Hecatomnid dynasty (Dynasts ofCaria)
c. 395–377 BCE Hecatomnus c. 377–353 BCE Mausolus c. 353–351 BCE Artemisia II c. 351–344 BCE Idrieus c. 344–340 BCE Ada c. 340–335 BCE Pixodarus c. 335–334 BCE Orontobates c. 334–326 BCE Ada
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TheHecatomnid dynasty orHecatomnids were the rulers ofCaria and surrounding areasc. 395 – c. 330 BCE. They weresatraps (governors) under theAchaemenid Empire, although they ruled with considerable autonomy as a hereditary dynasty. The dynasty had previously ruled the city ofMylasa, which became the capital ofHecatomnus, the first indigenous satrap of Caria. The dynastic capital was moved toHalicarnassus byMausolus andArtemisia, who built theMausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World, there. The dynasty survived theconquest of the Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great whenAda I, the final Hecatomnid ruler of Caria, adoptedAlexander the Great as her son. The small family was remarkable for containing so many sets ofmarried siblings.

The earliest known member of the Hecatomnid family was the dynastHyssaldomus. He was the father ofHecatomnus, better known as the founder of the dynasty, and a woman named Aba, who may also have been the mother of Hecatomnus' children. He may have been the first satrap of Caria before his son Hecatomnus, as has been suggested byLouis Robert, although there is no conclusive evidence that this was the case. Severalsilver coins may have been struck by Hyssaldomus in his capacity as thedynast ofMylasa; these coins have typical Mylasan iconography, but are marked with theCarian letters Ш (w) or 𐋐 (y), which may stand for the unknown equivalent of Hyssaldomus' name in theCarian language.^[1]

The Hecatomnids were therefore one of many minor dynasties in Caria. Their seat was originallyMylasa, a majorcity in central Caria. The family may have gained control of the city whenHeracleides of Mylasa fled Caria after theIonian Revolt.^[2]Herodotus records how, during the Ionian Revolt, the dynasts ofCindye included a Mausolus and a Pixodarus.^[3] The reuse of those names by later members of the Hecatomnid dynasty suggests that the same family which ruled Mylasa at the start of the fourth century BCE previously ruled Kindye at the start of the fifth, and moved from the smaller town to the larger city at some point before they became satraps of Caria.^[2]

The firstsatrap of the dynasty wasHecatomnus, the son of Hyssaldomus. He was appointed as the first Carian satrap of Caria in the late 390s BCE. Previously, Caria had been governed as part ofLydia, by the satrapTissaphernes based inSardis. Tissaphernes was executed byTithraustes on the orders ofArtaxerxes II Memnon in 395 BCE.^[4][5] If Hecatomnus did not become satrap immediately upon the death of Tissaphernes, he was in office by 392 BCE, when he made war onEvagoras of Salamis on the orders of Artaxerxes.^[6][7] Hecatomnus therefore became satrap of Cariac. 395 – c. 392 BCE.[2]

Hecatomnus had five children: three sons (Mausolus,Idrieus, andPixodarus) and two daughters (Artemisia andAda). These were arranged into two pairs ofmarried siblings: Mausolus with Artemisia and Idrieus with Ada. Pixodarus, the youngest of the five, married outside the family.^[2]Incestuous marriages betweencosanguinous siblings were uncommon in the ancient world. Because neither pair of sibling-spouses were known to have had children, it is thought that their marriages were symbolic, and helped to preserve royal power within the family.^[8] The parents of this second generation of satraps may themselves have been siblings, if Aba was the wife of Hecatomnus as well as his sister, although the evidence that this was the case is inconclusive.^[2][9] The five children, Hecatomnus, and a woman presumed to be Aba, are all depicted in the art of the lavish but unfinishedtomb of Hecatomnus in Mylasa.^[10]

During the government of the Hecatomnids, both wife and husband ruled alongside one another, although only men are ever calledsatrap or issue coinage in their own names. Hecatomnid women are known to have issued laws alongside their husbands and led military actions on their own. On the deaths of Mausolus and Idrieus, Artemisia and Ada respectively assumed sole rule of Caria.^[2][8][9]

Mausolus andArtemisia II succeeded their father upon his death in 377 BCE.^[11][2] Of the two of them, Mausolus was the only one to put his name on coinage or ever be referred to as satrap; nonetheless, Artemisia had a limited amount of power while her brother was still alive.^[8]

Artemisia is often referred to as Artemisia II to prevent confusion with the earlier dynast also calledArtemisia (I), who ruled Halicarnassus in the early fifth century BCE and played a prominent role in theBattle of Salamis during theGreco-Persian Wars. Artemisia I was a member of theLygdamid dynasty who were prominent in Cariac. 520 – c. 450 BCE.

Early in their joint reign, Mausolus and Artemisia moved the Hecatomnid capital toHalicarnassus, the former seat of the Lygdamids.^[12] The best-known monument of the Hecatomnids is theMausoleum at Halicarnassus, the grand tomb of Mausolus, which became famous as one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Alongside building projects, Mausolus and Artemisia expanded their political authority in the region of Caria, gaining control ofLycia after theRevolt of the Satraps and Greek islands of theDodecanese such asRhodes after their participation in theSocial War againstAthens.

