Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
Halicarnassos
As native homeland of the famous historian Herodotos, Bodrum is one of
Turkey’s most important tourism centers, which attracts attention by
virtue of its natural beauty. We know that the native inhabitants, namely
the Lelegians and the Carians, lived in the hills above the Bodrum
Peninsula. In fact, although there are very few remnants in existence, it
has been determined that a number of Lelegian cities such as Termera,
Pedesa, Theangela, Syangela, Myndos and Telmissus existed above the
peninsula. In his work, The Iliad, Homer tells us that the Lelegians,
under the command of Altes, and the Carians, under the command of
Nartes, fought on the side of the Troians during the Troian Wars of ca.
1200 BC.
Around 1000 BC, those who came here in the Dorian migrations settled
in the vicinity where the fortress stands today, and when the local
inhabitants came down to the coast, they established the city of
Halicarnassos, the remains of which are buried under today’s Bodrum.
Halicarnassos was captured by the Lydians in the first half of the 6 th
century BC, and the Persians took it by force in 546 BC. Subsequently,
this region was joined with the suzerainty of Sardis. In 494 BC the people
of Halicarnassos joined in the uprising against Persian rule, which was
started by the western Anatolian cities.
Herodotos (490-425 BC) tells us that in 480 BC, ‘King Lygdamis’
daughter Artemisia I ruled Halicarnassos and that this queen joined with
the Persians in the Salamis naval battles, scoring some major successes.
Pisindalis ascended as the ruler of Halicarnassos after this heroic queen,
and Lygdamis II succeeded Pisindalis upon his death. The great historian
Herodotos along with this king’s uncle, the poet Panyassis, started a
freedom movement but was banished from the land. Herodotos
continued to wander around the known world later to return to
Halicarnassos in 454 BC. Although Lygdamis II had been dethroned,
Herodotos hit the road once more in order to finish the book on history
he had started. When Caria broke away from Sardis in 412 BC it became
its own suzerainty with Hyssaldomos from Mylasa appointed as its
satrap. When he died in 387 BC, his son Hecatomnos ascended to the
Bodrum, which was established over the antique city of
Halicarnassos, is seen at night.
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