherein the name is prefixed by the modifier URU (city) as URU.e-di-ʾi-il (v. 64)^[1] and in similar spellings in Ashurbanipal's annal (648/647 BC) while modified by KUR (land/kingdom) (KUR.e-di-iʾ-li, ii. 38').^[2]

Recent excavations have uncovered major buildings on the site which are open to visitors. A new museum is at the entrance of the site.

^ Leichty, E. 2010. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680-669 BC) (RINAP 4). Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana. p. 9ff.
^ Novotny, J. and Jeffers, J. 2018. The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria, Part 1 (RINAP 5). Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana. pp. 107-136.

[1] Leichty, E. 2010. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680-669 BC) (RINAP 4). Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana. p. 9ff.

[2] Novotny, J. and Jeffers, J. 2018. The royal inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria, Part 1 (RINAP 5). Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana. pp. 107-136.

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