thumb|Ancient cities of [[Caria|alt=Map of ancient cities of Caria]]

Halicarnassus ( ; Latin: Halicarnassus or Halicarnāsus; Halikarnāssós; ; Carian: 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 alos k̂arnos) was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was located in southwest Caria, on an advantageous site on the Gulf of Gökova, which is now in Bodrum, Turkey. The city was famous for the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, also known simply as the Tomb of Mausolus, whose name provided the origin of the word "mausoleum". The mausoleum, built from 353 to 350 BC, ranked as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Halicarnassus' history was unique on two interlinked issues. Halicarnassus retained a monarchical system of government at a time when most other Greek city states had long since rid themselves of their kings. Secondly, while their Ionian neighbours rebelled against Persian rule, Halicarnassus remained loyal to them. It formed part of the Persian Empire until Alexander the Great captured it at the siege of Halicarnassus in 333 BC.

Zephyria was the original name of the settlement, and the present site of the great Castle of St. Peter built by the Knights of Rhodes in 1404 AD. If so, the toponym is probably borrowed from Carian, a Luwic language spoken alongside Greek in Halicarnassus. The Carian name for Halicarnassus has been tentatively identified with 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 (alos k̂arnos) in inscriptions.

History

thumb|right|Relief of an Amazonomachy from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

Late Bronze

Mycenaean period

Some large Mycenaean tombs have been found at Musgebi (or Muskebi, modern Ortakent), not far from Halicarnassus. According to Turkish archaeologist Yusuf Boysal, the Muskebi material, dating from the end of the fifteenth century BC to ca. 1200 BC, provides evidence of the presence, in this region, of a Mycenaean settlement.

More than forty burial places dating back to that time have been discovered. A rich collection of artifacts found in these tombs is now housed in the Bodrum Castle. These finds cast some light on the problem of determining the territories of ancient Arzawa and Ahhiyawa.

On land they paved streets and squares, and built houses for ordinary citizens. And on one side of the harbor they built a massive fortified palace for Mausolus, positioned to have clear views out to sea and inland to the hills—places from where enemies could attack. On land, the workmen also built walls and watchtowers, a Greek–style theatre and a temple to Ares—the Greek god of war. Artemisia and Mausolus spent huge amounts of tax money to embellish the city. Mausolus and Artemisia had ruled over Halicarnassus and the region surrounding it for 24 years. They commissioned statues, temples and buildings of gleaming marble. When he died in 353 BC, his wife, sister and successor, Artemisia II of Caria, began construction of a magnificent tomb for him and herself on a hill overlooking the city. She died in 351 BC (of grief, according to Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.31). According to Pliny the Elder the craftsmen continued to work on the tomb after the death of their patron, "considering that it was at once a memorial of his own fame and of the sculptor's art," finishing it in 350 BC. This tomb of Mausolus came to be known as the Mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Artemisia was succeeded by her brother Idrieus, who, in turn, was succeeded by his wife and sister Ada when he died in 344 BC. However, Ada was usurped by her brother Pixodarus in 340 BC. On the death of Pixodarus in 335 BC his son-in-law, a Persian named Orontobates, received the satrapy of Caria from Darius III of Persia.

Alexander the Great and Ada of Caria

thumb|upright=1.5|The siege and capture of Halicarnassus under Alexander the Great.

When Alexander the Great entered Caria in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him. After taking Halicarnassus, Alexander handed back the government of Caria to her; she, in turn, formally adopted Alexander as her son, ensuring that the rule of Caria passed unconditionally to him upon her eventual death.

During the siege of Halicarnassus the city was set ablaze by the retreating Persians who were under the command of Memnon. As he was not able to enter the citadel, Alexander was forced to leave it blockaded.

Halicarnassus never recovered altogether from the disasters of the siege, and Cicero describes it as almost deserted.

  • Herodotus (), Greek historian
  • Dionysius ( – 8 BC), historian and teacher of rhetoric
  • Pigres of Halicarnassus - Greek poet
  • Aelius Dionysius (fl. 2nd century), Greek rhetorician and musician
  • Heraclitus of Halicarnassus - Greek Elegiac Poet
  • Hegesippus of Halicarnassus - a naval commander of Antigonus Monophthalmus
  • Scylax of Halicarnassus - ancient astronomer
  • Cleon of Halicarnassus - ancient orator
  • Phormio of Halicarnassus - ancient boxer who was a victor at the boxing in the 97 Ancient Olympic Games
  • Asiaticus of Halicarnassus - ancient victor at the Stadion in the 197 Ancient Olympic Games
  • Julian of Halicarnassus - bishop of Halicarnassus and a leader of the Monophysites in the 6th century

See also

  • List of ancient Greek cities

Notes and references

Bibliography

  • Cook, B. F., Bernard Ashmole, and Donald Emrys Strong. 2005. Relief Sculpture of the Mausoleum At Halicarnassus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Jeppeson, Kristian. 2002. The Maussolleion at Halikarnassos: Reports of the Danish archaeological expedition to Bodrum: The superstructure, a comparative analysis of the architectural, sculptural, and literary evidence. Vol. 5. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus Univ. Press.
  • . Google books: Volume 1, Volume 2.
  • Rodríguez Moya, Inmaculada, and Víctor Mínguez. 2017. The Seven Ancient Wonders In the Early Modern World. New York: Routledge.
  • Steele, James, and Ersin Alok. 1992. Hellenistic Architecture In Asia Minor. London: Academy Editions.
  • Wiater, Nicolas. 2011. The Ideology of Classicism: Language, History, and Identity In Dionysius of Halicarnassus. New York: De Gruyter.
  • Winter, Frederick E. 2006. Studies In Hellenistic Architecture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  • Livius, Halicarnassus by Jona Lendering.
  • The Tomb of Mausolus W. R. Lethaby's reconstruction of the Mausoleum, 1908.
  • Mausoleum Article from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 1875.

he:בודרום#הליקרנסוס

sk:Bodrum