Salamis, one of the major glories of north Cyprus. Salamis, according to legend, was founded around the 11th century BC by Teucer, who couldn't return home
after the Trojan war because he failed to avenge the death of his brother Ajax. It later came under Assyrian rule in the 8th century BC, then under Persian control
in the 4th century BC, during which time it flourished. In the 3rd to 1st centuries BC it was under Ptolemaic rule, followed by the Romans when it again prospered,
until it was destroyed during Saracen Arab raids and earthquakes in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, after which it was essentially forgotten.
Subsequently, many of its stones were used to build Famagusta.

Excavations of the site began in the late 19th century and are ongoing, and it is one of the island's premier sites of archaeological interest.