Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus, located in the Bodrum district of Muğla today, dates back to the Carian period. It is an ancient settlement. It is traditionally believed to have been founded by a Dor named Troezen.Herodotus, a Halicarnassian, says that Halicarnassus took part in the Apollo festivals organized by the Dorians in the Triopion (Knidos), but Halicarnassus literature and culture are completely compatible with the Ionian culture.
Halicarnassus, its large and sheltered harbor, its important location on the sea routes It became the capital of a small despotism. The best-known ruler of this despotism is Artemis, who invaded Ancient Greece together with the Persian king Xerxes I in 480 BC. It was the capital of Caria during the reign of Mausolus, around 370 BC, and was a city with public buildings surrounded by walls and a secret shipyard and canal. In this period Due to the forced migration of the Lelegs, the city population increased significantly. When Mausolus died in 353-352 BC, his mausoleum became one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Historical Artifacts
Intensive archaeological excavations were carried out in Halicarnassus in 1856, 1857 and 1865. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (Maussoleion), which was found by Newton in Halicarnassus in 1857 and whose friezes were moved to the British Museum in London, is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The mausoleum was built for Maussolos II by his wife. It is a tomb monument built by Artemis. Today, only traces of the foundations and a piece of the friezes remain.
Other ruins in Halicarnassus are the walls where polygonal and rectagonal techniques were used, the ruins of the sports field, the temple platform and the tombs; However, the ruins of the ancient city were overshadowed by the ruins of the magnificent castle built by the Knights of Rhodes in the 1400s.