Mausolus (Carian Mauśoλ) was satrap and dynast of Caria under the Achaemenid Empire (ruled 377–353 BCE), son of Hecatomnus and husband-brother of Artemisia II. He is remembered above all for his tomb at Halicarnassus — the Mausoleum, counted among the Seven Wonders — which gave every grand sepulchre the name mausoleum. Pausanias already ranks it among the most wonderful graves he knew.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Mausolus" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Satrap of Caria
Mausolus succeeded his father Hecatomnus as satrap of Caria and ruled jointly in practice with Artemisia II. He took part — sometimes ambiguously — in the Revolt of the Satraps, later governed Lycia as well, and backed the island rebels against Athens in the Social War, extending Hecatomnid influence over Rhodes, Cos, and Chios.
Greek anecdotes paint him as a grasping tyrant who extracted funds by ruses; he moved his capital to coastal Halicarnassus and adorned it on a royal scale.
II.The Mausoleum
After his death in 353 BCE, Artemisia (and the later Hecatomnids) raised the vast tomb at Halicarnassus, traditionally attributed to Greek architects and sculptors. Its size and ornament made it a Wonder of the World; Romans thereafter called any great tomb a mausoleum.
Pausanias, listing the most remarkable graves, singles out Mausolus' monument at Halicarnassus. The atlas node ties the historical dynast into the Carian house beside Artemisia and Lygdamis.