Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

When the Persians expanded their ancient kingdom to include Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Northern India, Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor, the king could not control his vast empire without the help of local governors or rulers - the Satraps. Like many other provinces, the kingdom of Caria in the western part of Asia Minor (Turkey) was so far from the Persian capital that it was practically autonomous. From 377 to 353 BC, king Mausollos of Caria reigned and moved his capital to Halicarnassus. Nothing is exciting about Mausoleum at Halicarnassus life except the construction of his tomb. The project was conceived by his wife and sister Artemisia, and the construction might have started during the king's lifetime. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was completed around 350 BC, three years after Maussollos death, and one year after Artemisia's.

For 16 centuries, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus remained in good condition until an earthquake caused some damage to the roof and colonnade. In the early fifteenth century, the Knights of St John of Malta invaded the region and built a massive crusader castle. When they decided to fortify it in 1494, they used the stones of the Mausoleum. By 1522, almost every block of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus had been disassembled and used for construction.

Today, the massive castle still stands in Bodrum, and the polished stone and marble blocks of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus can be spotted within the walls of the structure. Some of the sculptures survived and are today on display at the British Museum in London. These include fragment of statues and many slabs of the frieze showing the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. At the site of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus itself, only the foundation remains of the once magnificent Wonder.