4th century Karia : defining a Karian identity under the Hekatomnids
The origins, identity and political behaviors of the Karians remain the subject of
intense discussion among specialists. The political organization of Western Asia
Minor during the 4<sup>th</sup> century BC offers an opportunity to explore such questions; it
was during this period that local dynasts, the Hekatomnids, reached a position of
authority in the region that allowed them to fully express their political ambitions
and to promote their own material culture.
Analyses of various aspects of this material culture have led scholars to describe
the Hekatomnids in very different ways. They have been portrayed both as Persian
dynasts and Proto-Hellenistic Kings, although they were neither Greek nor Persian.
This ambiguity is the result of attempts to approach the cultural identity of 4<sup>th</sup> century
Karia in the light of the cultural power of its neighbors, rather than as the result of
an intricate process of cultural interaction that included both local traditions and
foreign borrowings.
