Halicarnassus ( or Alikarnassós; ) was an ancient Greek city at the site of modern Bodrum in Turkey. It was located in southwest Caria on a picturesque, advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf. The city was famous for the tomb of Mausolus, the origin of the word mausoleum, built between 353 BC and 350 BC, and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was part of the Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire) until captured by Alexander the Great at the siege of Halicarnassus in 334 BC.