Hecatomnids

The Hecatomnid dynasty or Hecatomnids were the rulers of Caria and surrounding areas from about 395–334 BCE.

Statue of a Hecatomnid ruler, perhaps Mausolus (British Museum)

They were nominally satraps (governors) under the Persian Achaeminid Empire, but ruled with considerable autonomy, and established a hereditary dynasty. The dynasty was founded by Hecatomnus and originally had its seat in Mylasa; Mausolus moved it to Halicarnassus.

Hecatomnus' five children succeeded him in succession. The dynasty engaged in sibling marriage to presumably preserve royal power within the family.^[1]

The dynasty ended with the conquests of Alexander the Great. Ada adopted him as her son, so that he would succeed to the rule of Caria.

The best-known monument of the dynasty is the Mausoleum that Artemisia II built in honor of her husband and brother Mausolus.

Members

• Hecatomnus, ruled 395–377
• Mausolus, son of Hecatomnus, ruled 377–353
• Artemisia II, daughter of Hecatomnus, wife of Mausolus, ruled 353–351
• Idrieus, son of Hecatomnus, ruled 351–344
• Ada, daughter of Hecatomnus, wife of Idrieus, ruled 344–340 and 334–326 (under Alexander the Great)
• Pixodarus, son of Hecatomnus, ruled 340–335

Bibliography

• Stephen Ruzicka, Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century B.C. , University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, ISBN 0806124601 (not seen).
• Stephen Ruzicka, "The Hecatomnid Dynasty of Caria" (not seen) abstract
• "Hecatomnid dynasty" at livius.org

References

1. "Women in Dunasteia in Caria". The American Journal of Philology. 126. Spring 2005.