Bodrum

The ancient city of Bodrum (Halicarnassos, Halicarnassus) is thought to have been founded around 1,000 BC by Dorian settlers from Greece. Later the city became part of the Hexapolic Union, known as the Dorian league. According to Herodotus, however, it was expelled when a Halicarnassan contestant in a sporting contest insisted on keeping the trophy he had been awarded, instead of dedicating it to God Apollo.

The city was captured by the Lydians in the first half of the 6th century BC and then by the Persians in 546 BC after which it was ruled by the Satrapy of Saird. In 386 BC, the Persians took complete control of the Carian region (southwest Anatolia). Then in 377 BC Mausolos, the most famous of the Carian satrapies, took control of the region. He ordered the construction of many cities and moved his capital from Milas to Halikarnassos. Mausolos enlarged his new capital by bringing in people from other cities in the region and constructing new walls, palaces, theaters and temples.

However, the most important building in the city is/was the monumental tomb constructed for him by his wife, Artemisia II, and from which we get the word ?mausoluem?. Construction lasted five years and at the time of its completion in 340 BC, it ranked among the Seven Wonders of the World.

After the rule of Mausolos and his family, in 334 BC, Halicarnassos was conquered by Alexander the Great which later became a naval base for the Lagos Dynasty of Egypt. In 192 BC, the city became a Roman colony, and in 88 BC was briefly ruled by the Pontus Kingdom.

Halicarnassos fell to the Seljuk Turks in 1071 AD, and it was with the permission of Sultan Celebi Mehmet that the Knights of Rhodes were able to construct Bodrum Castle ? the Castle of St. Peter. The castle, with its English, French and German towers is today the symbol of the town.

The city came under Ottoman rule in 1522 AD when Suleyman the Magnificent captured Rhodes and forced the knights to move to Malta. Known as ?Petrion? after the Castle of St. Peter, this later became in Turkish Bodrum, the name by which the town is known today.