Bodrum
(Halicarnassus)
Founded possibly in the 11C BC, Halicarnassus came under Persian domination
c.540 BC. The Persians ruled through native tyrants, one of whom, Artemisia,
shared in the Persian defeat at Salamis (480). Later in the Persian Wars
Halicarnassus joined the Delian League. The city enjoyed its greatest
prosperity under Mausolus, a Persian satrap who achieved virtual independence
in the 4C BC. The monumental tomb erected in his honor, the Mausoleum,
became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Captured by Alexander the
Great in 334 BC, Halicarnassus soon declined. Early in the 15C AD the
Knights of Rhodes built a picturesque castle dedicated to St. Peter. Its
walls were built largely of material derived from the ruins of the classical
city. Remains of the Mausoleum, excavated in the 1850s, are in the British
Museum in London.
Halicarnassus was also the hometown of the famous ancient historian Herodotus.
