Halicarnassus

Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia's Caria. It was situated in southwest Caria, on a strategic location on the Gulf of Gökova, which is today in Bodrum, Turkey.

The Greek suffix -assos indicates a substrate toponym, which means that an original non-Greek name affected or founded the place's name. As a result, the toponym is most likely derived from Carian, a Luwic language spoken alongside Greek in Halicarnassus. Inscriptions have provisionally identified Alos Karnos as the Carian name for Halicarnassus.

The origin of Halicarnassus is questioned among several legends; nonetheless, they all agree that it was a Dorian colony, and the images on its coins, such as Medusa's head, Athena or Poseidon's head, or the trident, corroborate the assertion that the mother towns were Troezen and Argos.

• Halicarnassus was the capital of the kingdom of Caria and is famous for being the birthplace of the historian Herodotus, who is often referred to as the "father of history."
• The city was also home to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• Halicarnassus was the site of a famous siege in 334 BC during the campaigns of Alexander the Great.