The tomb of Hecatomnus or Hekatomnos (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ἑκατόμνος,

Carian The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, ...

: 𐊴𐊭𐊪𐊵𐊫 ''k̂tmno'' “under-son, descendant(?). ”) is in the Hisarbaşı District of

Milas Milas ( grc, Μύλασα, Mylasa) is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy and very rich in history and ancient remains, the ter ...

, one of the most important cities of the

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined ...

region, located in the southwest of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. The tomb was added to the World Heritage Tentative List by UNESCO in 2012. SATRAPS of CARIA

Biography of Hecatomnus

Hecatomnus was the local ruler of the Ancient City of Mylasa, which is called Milas in modern days, in region of Caria. Persian King Artaxerxes raised Hecatomnus around 392 BC for becoming the Satrap (provincial governor) over part of the Persian empire. Together with Autophradates, who was the Satrap of Lydia, he was then to go against the rebel leader Euagoras, who would like to spread his control in all Island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, but they lost the naval battle. Hekatomnos became by Artaxerxes (king of Persia) the ruler over Miletos, which is the one of the largest settlement characterised by Greek culture in Asia Minor. He was very impressed by Greek culture and he sent his youngest son to Athens. However, he always kept the Carian culture in his region. Furthermore, he used on coins images of the Carian chief Zeus Labraundos, whose sanctuary was in

Labraunda Labraunda ( grc, Λάβρανδα ''Labranda'' or Λάβραυνδα ''Labraunda'') is an ancient archaeological site five kilometers west of Ortaköy, Muğla Province, Turkey, in the mountains near the coast of Caria. In ancient times, it was h ...

in region of Caria. Mousolus, who was the eldest son of Hecatomnus, became the new satrap of Caria, after Hecatomnus died.

Features of the tomb

Hecatomnus' Tomb consists of temenos Wall, honor Column, Podium and Tomb. The Tomb is unique because it has the same concept as the

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world but earlier period than it. Hecatomnus' Tomb is the one of the most important monument of antique culture and representative the cult of the dead. It stands at a high level of architectural design, sculpture, and mural painting of the Tomb has a special place in art. Especially the "Friese of Hecatomnus' Tomb" with its size and quality, it is the only example in classic and hellenistic Anatolia.

Looting of the tomb

In 2010, Turkish authorities had witnessed a police operation in which several treasure hunters were arrested while trying to steal the historical treasures from the tomb. After the arrests, it turned out that the illegal treasure hunters used high-tech drilling machines to drill a hole at least 40-50 cm thick into the marble wall of the tomb. They also used 245 tons of water during the process to cool the machine and let the waste water fill the monumental burial chamber. After the robbery, an important study was launched to stop this destruction. Italian, Turkish and Japanese scientists continue to work on the restoration, climate control and documentation of the funerary monument. These works are crucial for the preservation of the remaining cultural assets and for the identification of the kidnapped artifacts. Intelligence units have discovered that the crown of Hekatomnos is in Scotland. In 2018, a golden crown stolen from the tomb was identified and agreed to be returned to Turkey

References

{{reflist Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire Achaemenid Anatolia Hecatomnid dynasty Milas Burial sites of Middle Eastern royal families Caria