THE MAUSOLEUM at Halicarnassus was the great tomb monument of Maussollos, who was ruler of Caria from 377 to 353 BC, and at the same time Satrap or Governor for the. King of Persia, within whose empire his kingdom lay. So vast was the building's size by ancient standards and so lavish its sculptured decoration that it soon came to be considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By Roman times Mausoleum had become a generic term for any large built tomb, and remains so today. Maussollos was the son of Hekatomnos of Mylasa and, at some time during his reign, he moved his capital from there to the coastal city of Halicarnassus, marrying his sister Artemisia. It is Artemisia who is credited by ancient writers with the construction of the Mausoleum for her brother/husband and for that reason it has often been dated to the two-year period between his death and hers, 353-351 Be. But it is evident that the tomb was too large to have been planned and completed in this short space of time and it is more likely that it was begun during Maussollos' lifetime, perhaps soon after his refounding of Halicarnassus c. 370-365 BC, and that it was completed around 350 BC, shortly after Artemisia's death.