Lygdamis II of Halicarnassus

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]

References

1. 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. 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.