Dali, Cyprus Dali, Cyprus Dali (or Dhali; ; ) is a large village in Cyprus, located south east of the capital Nicosia and close to the ancient city of Idalion. In 2001, it had a population of 5,834. By 2011, the population had almost doubled to 10,466. Idalium was an ancient city on place of modern Dali, Nicosia District. The city was founded on the copper trade in the 3rd millennium BC. Recent excavations have uncovered major buildings on the site which are open to visitors. A new museum is also near to the site. The ancient city was located in the
Ancient history of Cyprus of Cyprus (known as "Iatnanna" by the Assyrians) appears to have begun earlier than this, during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (744–727 BC), and ended with the fall of the Neo Assyrian Empire in 609 BC, whereupon the city-kingdoms of Cyprus gained independence once more. Following a brief period of Egyptian domination in the sixth century BC, Cyprus fell under Persian rule. The Persians did not interfere in the internal affairs of Cyprus, leaving the city-kingdoms to continue striking their own coins and waging war amongst one another, until the late-fourth century BC saw the overthrow of the Persian Empire