It is thought that the first civilization on the Bodrum Peninsula was established by the Argolis Tribe of Carians in 11 th century BC. The native inhabitants of the region were the Carians and the Lelegians. In the Iliad, Homeros ( Homer ) mentions the Carians as the inhabitants of Anatolia and allies of the the Trojans against the Greeks. Around 10 th century BC the Dorians migrated from Troezen on the eastern coast of Peloponessus and were forced to settle on the coast. According to the  ancient geographer Strabo of Amasya, Bodrum ( Halicarnassus ) was founded by Anthes, son of Poseidon on the rocky little island where the Castle stands today. The island called Zephyria in those days, Zephyros meaning 'western wind', is joined with the mainland today. In 484 BC Herodotus "the father of  written ancient history" was born here and much of what is known about the origins of Halicarnassus and Asia Minor in the 5 th century BC is owed to him. In 7th century BC, Halicarnassus was in the group of six cities which were set up by the Dorians, called 'The League of Hecsapolis' but expelled from the League shortly before the Persian invasion in 546 BC. The Lydian's ruled the area between 550 BC and 546 BC .The Persians ruled the area  until the arrival of Alexander the Great in 344 BC. During the Persian rule, Satrap Mausollos made Halicarnassus the capital of Caria and after his death, his wife-sister Artemisia built 'Mausoleum' ( one of the Seven Wonders of the World ) in his name. The area was under Roman - Byzantine rule from 129 BC  to 13 th century AD. In 60 BC Caesar's adopted son, Brutus, took refuge in Myndos ( Gumusluk ) with his partner Cassius after Caesar's murder. Ottoman Turks ruled the area until early 15 th century when the rule passed to the Knights of St.John .Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent captured the area in early 16 th century. During the First World War Italians occupied the area for a short time. Today, the area is a developing holiday region in Turkey.

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