Mausolus' long reign ended upon his death in 353/2 BCE. He was succeeded by Artemisia, who ruled alone for two years untilc. 351/0 BCE.[11]^[2] During her short reign, she suppressed a revolt by the Rhodians, personally leading a fleet to the island and installing a statue of herself in their capital city.^[8]

Idrieus andAda I succeeded Artemisia II upon her death inc. 351/0 BCE.[13]^[2] The two appear to have ruled in a similar manner to Mausolus and Artemisia before them. Only Idrieus is named on coinage, in inscriptions, and as satrap, but Ada otherwise appears alongside him in much dynastic iconography and in some inscriptions. For example, Idrieus and Ada were depicted either side of Zeus Labraundeus, the chief god of the Hecatomnid dynasty, in a relief fromTegea in thePeloponnese.^[14][15]

Idrieus is perhaps best known for his investment in the sanctuary ofLabraunda, a religious centre in the mountains above Mylasa. Annual processions from the city to the sanctuary became a centrepiece of dynastic cult activity.^[16] It was here that Mausolus wasnearly assassinated towards the end of his reign.^[17] There are manyGreek inscriptions from Labraunda which mark the dedication of new buildings by the dynasts. This record shows that Idrieus built many more buildings at the site than Mausolus.^[18] A monumental fourth-century built tomb at Labraunda may belong to Idrieus.^[19]

Ada I became the sole ruler of Caria inc. 344/3 BCE, when Idrieus died. Little is known about the four years in which she ruled alone.[13]^[2]

The reign of Ada I came to an abrupt end when she was deposed by her last living sibling,Pixodarus, inc. 341/0 BCE.[20]^[2] As Pixodarus became satrap in Halicarnassus, Ada was exiled to the fortress ofAlinda in northern Caria.^[21]

Pixodarus is best known for theLetoon trilingual, a decree of his establishing the civic cult ofCaunus throughoutLycia, which was inscribed in three languages: Greek,Lycian, andAramaic. He was also notable for being the only Hecatomnid to strike gold coins. These issues, which used thePersian daric weight standard, may have been a response to a shortage of silver in Caria.^[22]

Pixodarus did not marry within the Hecatomnid family, unlike his other siblings. He married a noblewoman fromCappadocia called Aphneis. Together they had at least one child. This daughter, named Ada, is often referred to as Ada II to distinguish her from her aunt,Ada I.^[23][2]Plutarch tells us that Pixodarus approachedPhilip II of Macedon while he was satrap, seeking an alliance with the Macedonian by marrying Ada II to Philip's eldest sonArrhidaeus; Philip's younger son, the futureAlexander the Great, was reportedly offended, and the proposition eventually came to nought.^[24][2]

Ada II eventually married a Persian nobleman namedOrontobates. On the death of Pixodarus in 336/5 BCE, Orontobates succeeded him outright as satrap, potentially after a joint period of joint rule over Caria.^[23][2] There is no evidence that Ada II had any authority alongside her husband, unlike Artemisia II or Ada I before her.^[2] Orontobates' brief reign was dominated bythe invasion of the Achaemenid Empire by theMacedonians.

Alexander the Great entered Anatolia in 334 BCE. After a victory at theBattle of the Granicus in Northwestern Anatolia, the Greco-Macedonian army moved down the Aegean coast, capturing key sites such asSardis andMiletus, before coming to Caria. Tradition purports that Ada I then came to Alexander from her fortress in Alinda and adopted him as her son, so that he would succeed to the rule of Caria. In return, Alexander installed her as queen of Caria after ousting Orontobates. He accomplished this during theSiege of Halicarnassus, which Ada I took a leading role in.^[25]

Ada I was left to rule Caria from Halicarnassus on Alexander's behalf as he continued his conquests. She then disappears from the historical record, and may have died at any point between 334 and 323 BCE, whenPhiloxenus was satrap of Caria.^[2]Asander, a Macedonian, became satrap of Caria after thePartition of Babylon, the division of Alexander's empire upon his death in 323 BCE. The Hecatomnid dynasty had come to an end.

• Hyssaldomus, father of Hecatomnus, dynast ofMylasa
• Hecatomnus, the firstsatrap, ruledc. 395 – c. 377 BCE
• Mausolus andArtemisia II, intermarried son and daughter of Hecatomnus, ruled togetherc. 377 – c. 353 BCE
• Artemisia II, widow ofMausolus, ruled alonec. 353 – c. 351 BCE
• Idrieus andAda I, intermarried son and daughter of Hecatomnus, ruledc. 351 – c. 344 BCE
• Ada I, widow of Idrieus, ruled alonec. 344 – c. 340 BCE
• Pixodarus, son of Hecatomnus, ruledc. 340 – c. 335 BCE
• Orontobates, Achaemenid Satrap, wife of Ada II (daughter of Pixodarus), ruledc. 335 – c. 334 BCE
• Ada I, rule alone for a second time,c. 334 – c. 320s BCE, underAlexander the Great

• Simon Hornblower,Mausolus, Clarendon Press, 1982,ISBN 9780198148449
• "Hecatomnid dynasty"at livius.org

• Carian people
• Achaemenid satraps of Caria
• Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire
• Hecatomnid dynasty

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