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The long history of Caria
The Persians divided their vast empire into satrapies. The first satrap of Caria was Hyssaldomus of Mylasa,
who was succeeded by his son Hecatomnus. Upon his death in the year 377 B.C. his son Mausolus became satrap of
Caria. With cunning political savvy Mausolus was able to set himself up as an independent dynast, without however
bearing the title of king. During the revolts instigated by the other satraps against the Great King, e acted diplomatically,
supporting the central power without, for all that, abandoning the other satraps. He was thus able to enlarge his
own territory and even succeeded in bringing Rhodes and Cos under his domination. Artaxerxes II himself took up
his cause when the Carian confederacy voiced its discontent over his actions. Mausolus transferred the capital
of Mylasa, which from earliest times had been of particular importance to the Carians, to Halicarnassus which,
as the new capital, he enlarged and enhanced lavishly. He also resettled the two old Lelegian towns of Syangela
and Myndus in new locations, enlarged them, and forced the citizens of the other Lelegian towns to move to Halicarnassus
and the newly established cities.
Caria's two border cities, Latmus, to which he gave the Greek name Heracleia, and
Caunus, he had fortified with massive walls. It was Mausolus's particular intention to
Hellenize all of Caria, but his premature death left these plans unfinished. He was succeeded first by his wife
and sister, Artemisia II, who died three years after him; then by his brother Idneus who was married to his sister
Ada; when Ada was widowed the brother Pixodarus sent her into exile. None of Mausolus's successors
had his vision or greatness to complete his plans. Pixodarus finally shared his government with the Persian Orontobates,
who apparently had been officially appointed the new satrap, until Alexander the Great came to Caria in 334 B.C.
Alexander brought a swift end to the Persian domination. Only a few cities in Caria resisted him; Halicarnassus
defended itself most vigorously. After the city's conquest Alexander brought Queen Ada back from exile and established
her as the ruler over all of Caria. In the year 323 B.C. Alexander the Great died, leaving an empire without a
firm structure and without a sole ruler.
A long and turbulent period followed until his generals divided the territory among themselves. Three kingdoms
were eventually established: Macedonia with Greece; Egypt under the Ptolemies; Syria under the Seleucids. Asia
Minor, which had not been clearly allotted to either of these three great powers, was indeed a desirable possession
coveted by the kingdom of Pergamum and the strong maritime power of Rhodes. In the 3rd cent. B.C. Caria's fate
was thus primarily determined by the power struggles between the Seleucids and the Prolemies.
Many cities frequently changed rulers. When the influence of the Seleucids and Ptolemies began to dwindle, the
two other contenders became ever bolder. Rhodes acquired a considerable portion of southwestern Asia Minor, and
the pretensions of Attalus I of Pergamum extended south to Caria. Even Antigonus III of Macedonia tried to gain
political influence in Caria. One could hardly speak of a central power at this time. Only a certain Olympichus,
a former general of Seleucus II Callinicus controlled the area around Mylasa as an independent dynast. Philip V,
who had become king of Macedonia in 220 B.C., set out for Caria in 201 B.C. in order to conquer it. But during
an entire winter he was besieged by the Pergamene navy at Bargylia, whereupon he withdrew the following spring.
At this time a new Carian confederacy, the "Chrysaoric League", was founded, based on the old village
system. The league used to convene at the sanctuary of Zeus Chrysaorus near Stratoniceia.
The Romans finally put an end to the grand ambitions of the Macedonian King in 197 B.C. Philip V was defeated near
Kynoskephalai by the Roman army, whereupon the proud victors magnanimously declared all Greek cities in Europe
and Asia free. Antiochus Ill, however, tried to re-establish the old Seleucid domination in southwestern Anatolia
with a rapid campaign. But at the battle of Magnesia-under-Sipylus in 190 B.C. he too was decisively defeated,
and with the treaty of Apamea Caria and Lycia were given to Rhodes, at that time an ally of Rome.
Rhodian control over western Asia Minor was not lightly tolerated by its inhabitants and lasted only twenty years.
The Lycians opposed it from the beginning; later the Carians led an unsuccessful revolt, which was followed in
the same year (167 B.C.) by a decree of the Roman Senate declaring Caria and Lycia free. Freedom lasted till 133
B.C., when Attalus III of Pergamum bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans, and a certain Aristonicus tried to secure
the kingdom for himself. In the end, however, the Romans defeated him, and in the year 129 B.C. they declared the
kingdom of Pergamum, together with Caria, the province of Asia.
At first the population welcomed the Roman supremacy but soon became disenchanted with the exploitation and the
unsatisfactory provincial government. The governors and the Roman merchants and bankers thought only to enrich
themselves. Therefore, when Mithridates VI, King of Pontus on the Black Sea, arrived in 88 B.C. with the intention
of conquering the west coast of Anatolia, he was welcomed as a liberator in many cities. The people, however, did
not realize what consequences lay in store for them. Mithridates ordered all Romans who lived in the conquered
cities to be murdered. Nearly 80 000 people perished. This bloody deed was revenged by the dictator Sulla, who
punished the cities and forced them back under Roman control. A second attempt by Mithridates twelve years later
was unsuccessful.
Ceasar's assassination in the year 44 B.C. had grave consequences fro Caria, for his murderers, Brutus and Cassius
came to Asia Minor intending to exploit the province of Asia and to raise new troops. But, despised by Rome, they
felt threatened and therefore called on the Parthians, Rome's arch enemies for support. This arrived too late.
At the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C., where Anthony and Octavian were victorious, they were both killed. It fell
upon Anthony to restore things in Asia Minor and Syria. In Tarsus he first met Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Soon
his behaviour altered; he began to conduct himself like a king and insisted on high taxation. Meanwhile he won
the war against the Parthians whose leader, Labienus, he killed.
Some time later Anthony declared Cleopatra "the Queen of Kings", signifying his domination over the eastern
empire. This his former ally, Octavian, could not accept and war broke out between them. The sea battle at Actium
in 31 B.C., at which Cleopatra was also present, ended in a crushing defeat for Anthony, and he and Cleopatra committed
suicide. Upon Octavian's return to Rome he was welcomed in triumph. The title Augustus, "the exalted",
was conferred upon him, and he became governor over the provinces of Syria, Egypt, Gaul, and Spain. This marked
the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
For Caria the Empire was a period of stability and prosperity. Many cities were enhanced with sumptuous administrative
and public buildings. Security reigned in the Roman military colonies. The population expressed its recognition
of the imperial domination by accepting the cult of the god-emperors, and by celebrating their festivals yearly
or every four years. In the 3rd century, after a long and peaceful period, appeared the first signs of decline
in the strength of the Roman Empire. During the extensive governmental reforms undertaken by Emperor Diocletian,
aiming at a reorganization of the provinces, Caria remained as an independent province.
Christianity spread only slowly throughout Caria until Emperor Constantine the Great declared Christianity the
official religion. The Byzantine period which followed marked the end of antiquity in Caria.
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on an engraving from around 1800 the friezes
guild in the walls of the castle can still be seen
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the castle of St. Peter is a landmark
from all points of view
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