Lygdamis II of Halicarnassus

Lygdamid dynasty
(Dynasts of Caria)
c. 520–484 BCE Lygdamis I
c. 484–460 BCE Artemisia
c. 460–454 BCE Pisindelis
c. 454–450 BCE Lygdamis II
Lygdamis II was tyrant of Caria, under the rule of the Achaemenid Empire.

Lygdamis II (Greek: Λύγδαμις) (ruled c.460-454 BCE) was a tyrant of Caria during the 5th century BCE, under the Achaemenid Empire.[1][2] His capital was in Halicarnassus. He was the grandson of Artemisia, and son of Pisindelis, the previous tyrant.[1]

Lygdamis assassinated the poet Panyassis, uncle of famous historian Herodotus, in 461, which forced Herodotus to leave his native city of Halicarnassus, fleeing to the island of Samos.[2]

After the death of Lygdamis, circa 454 BCE, Halicarnassus joined the Athenian alliance, known as the Delian League.[2] At that time, Halicarnassus started to appear on the Athenian tribute quota lists.[3]

From 395 BCE, Caria would again fall under the control of the Achaemenid Empire and be ruled by a new dynasty of local tyrants, the Hecatomnids.[4]

  1. ^ a b Fornara, Charles W.; Badian, E.; Sherk, Robert K. (1983). Archaic Times to the End of the Peloponnesian War. Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780521299466.
  2. ^ a b c Grant, Michael (2004). Greek and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 9781134828210.
  3. ^ The Ancient World. Ares Publishers. 1988. p. 5.
  4. ^ Hecatomnid dynasty - Livius.