principality · Anatolia and the Levant

Hecatomnid Caria

395 BCE – 334 BCE (approx.) · capital Halicarnassus

Hecatomnid Caria, a Persian satrapy ruled as a dynastic kingdom by Mausolus and his family, whose tomb gave the world the word mausoleum.

Origins

Hecatomnus of Mylasa, a Carian noble, was made satrap of Caria by the Achaemenid Empire c. 395 BCE. He founded a dynasty that governed south-western Anatolia almost as independent kings while acknowledging Persian authority.

Rule and society

His son Mausolus moved the capital to Halicarnassus, extended control over Lycia and the islands, and combined Carian and Greek culture. After his death his sister-wife Artemisia II completed his tomb, the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders. Siblings married each other and inherited power in turn, including Idrieus and Ada.

Decline and legacy

Pixodarus pushed his sister Ada aside, but in 334 BCE Alexander of the Macedonian Empire besieged Halicarnassus and restored Ada, who adopted him as her son. Caria then passed to the Hellenistic kingdoms.

Lineage

Halicarnassus 900 BCE – 377 BCEHecatomnid Caria

Connections (3)

Hecatomnid Caria was a vassal of Achaemenid Empire395 BCE – 334 BCE
Lycian dynasts was conquered by Hecatomnid Caria360 BCE
Hecatomnid Caria was conquered by Macedonian Empire334 BCE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hecatomnid Caria. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hecatomnid-caria
MLA: “Hecatomnid Caria.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hecatomnid-caria. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Hecatomnid Caria.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hecatomnid-caria.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hecatomnid Caria’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hecatomnid-caria (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