Bodrum has been the cradle of several civilizations. Down through the ages it has suffered from the countless invasions of those coming from the Aegean islands and has been important to all those powers wishing to dominate the Aegean.Halikarnassos (Bodrum) was an important city in the Caria civilization which was located between its much more powerful neighbors Lykia and Ionia. The region boasts such greats as the historian Heredotus, history's first woman admiral Artemisia I, and the just-as-skilled Artemisia II as well as artists like Leachares and Shepas.

Bodrum experienced the dominance of various civilizations throughout the history such as Mecedonians,Roman Empire and Byzantines. Byzantines lsot their power in Anatolian region after they were defeated by the Seljuk Sultan Alpaslan at Malazgirt in 1071. It was located by the Ottoman Ruler Mehmet Çelebi to Halikarnassos in 1415. Rhodian knights had constructed the present Bodrum castle and established their rule over the region. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman on his military expedition to Rhodes conquered Bodrum together with Rhodes and tied them to Ottoman Empire in 1522.